The Steps to Purchasing a Home. Many people will give you advice on how to purchase a home. They mean well, but most people you know haven't purchased a home recently and their information could be outdated.
This blog post contains a lot of information and you may need to refer back to it from time to time. We've tried to keep it short, but it may be too long for some of you. We've also tried to keep it from too boring, but couldn't figure out how to make this content really exciting :-)
Here are the steps to purchasing a home:
Find a Realtor- There are many ways to find a Realtor and different ways of selecting a Realtor. Every buyer's needs are different and each Realtor has their own unique set of tools to offer you. Some are more experienced, some are better at follow up and some are very tech savvy. What's important is that you find a Realtor that you trust and one that you feel will do a great job for you.
Sign the representation agreement - Your Realtor should ask you to sign an representation agreement where the duties of each party (Realtor & client) are spelled out. Most agreements also spell out the type of housing, the term of the agreement and the town(s) that it covers. The term of the agreement or # of days in the period of time can go from 1 day to as long as you'd like. You can also complete the agreement for specific properties.
Speak to a mortgage broker or bank- A big part of purchasing your new home is the determining the correct price range. A mortgage broker or a bank can pre-qualify for you for a mortgage and let you know your purchasing power. They will pull your credit and ask for tax returns, W-2's and other such paperwork. They will tell you how much money to put down and explain different types of mortgage financing. Your Realtor can most likely recommend professionals to help you.
Give the pre-qualification letter to your Realtor - this will go into your file until you put an offer on a home that you'd like to purchase. This letter may need to be updated down the road.
Familiarize yourself with the market - Have your Realtor send you homes to consider from the multiple listing service (MLS) or use a major real estate company's site (like Prudential) Realtor.com, trulia.com or other sites to find out what the homes in your price range look like. This will also help you to select towns and/or neighborhoods. This is an ongoing process until you find the right home.
Submit an offer to purchase - Across the country, the paperwork changes and is called by different names. Essentially, your Realtor will write up an offer on the correct paperwork and present it to the selling side.
Negotiations - Some negotiations are easier than others. Basically, the seller should counteroffer your written offer and perhaps some of the other offer terms (closing date, items included, money down, etc). This continues until both parties agree or you come to an impasse. If an impasse happens, then you'll start to look at homes again.
Inspections - Are usually completed within a short period of your offer acceptance. Your Realtor will tell you what is customary for the area and can provide you with a list of local professionals. You should attend the property inspections, as well as your Realtor.
Negotiations - Depending on what is found during the inspection period, you will ask the seller to fix items or give you a credit at closing to fix items. Generally, you will not ask the seller to fix every little thing that is found in the inspection.
Formal Contract - In some parts of the country, the offer form is a formal contract in other parts it is not. If your offer form is not a contract form, then the seller's attorney will draw up the formal contract of sale and your attorney will review it. After the attorneys have reviewed it, both parties will sign it.
Bank Appraisal - The bank will send out a local appraiser to the home you would like to purchase. This is an important part of the process for many reasons. The appraiser is an uninvolved third party who will place a value on the home. This will be submitted to the bank.
Mortgage Commitment - This is when the bank puts into writing that they will agree to lend you the money to purchase your new home. Sometimes, the mortgage commitment has "conditions" that need to be cleared. Conditions can be something simple like providing a receipt for your homeowner's insurance to providing the source of your down payment.
Set up the Utilities - About 10 days prior to closing, we recommend contacting the utility company (electric, cable, oil, telephone) and set up service to be turned on the day of closing.
Purchase Homeowner's Insurance - You will need homeowner's insurance for your new home to go into effect the day you close. You will also need to provide a paid receipt for 1 year's insurance to your mortgage company. If you do not have an insurance agent who handles homeowner's, your Realtor may be able to recommend a local agent.
Final Walk Through - This should be done the day of closing approximately 1 to 2 hours prior to closing. Your Realtor will meet you and together you'll check the home to make sure it's being left in good condition and that it's clean.
The Closing - In this area, the closing takes place at the office of the seller's attorney. The buyer will sign the mortgage documents and the seller will sign the deed. There is other paperwork and if a problems comes up, it can be resolved at the closing. A typical closing takes 1 to 2 hours.
