Buying a Home

You will need to contact someone in lending if you are planning to get a mortgage for a "pre-approval" Now-a-days listing agents will not let agents set appointments or view homes without this document. Plus this will give you a great idea of what your home price range will be. The last thing you want to do is find a home you love and it's not within your financial means.  

Once you find a property you want to make an offer on, your real estate professional will submit a purchase offer to the seller's agent for review. This document is not contractual but will include such items as a pre-approval, sales price, loan type, attorney info, & contingencies.  

Once your offer is accepted it is essential to move to the next step fairly quickly so you can keep the process moving and make sure the home doesn't have any major defects.

General Home Inspection: It is ALWAYS advised to get professional third-party home inspection on any home you are considering to purchase. You'll want to schedule an inspection within 3-5 days of an accepted offer.

Radon Test: The home inspector will likely ask you if you want a radon test which is a gas emitted from the rock. In some sections of Dutchess county it is known to be high but can be remediated with a system. The investment for the system is typically around $1500. 

Pest Inspection: In some instances your home inspector will point out areas that might be areas of concern. If this is a concern, it is a minimal investment to get an expert opinion and estimate to remediate, which could help in negotiating the terms of the purchase. 

After satisfactory inspections are complete, contracts will be drawn up by seller’s attorney and sent to your (buyer's) attorney for review and signing. At this point a deposit will be made as good faith. The earnest money (deposit) is typically between 5%-10% of the sales price and is, in the majority of cases, refundable. 

Once the contracts are fully executed (signed by both parties - buyers and sellers) they will be sent to the loan officer and the loan process will formally begin. 

Throughout the process your lender will be asking you for documentation on verifying your income, expenses, tax document, etc. You will be working directly with your lender to gather all necessary documents relevant to your loan approval. This process may seem overwhelming but is very necessary to ensure timely processing of the loan.

The next step is an appraisal and this will be ordered by the bank to value the property to verify the home's worth. The bank want's to make sure the home isn't being over sold or the price is too high for the market. (If for whatever reason the buyer defaults, the bank wants to be able to recoup their investment)

The last part is usually some confirming documents (if needed) on finalizing the loan process. These may include documents like verifying large deposits or withdrawals. 

Clear to close is a term used to let all parties involved know that everything is in order from the lending department and is approved and clear for closing. This is usually the last thing needed before the attorneys can schedule a closing date. 

Final Walk Through: This should be scheduled the day of the closing so the buyer has one last opportunity to check the home to make sure everything is properly "ready" for closing. On rare occasions the sellers have not done everything asked of them and will need to be negotiated at the closing table. It is in your best interest as a buyer to do the final walk through, take pictures if necessary and perform this on the day of the closing.   

Closing: At the closing, all monies are exchanged, documents are signed and keys are exchanged.