Home Buying Process

Step 1 – Educate yourself

Begin by doing some online research to familiarize yourself with some of your options when buying a home. Start thinking about what town you want to live in and how much you are comfortable spending on a home. 

Step 2 – Meet with Your Buyer’s Agent

Choosing a buyer’s agent is an important step in buying a home because this is the person that will guide you throughout the entire buying process. Hire an agent who will be honest with you and won’t try to push you into buying a house you aren’t sure about. A good buyer’s agent will want you to find the right home.

Step 3 – Pre-Approval Process

Getting pre-approved helps you find out how much a lender will give you, at what rate, and what the terms would be. This is also a good time to find a good mortgage broker.

Step 4 – Property Search and Viewings

This is the fun part! Our unique computerized buyer Buyer Advantage Program allows you to simply enter towns you’re interested in, price range, style of home and other particulars that are important to you. It then provides you priority access to all the homes that meet or exceed your criteria complete with addresses and photos of the interior and exterior of the homes. This system also lets you know about new listings as soon as they hit the market!

Step 5 – Make an Offer

Once you find the perfect home we will submit a written offer on the home.  This is another step where you will be glad to have us on your side.  Since Bea is a strong negotiator, she will work to get you the best deal.  Keep in mind that contract negotiations are not limited to price, they also include timing, contingencies, and much more. 

Step 6 – Choose an Attorney

The reason for hiring your attorney now is to get them in contact with the seller’s attorney to draft the Purchase and Sales Agreement. It’s a good idea to find a good real estate attorney when you’re buying a home because unlike a rental lease where there are a lot of laws to protect a tenant, there are no laws that protect the buyer.  A good real estate attorney will know what to include in the purchase and sale agreement to protect the buyer throughout the transaction.

Step 7 – Get a Home Inspection

Now that you have secured a property, it is time to schedule the appropriate inspections on the property.  The home inspection will be done by a licensed inspector whose job is to make sure the home is structurally sound, all of its systems are working correctly, and if there’s any evidence of pests in the home or mold.

Step 8 – Purchase and Sale (P&S)

Now that the inspections are complete, a purchase and sale agreement needs to be prepared by the attorneys and both buyer and seller must sign.  The Purchase and Sale agreement gives more detail of the transaction, including specifics on the property, the contingencies, and responsibilities of the buyer and seller. 

Step 9 – Closing

This is where all the hard work pays off and you become the owner of a home! During the actual closing, deeds, loan papers, and other documents are prepared, signed and filed with the registry. At this point, congratulations will be in order now that you are a homeowner!