We hope that you find the steps to purchasing a home helpful.
If you have any questions about the steps to purchase a home, or if you would talk to us about possibly being your Realtor, please Email us!
What is foreclosure? This question at the top of our list of frequently answered questions (FAQ)! Many buyers and sellers have heard the term "foreclosure", but many are not really sure as what it means. Depending on who we are talking to, the answer to this simple question can convey a vastly different meaning.
The simple answer to "what is foreclosure" is that the bank has taken ownership of a home - usually due to the mortgage not being paid for several months. Once buyers and sellers hear this answer, other questions follow and the conversations that come out of "what is foreclosure" can lead almost anywhere.
Foreclosure is a legal matter and it requires an attorney. It can be quite complicated and it can also be a rather lengthy process. For a homeowner, the end result of foreclosure can result in losing ownership of their home and being evicted by a Sheriff. Losing a home to foreclosure is a devastating and life changing event.
While in pre-foreclosure, a homeowner can continue to live in the house. There is usually a period of time where the homeowner can "pay up" the mortage to bring it current and take the house out of foreclosure. Foreclosure has a lasting affect on your credit report - as long as 7 to 10 years. Foreclosure laws vary by state and there are different types of foreclosure. If you are served with foreclosure papers, we suggest that you contact an attorney immediately.
For a homebuyer, "what is foreclosure" can indicate a buying opportunity - a "deal". A foreclosed property that is listed for sale is a "distressed" sale. It is a "bank owned" or an "REO" property and generally is priced aggressively to get it sold quickly. Expect a foreclosure property to be an eyesoar and to be in great disrepair as once the bank owns it, they will not keep up with home maintenace.
If you have any questions about foreclosure or if you would like a list of foreclosure properties, Email us!
Stunning French Country Colonial built in 2001 with high end finishes. Custom Kitchen with stainless steel Viking gas range with integrated grill and electric convection oven, GE Advanitum oven/microwave and Fisher Paykel 2 drawer dishwasher. Butler's Pantry with wine refrigerator, glass upper cabinets & under cabinet lighting. Powder Room vanity converted from a Century Furniture's Coeur de France chest. Covered side porch off Living Room. Exquisite Master Bathroom with heated tumbled marble floor and double sink vanity that was converted from buffet table. Exterior lighting, koi pond, mahogany deck & stone patio. Hardwood floors, fireplace, arched windows, French Doors and large Foyer. Borders 3 acres trust land. Architecturally interesting.
Click here or visit www.5BuckTrail.com for more information on 5 Buck Trail, Newtown, CT.
Riley, the Real Estate Dog, should probably have his own blog! He's always working hard at real estate and when he's not, he likes to go for a walk. The good thing about a dog walk, is that it's pretty portable and you can do it just about anywhere. Riley does have his favorite places to walk - some in Newtown and some not.
Main Street is Newtown is always a good place to walk. There are sidewalks on both side of the road, it's a long stretch with a hill and a giant flagpole right in the middle of the road. Many people walk their dog along Main Street. It's pretty social as you are likely to run into someone you know.
Fairfield Hills is a great place to walk the dog. Fairfield Hills is a complex of old brick buildings with a grid of streets. There is also a new paved walkway that goes up behind the buildings and has access to a path through the woods and you can come out down on Mile Hill Rd South by the ballfields.
There are many horse trails and hiking trails in Newtown and many people walk their dog along these.
Southbury Dog (0 & G) Dog Park - This is a great place for dogs. They can go off leash, play with other dogs and even go for a swim in the water. Clean and fenced. Located on Route 67 (Roxbury Road) - look for the O & G sign.
Williams Park in Brookfield is another great place to go with your dog. This is located on Route 25 (Whisconier Road) near Long Meadow Hill Road.
We've heard that Newtown is working on creating a dog park of their own over at Fairfield Hills. As we find out more about this, we'll let you know.
