• Buying Power
• Mortgage Options
• Current Market Values & Trends
• Potential Tax Savings

Step 2: Select the Right Property

Step 3: Make a Reasonable Offer that includes:

• The amount you are willing to pay
• Closing & Occupancy Dates
• Any contingencies, including obtaining a mortgage, selling a property, building inspections
• Any personal property specifically included or excluded
• If the offer is attractive to the seller, further negotiations are often necessary to make sure all terms are agreeable.

Step 4: When Buyer & Seller Agree on terms:

• Buyer immediately applies for financing and directs his Realtor to arrange for inspections
• Buyer reviews and signs disclosures,
• Buyer provides lawyer contact information to Realtor
• Seller arranges with his or her attorney for the drawing of the Contract of Sale based on the agreed terms and the inspection results.
• The Contract of Sale includes: Purchase price Mortgage Contingency, if any Quality of title to be conveyed Date of possession Itemized List of Personal Property included in the sale Satisfactory inspection terms
• The Contract of sale is reviewed by the buyer and his or her attorney and signed usually within 10 days of the accepted offer. It is sent with a check from the buyer for 10% of the purchase price (less the 1% earnest money) to the sellers attorney to be signed by the seller.

Step 5: Closing The time allotted to complete all of the steps that lead up to your closing from the accepted offer date to the closing date is generally 28-45 days. Sellers generally want transactions to close as quickly as possible. Throughout the transaction both you and your Realtor have to make sure all parties are moving the process along and completing each step according to the dates indicated in the binder or negotiated along the way. You and your realtor must be in close contact to monitor the progress of your mortgage and other contingencies to make sure that all deadlines are met, extensions are requested as necessary and attorneys get all of the information they need to answer your legal questions and help you feel comfortable with the signing of the contract and closing documents. On the day of closing you will have a final "walk-through" with your agent to make sure that the house is vacant and in broom-clean condition.