The Home Buying Process is most successfully accomplished by utilizing the services of a Buyer’s Agent.

The first steps involve some preliminary work that you do prior to meeting with your Agent (Steps 1-2 below). Once you begin working with a Buyer’s Agent it can take, on average, 1-3 months to find the right property (Steps 3-4). Once you have an accepted offer on a property, it takes approximately 6-8 weeks to complete the process and “close” on your property (Steps 5-15 below). If need be, it can be done in less time or extended for a longer period, depending on your needs and those of the Seller.

Below is an outline of the buying process with approximate time frames.

1. Determine your financial parameters: Prior to meeting with your Buyer’s Agent, obtain a pre-approval from a lender to determine your purchasing power. Prepare a budget that shows your estimated monthly income and expenses so you can determine how much you can spend monthly on housing. Don’t forget to include taxes, insurance, condo fees (if applicable) and utilities, in your calculation.

2. Make your wish list: Spend time thinking about what you want in a property: number of bedrooms, bathrooms, square footage, outdoor space, etc. Determine your “must have” and “wish list” items.

3. Meet with a Buyer’s Agent to prioritize your property needs: Talk to friends, family, and colleagues for recommendations for an agent in the city/towns that you are interested in living. It is important to find an agent with whom you feel a good rapport. Your agent should have knowledge and experience specific to the neighborhoods you’re considering so that they can advise you on the inventory and the current market conditions. In your meeting, review your wish list items, your timeline for buying, and any questions or concerns that you have. Through thoughtful questioning, your agent will help direct the focus of your housing search and set the pace of the process.

4. Property Search: Your Agent will review all available properties in the areas you are considering and introduce you to those that fit your criteria. You will have the opportunity to view these properties at open houses and at private showings. Your agent will arrange your property tours and keep you updated on open houses.

5. Make an offer: Once you have found a property in which you are interested, you will work with your agent to write up an offer. They will prepare a Comparative Market Analysis that evaluates recent comparable sales, comparable properties currently on the market and current market conditions. With this information, your agent will recommend a fair market value for the property. Once you determine an initial offer price, you will complete all of the relevant offer documents.  These include an offer form, contingency addenda and a condo document/attorney review addendum, if purchasing a condominium. You will also want to get a customized Pre-Approval letter from your Lender qualifying you for financing on the specific purchase price of your offer. Your agent will then submit your offer to the Listing Agent, along with the pre-approval letter, and your $1,000 good faith deposit.

6. Negotiating the Offer: Once the offer is presented to the Seller by their Listing Agent, there is usually a negotiation process that can involve any or all of the terms of the offer (e.g. the price, the closing date, the mortgage amount). Your agent will assist you in developing a negotiation strategy to ensure that you get the lowest purchase price possible. Once a price is agreed upon by both parties, the original offer will be revised to reflect the new terms and the Seller will sign the documents. The offer is not an “executed” (legally binding) contract until both parties have initialed and signed the revised offer document.

7. Interview and Hire an Attorney: Once you have an accepted offer, you need to hire a Real Estate Attorney to represent your interests for the remaining parts of the transaction. We can provide a list of excellent Attorneys who are experienced in the needs of Buyers and who are competitively priced.

8. Interview and Hire a Lender for Financing: You should also begin to interview mortgage professionals for the financing of your purchase. We can provide a list of experienced Lenders who offer excellent service and competitive rates.

9. Conduct a Home, Pest, Radon and Lead Paint Inspection: These inspections are “contingencies” put in place to protect you. Generally there is a week provided to complete these inspections.

a. Home Inspection: This is your opportunity to hire a licensed Home Inspector, at your own expense, to inspect the property and inform you of any “major structural, mechanical or other defects.” It is usually completed within one week of your accepted offer. If it is determined that such defects exist, then you have the right to revoke your offer, with written notice to the Seller and Listing Agent. In practice, if a major issue is discovered, the Seller may prefer to negotiate a reduced price or may agree to fix the issue, rather than have the Buyer withdraw their offer. The Seller is not, however, required to reduce their price or fix any defects. If new terms are not agreed upon and you withdraw your offer in writing prior to your Inspection Contingency expiring, you will be entitled to the return of your good faith deposit.

b. Radon Inspection: Radon is an invisible radioactive gas that seeps up from the ground. This contingency allows for you, at your own expense, to have a test for radon gas conducted by the Home Inspector. Should the results come back outside the EPA’s acceptable range, you can revoke your offer with written notice to the Seller and get your initial deposit returned. A radon test takes a few days to run and then 3-4 days to get the test results back.

c. Pest Contingency: This states that you, at your own expense, have the right to hire a licensed Pest Inspector. If there is a significant problem with pests, you can revoke your offer with written notice to the Seller and get your initial deposit returned.

d. Lead Paint: This gives you the option to do a Lead Paint inspection within 10 days of the accepted offer to determine the presence of lead paint. Once completed, the report must be furnished to the Seller. If the property tests positive for lead paint, you have the option of revoking your offer with written notice to the Seller and get your initial deposit returned. Please note that once a lead paint test is conducted, the results of the inspection are filed with the Department of Public Health. In our market area, Sellers do not typically pay for “deleading” if lead paint is found.

10. Condominium Document/Attorney Review: This contingency applies if you are purchasing a condominium. This gives the Buyer the opportunity to review and have their Attorney review the full set of condominium documents and financial statements of the association. If the Buyer or their Attorney is not satisfied with these documents, the Buyer may receive their deposit back upon written notice to the Seller within the timeframe specified in the offer.

11. Purchase and Sale Agreement: The Purchase and Sale Agreement (P&S) is a legal contract that spells out the specifics of the real estate transaction. It is drafted by the Seller’s Attorney and forwarded to the Buyer’s Attorney for review and additional revisions/additions are put in place to protect each party. This contract is signed approximately one week after the home inspection has been completed and is accompanied by a 5-10% down payment.

12. Mortgage Application: Immediately after signing the P&S, you will complete your loan application. You can complete the paperwork with your selected Lender prior to this but the application is not completed until they receive a copy of the P&S signed by both parties, referred to as an “executed P&S." Once your application is completed, the Lender will hire an Appraiser to go to the property and complete an Appraisal Report. You can request to get a copy of the Appraisal Report from your Lender and it should be given to you at the Closing.

13. Mortgage Commitment: Once your Lender has reviewed all of your documents and received an acceptable appraisal, they will issue a “commitment letter” informing you that your loan has been approved. At that point, the Closing Attorney will begin preparing the closing documents. This includes a title search and if there are any title issues, they will be reviewed with you. Generally the mortgage commitment will be issued within 2-3 weeks of signing the P&S Agreement.

14. Final Property Walk Through: Shortly before the closing (a day or so), your agent will arrange for a final walk-through of the property to ensure that the condition of the property is consistent with the terms outlined in the P&S.

15. Closing: Once the closing documents are prepared, the actual closing is scheduled and usually takes about an hour.