~ Public Open House - July 19, 2009 from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm ~
This is the one! From the moment you drive-up, the curb appeal grabs you! This 4 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom Colonial is set on a nicely manicured lot on a desirable cul-de-sac street. Home featues a new state of the art center island Kitchen with maple cabinets, granite countertops and chef's quality stainless steel appliances. Formal Dining Room with bay window overlooks the backyard and opens to both the Kitchen and Formal Living Room. Step down entry into Family Room with stone fireplace and vaulted ceiling. Skylight in Kitchen and also in the Master Bathroom. Master Bedroom Suite and 3 bedrooms upstairs. Close to town and a great location to commute to lower Fairfield County.
A while ago, the Realtors in our office compiled this list of 50 Things to Like About Living in Newtown, CT. We thought it was fun and a great post for our blog, www.LifeinNewtown.com! If we missed something, please let us know :-)
Newtown offers a small town atmosphere in a rural setting
Prudential Connecticut Realty (PCR) is a very technology forward company and all the Realtors are encouraged to be "up" on technology as PCR readies itself to attract the younger generations: Gen Y and the Millennials. Keeping that in mind, Prudential has just released a new mobile application called, "Homes for Sale", which will let users search all local property listings from their iPhone or Blackberry.
"Homes for Sale," will enable consumers to view detailed home information at the touch of a button. The GPS technology in the mobile phone, where available, locates the user and pulls up addresses and information on property listings in their immediate area. Sales price, square footage, tax information, beds/baths, interior and exterior features, and pictures are all available through the application, according to the company.
Consumers can also search by city, ZIP code, address or community name when GPS is not available, or if they want to search for real estate in a particular area other than their current location.
A "Call to See" feature within the application will connect users to an agent if they have further questions or want to schedule a tour of the property.
Be the first to sign up - click here - there's even a video!
OK, so you're trying to find a home to buy and you're going out every weekend. You search Realtor.com so much, you know the inventory better than your Realtor. You've memorized the multiple listing service (MLS) numbers of the homes you absolutely love, you know what every home looks like - based on the photos posted on-line and when a home shows up that you are familiar with you, your heart skips a beat ... "is this the one???"
You speak with your Realtor every day - some days, you talk with to your Realtor two or five times about homes for sale. You want to buy a home so badly, that you can focus on nothing else in your life.
You've ruled out homes because they don't meet your criteria or the photos aren't great or it's not located in the part of town where you want to live.
You are frustrated. So what do you do? You schedule an appointment with your Realtor - you're not really sure why, but you've scheduled the appointment.
What do we tell our buyers when they are at this point in their search for a home? "Sometimes, you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find a Prince." Why would we say this? How does it help you? Lets take a look at what it means.
How many frogs are there in the world? Millions. How many Princes are there in the world? Hundreds.
It reminds you that you have to check every home in your price range - whether it fits your criteria or not. It means that to find the home you want, you might have to look in the next town over. It means that you need to go to every home in your price range (whether you previously ruled out based on what you've seen on-line) and see it for yourself. It brings into focus that it could take you longer to find the right home than you had initially thought. It also has a touch of "be patient - you'll find it".
In Newtown, there are 3 places you can go to for ice cream:
Cold Stone Creamery: Located at 255 South Main Street (Route 25), this is the "IT" ice cream chain. Select your ingredients and watch it being mixed together on the cold stone.
Ferris Acres Creamery: Located at 144 Sugar Street (Route 302), this is located on the Ferris family's farm. Sit outside at a table or bench & watch the cows while you eat your ice cream. Ice cream is made on site and specials are available daily.
Ice Cream Shop: Located at 51 Church Hill Road, this is the oldest ice cream shop to town. It's located next door to the Teen Center (the Garage) and is close to town. It has a large gravel parking lot & tables to sit out at. Service is always good and the ice cream is made on the premises.
Arrive early - lines can get long. Try a different flavor everytime you eat ice cream at one of these places. Say hello to everyone from town that you see.
BOB & RICHELLE WARD have just listed this home for sale. Listed at $429,900.
1,683 Square Feet
.43 Acres
4 Bedrooms, 2 Full Bathroom
Nicely maintained and updated 4 bedroom, 2 bath Cape with 2 car attached garage on level lot in Newtown's Borough. Remodeled Kitchen with white cabinets, eating area and access to expanded Trex deck overlooking level backyard and stonewalls. Mud Room with tile floor. Flexible floor plan. Large bedrooms. Excellent commuting location - easy access to schools, shopping, library and flagpole.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
