Process, Simplified

The Real Process of Buying A Home

(Your sequence of events may be a bit different - every deal is different.)

Get Your Feet Wet - browse online to explore price range and geography. Attend a few open houses - they will pitch you to be their buyer's agent. Just say you've got one, and ethically they have to stop pitching and just show the home.

Why Getting Briefed Next, In Full, Is Critical - Would you go to court without talking to a lawyer first? Knowing both the process, and the market, are critical to your search being less stressful, more efficient (e.g., 20 hours vs 100 hours of project time), productive (win the better home in a bidding war), and fascinating. Your agent should provide briefings appropriate to your stage, starting early on, and throughout the process. A good Realtor knows you may not be ready to look seriously, and that you'll come back eventually if you're counseled well now. We work with people anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 years! Our agents have both Real Estate and Mortgage licenses, so can advise on all fronts.

Get An Affordability Analysis and A Pre-Approval Letter (non-cash buyers only) from a lender, who you may or may not choose as your ultimate lender. You can’t offer without showing your mortgage is pre-approved. You are being pre-qualified but must be “pre-approved”, not “pre-qualified”. Confused? You’re normal – technically, a ‘pre-qualification’ letter means the lender hasn’t seen written backup. "Pre-approved means we’ve seen your documents. A banker is not doing you a favor if he sends a pre-qual letter without you sending him documents. You need a “pre-approval letter”, not a “pre-qualification" letter. You also need a "true affordability" analysis, lest you be surprised by a tax increase, etc.

Choose a Realtor. There will be others on your team and this person is the quarterback. He/she is also the goalie, protecting against the other side. The sooner you choose, the more efficient your search; our agents work with people anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 years. Some need another Realtor, and another, sometimes based on the client or the Realtor or both. Ask about credentials and years working. You want raw smarts, industry knowledge, and lots of experience. The right Realtor will guide you through retaining your transaction by negotiating as a problem-solver. Or, we won't, with your best interests in mind - some of our proudest moments are when we get someone out of a transaction that's headed too far south.

Find A House You Like, Win It, Choose an Inspector and Attorney, don't lose it. Fail to offer on time, lose it. Fail to bid high enough, lose it. Bid high enough to win it and schedule the inspection too far out, you could lose it. Finish the inspection, ask for too much, possibly lose it. Get past the inspection, use the wrong lawyer, lose it. Get to contract, use the wrong mortgage company, lose it. We protect you from all that.

Get Into Contract. From "AO", the contract takes 2 days to 2 weeks. There are 4 major items as follows. DO NOT let the anyone, including your counselors, make these decisions for you. Make these decisions together; that is, buyer(s), your attorney and your Realtor must all confer to avoid mix-ups, gaffes, or a totally blown deal. If the other side should be involved, your Realtor will coordinate. The four are: 1) mortgage contingency including appraisal; 2) outside close date (frequently not set properly by others, generating unnecessary stress later; 3) sale price; 4) down payment amount.

Get, and service, your mortgage commitment. It's not a final approval, and requests more documents and information. You may be asked for proof that a big deposit was properly sourced, or for proof of citizenship, or for explanation of credit report items that may be incorrect. Rinse, repeat, until fully approved and a "clear-to-close" is issued by the lender, then the attorneys (buyer's, seller's, bank's) coordinate a close date and time, which everyone else accommodates. MOVE - IN!

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*Important qualifications regarding all information on this site: All numbers represent the experience of our agents and may not accurately reflect national averages or others' numbers. All examples are anecdotal, and should not be regarded as relevant to your own circumstances. Our firm provides the information on this website for general guidance only, and does not constitute the provision of legal advice, tax advice, accounting services, investment advice, real estate advice, or professional consulting of any kind. The information provided herein should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional tax, accounting, legal, finance, realtor estate r other competent advisers. Before making any decision or taking any action, you should consult a professional adviser who has been provided with all pertinent facts relevant to your particular situation. All information is provided "as is," with no assurance or guarantee of completeness, accuracy, or timeliness of the information, and without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of performance, merchantability, and fitness for a particular purpose. To review your situation, reach us at 914-413-3689.