Ledyard Home Buyers Guide

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Home

Buyers

Guide

Bridget

Morrissey

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Contents

Ledyard Home Buyers Guide 2

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Buyers typically browse properties for

sale online first.

Viewing properties in person

Buyers Agent

Become pre-approved by a lender by

a lender Become pre-approved by a

lender Making an offer

After offer is accepted

The buyer agent will stay in

communication with all parties

Discussions with your attorney

Money at closing

On the day of the closing

3 Ledyard Home Buyers Guide

Buyers typically browse

properties for sale online first.

•How accurate or up to date is

this information?

•How accurate are websites

dedicated to determining

property value?

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•Should you contact the listing

agent directly?

No, the listing agent has a fiduciary responsibility to

the buyer. The agent has no responsibility to you but

must inform the seller of anything you tell them.

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•Why should you use a buyer's

agent to schedule showings?

People selling their homes want to deal with one person.

Agents have a system for show requests that is the most

convenient for all of the parties involved. A buyers agent

will have a fiduciary responsibility to represent the buyers

interest and not those of the seller.

Viewing properties in person


•Can you use more than one

buyer's agent at the same time?

Yes, but you may be responsible for a

commission to the non-selling agent.

•Why should you sign a

contract with a buyer's agent?

•Agent Introduces the buyer to lenders and

helps to obtain loan pre-approval letters

•E-mails listings that fit the buyer's

requirements

•Calls listing agents to determine

availability

•Makes appointments with sellers before

showing homes

Buyer’s Agent


•Finalize paperwork

• Consult on how the home

buying process works

• Your personal / financial

situation

• Your moving plans and

motivations

• Features and benefits you are

seeking in your new home

Have a

meeting

with

your

agent


Property searches on-line

• Done by both buyers and their agent

• Communicate about their findings

• Narrow down a list of properties to view


Become pre-approved by a lender

Why do I need to become pre-approved?

A preapproval is different from a

prequalification. With a prequalification, the

lender relies on information provided by the

buyer to estimate how much the borrower

could qualify for. With a preapproval, the

lender verifies the borrower's information and

documentation to determine exactly how

much it would be willing to lend to that

borrower.


Making an offer

• Why is it important to have a buyer's

agent negotiate your offer on your behalf?

•The offer includes the address and

sometimes a legal description of the

property

•Sale price

•Amount of earnest money deposit

accompanying the offer—whether it’s a

check, cash or a promissory note—and

how the earnest money will be returned to

you if the offer is rejected (or kept as

damages if you back out of the deal for no

good reason)

•Type of deed that will be granted


Making an offer



•Terms—for example, this is an all-cash

transaction, or the deal is subject to you

obtaining a mortgage for a given amount.

Seller’s promise to provide clear title

(ownership)

•Target date for closing (the actual sale)

•Method by which real estate taxes, rents,

fuel, water bills and utilities are to be

adjusted (prorated) between buyer and

seller

•Provisions about who will pay for title

insurance, survey, termite inspections and

the like


Making an offer



•A provision the buyer may make a last-

minute walk-through inspection of the

property just before the closing

•A time limit (preferably short) after which

the offer will expire

•Contingencies:“This offer is contingent

upon (or subject to) a certain event”, such

as a home inspection or approval of

financing.

•Other requirements specific to your state,

which might include a chance for attorney

review of the contract, disclosure of

specific environmental hazards or other

state-specific clauses


Making an offer

Earnest Money is a deposit you put down

with your offer on a house.

A seller is understandably suspicious of a

written offer not accompanied by a cash

deposit to show good faith.

A REALTOR® or an attorney usually holds

the deposit.

The amount varies from community to

community, and it becomes part of your

down payment.


After offer is accepted

•Home inspections are scheduled

• Buyer must make application with a

lender right away.

• Upon receiving the inspection report, the

agent will advise the buyer regarding

requesting remedies.


The buyer agent will stay in

communication with all parties

• Requested remedies are performed

• Appraisal is scheduled and performed

• Lender is moving along on schedule to

meet the commitment and closing dates

set in the contract

• Communicate with the attorney to be

sure that they have what they need


Discussions with your attorney

•The wording of a mortgage contingency

varies among contracts but generally

includes a time frame, or deadline, by

which the contingency must be met and

thresholds for the mortgage terms.

What is the mortgage contingency?

What does the attorney do?

The attorney will examine legal title

issues, environment issues and reports

and any of the contracts or other

documents involved in the transaction.


Money at closing

Down payment

Closing costs

Oil adjustments

Closing costs include fees charged by

lenders, as well as third-party fees for

services such as appraisals and credit

reports. title insurance, title search, taxes,

property insurance, association fees, interest

and other prepaid items.

By adding the closing costs to the purchase

price, most of those costs would be a part of

the loan. Instead of getting his closing costs

paid for free, he would be paying them over

the life of the mortgage.

Can I ask the seller to pay my closing costs?



What is a walkthrough?

A final walk-through is an inspection

performed anywhere from a few hours to five

days before closing, and its primary purpose is

to make certain that the property is in the

condition you agreed to buy -- that agreed-

upon repairs, if any, were made and nothing

has gone wrong with the home since you last

looked at it.



What happens at the closing?

•The seller will sign the deed over to the

buyer. This act officially transfers

ownership to the buyer.

•The seller will turn over the keys, as

well.

•The title company (or in some cases a

lawyer or notary) will register the new

deed with the appropriate government

office. This record will show the buyer as

the new homeowner.

•The seller will receive any proceeds

they earned from the sale, once their

mortgage balance and closing costs

have been paid off.


The Ledyard Home Buyers

Guide is intended to assist

buyers in letting them know how

the procedure works. It is not a

legal document. You should

consult with an attorney and a

licensed mortgage broker for

further information.

If you need more information on

the home buying process please

feel free to contact us .

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Bridget Morrissey, Realtor

RE/MAX Coast and Country

Olde Mistick Village

27 Coogan Boulevard

Mystic CT 06355

Office: (860) 536-7600

Cell/Text: (860) 857-5165 [email protected]

www.BridgetMorrissey.com

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.bridgetmorrissey.com/

Ledyard Home Buyers Guide

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