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I.
Why are you moving?
Your current bathroom isn't big
enough for you and your toiletries.
You've got a new job in a new city. You've got a new
baby, a new spouse. The kids are grown and you want to
go play in the city. You need room for a home office, your
current kitchen is so small you can only toast one slice
at a time. The reasons for moving are many
and everybody's got a different needs and wants in a new
home, including you and your significant other.
In the beginning of the
process, you may only be aware of a basic set of needs:
number of beds or perhaps location w/ respect to the
office or school, parking, etc. But as you get into the
process, you're going to learn more about what you'd
like in a new home and what your trade-offs are with
respect to your price range. The earlier in the process
we develop a set of criteria to work from, the better
your process will be. And that's one of my jobs.
You'll want to think about location, transportation,
type of building or structure. Wood floors? Kitchen and
bath finishes. Floor level/elevator, parking. Do you
want amenities like a concierge, excercise room, extra
storage, AC. Of course, beds, baths, square footage,
living area configuration. Outdoor space. Your agent
(me) can help you with that.
II.
MORTGAGE
Sorry to ruin the fun by
talking about money, but, alas, one of the
first things to do in this process is to figure out how
much house you can afford. You probably have a good
idea, but-
You absolutely need to get pre-approved at the beginning
of this process.
First, because you don't want to
get surprised by finding out that you can't actually buy
your dream home, and secondly, the seller of any home at
all will want to see a pre-approval before he or she
signs your offer.
Also, by speaking with several
lenders, you can sort through some of the options:
What will the closing costs be, and can you get
them down? What are the available programs and rates?
Are there prepayment penalties? All this stuff is
important.
There are more than a few good
lenders that past buyers of mine have been very happy
with. If you'd like to get some of those
names, please feel free to
contact me, and I'll be very happy to speak with
you about it. BTW, not to upset any of my lender
friends, but you don't have to feel obligated to go with
the lender that pre approved you. Shop around. Maybe go
back to the first lender if you get a better deal. They
want your business.
Additionally, here are some nifty
mortgage calculators you might be interested to
try.
III.Finding
the right property.
Whether you're flying into town for a whirlwind weekend of
searching for a suitable property and purchasing, or if you
already live in Boston and you're beginning a months long search
for the right place, I can help.
Relocating
to Boston? I know it's difficult to get a sense of the city
before you've been here. I've been working with relocation
buyers for 15 years, so I can help get you oriented quickly.
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Get in
touch with me. I can help
you work through your needs
with regard to location, types of
properties available in your price
range, mortgage options and property
specifics.
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You can use the
listing search facilities on
this website or when you get in
touch, I can give you access to a
more detailed version we
Boston real estate agents use. I
have access to virtually all Boston
real estate listings.
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I can put together a list of
viable candidates to start with,
so when you come in, I can come get
you at the airport or hotel, and we
can start immediately.
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I can automatically email
appropriate new and reduced listings
to you so we can add them to our
list.
Do you
currently live in Boston? Whether you're a first time
homebuyer or an empty nester, it's important to have the
information, resources, and professional assistance you need.
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Familiarize yourself
with current pricing, and properties
(area, square footage, finish, parking, etc.). A good way to
start doing this is to take a look at the
listings and other information displayed here. Then
get in
contact
with me so I can get
you the early notification
open
house lists, as well as
auto
emailed new and just reduced listings. I can begin
to help you sort out which properties may be suitable for you.
If you like, we can begin to go see properties immediately.
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Start looking,
if you want, by going to open
houses. Once again,
I can get you
early
notification of all the open houses in the area. You can
either do this at your leisure, or I can make suggestions. This
is a good no pressure way to get familiar with the actual
properties as well as the pricing in the area. Again, if you
want, I can accompany you and set up some additional showings.
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Make an
appointment with me.
It's
good to work with one
Boston
Massachusetts Real Estate Agent, since I can learn your
needs, likes and dislikes.
I have access to literally all listings
in Boston. We can
avoid redundant viewings, and I can make sure you get into
appropriate properties in a timely fashion. It's much more
orderly and time efficient than doing it yourself. Since I practice
buyer
brokerage, I can help you with the
offer-contract-closing process and relieve much of the stress.
IV. THE TRANSACTION
In Massachusetts, we have a 2
part process.
1.
OFFER (submission of, negotiation of, agreement).
Your buyer
agent will advise you and draft the offer with you. Only a buyer
agent can help you do this.
There is a
binder (initial deposit), usually a $1,000 check. We will submit that
check to the listing brokerage(or if done by fax, a copy of the
check) with the
offer, which will be placed in an escrow account upon agreement
and written execution by both parties.
The offer
normally covers price, percentage of the price you will be financing,
time frame, and contingencies.
Normally,
you will want to have your offer subject to the following
contingencies to be satisfied by the time you execute the P&S in
a week to 10 days:
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Obtaining financing. This
protects you from having to buy the
property if your financing falls
through (That's why the seller wants
to see that pre-approval). It
states the dollar amount or
percentage of the purchase price you
will be financing. It also protects
the seller by stating deadlines that
the buyer must meet for loan
application and obtaining a letter
of acceptance. Your buyer agent can
advise you with this.
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A satisfactory home inspection.
Your buyer agent will have a list of
experienced, well regarded home
inspectors. The only agent that can
make such recommendations is your
buyer agent. You are also entitled
to a pest inspection, lead
inspection, and several other types
of inspections. Your buyer agent can
advise you on the these as well.
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Inspection and approval of all condominium documents and
financials. The financial documents potentially include
current budget, actual expenses, and
statement of reserves.
Condominium documents potentially
include master deed, declaration of
trust, any amendments to both, and
minutes for any association
meetings. A Boston real estate
attorney will know what problems to
look for in these documents. The
only real estate agent that can make
recommendations for an attorney is
your buyer agent.
Additionally, you will be asked to submit
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The pre
approval letter from your bank.
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a signed
lead notification form (most properties in Boston are NOT deleaded).
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A mandatory agency disclosure form (stating whether your
broker is working for you as a buyer's or seller's broker).
Negotiating the
offer.
Our objective
is to get the property for the lowest possible price. That
having been said, the average spread between asking and selling
prices in the last quarter in Boston proper has been about 3-6%,
depending on neighborhood, etc.
Obviously some properties go for less, and some still sell above
asking price. Right now, buyers seem to hold a bit of an edge.
We want to
ascertain as objectively as possible what the property is worth.
We want to determine if it is a great deal or if it is
overpriced for the market. We want to apply appropriate downward
pressure and to make our case that the we are offering what the
property is worth. Will we have competition in getting
the property, or will the seller be flexible? Some sellers will
flex even if it is a good deal, and others won't, even if it is
overpriced. Our job is to get it for as little as we can.
V. Going to P&S.
The contract
to buy/sell
real estate
in Boston Massachusetts
is known as a
"Purchase and Sale" contract, or "P&S". This is the
contract that contains all the provisions relating to your
purchase and generally occurs about 10 days after the offer is
accepted. In the intervening period, you will have your home
inspection, get your loan application rolling, and your broker
will obtain all the condo docs and financials.
You
will want to have a real estate attorney that is experienced at
Boston residential sales working for you. Do NOT do it yourself.
Your attorney will examine all the documents. He will know what
to be concerned about and what won't be a problem. He will be
able to (hopefully) resolve all the issues that arise. Be aware
that there will be an
additional deposit at P&S ranging from 5% to 20%
depending on the provisions of your offer.
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