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Get Pre-Approved by a mortgage representative or broker, bank or credit union.

A pre-approval letter from a reputable lender will be included with your offer when you identify a property to pursue.

The pre-approval process may be done in person or over the telephone and generally takes about an hour. It is important to have this letter when you begin your search so you'll be ready to move quickly when you find the right house.

A lot of house hunting occurs on weekends when banks and mortgage companies are closed. Having the pre-approval in hand on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon will save you and your Realtor from attempting to get a pre-approval in the middle of a weekend.

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Find a Realtor you'd like to work with throughout the process.

In my experience, Buyers who are loyal to their Realtor benefit greatly because their Realtor will work harder for them. A good Realtor will keep track of likes and dislikes and will preview properties at broker's open houses with their customers in mind.

In short, your Realtor will diligently look for your perfect house if they feel that you are not calling other agents. Remember, Realtors can show you any house listed in MLS regardless of the listing office, listing agent, or the town the house is located in.

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Do some research.

Try to narrow your search to a few similar towns.

Decide what is most important to you and share your thoughts with your Realtor. The more information you provide, the better your Realtor can research the market and find suitable homes to show you.

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Shop for a house.

Set aside time to go out and look at houses with your Realtor. Read the weekly town newspaper and go to public events to get a feel for the community.

Check out my community links to find out more about the towns I work in.

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Complete an Offer of Purchase.

The offer includes information such as the purchase price, deposits and financing amounts and specifies dates for an inspection contingency and a mortgage contingency.

Also, dates and times are stated for signing a Purchase & Sale and a closing (sale) date.

An initial deposit of $500 to $1000 payable to the Listing Office is submitted. This check is only cashed upon acceptance of the offer. The second deposit is due when the purchase and sale is signed, usually about 10 days after the initial offer.

At this time, the buyer provides a deposit, by personal or bank check, that will be held in an escrow account until the closing. This second deposit is most often 5% of the agreed price less the initial deposit. For new construction, a deposit of 10% is usually required.

Additional paperwork required is a copy of your pre-approval letter, an agency disclosure form, and (for houses built prior to 1978) a Commonwealth of Massachusetts Property Transfer Lead Paint Notification form.

Your Realtor will present your offer to the Seller(s) and/or their Listing agent. An offer is accepted after the Buyer(s) and Seller(s) initial any changes to the original price and terms and sign the form. The offer is usually completed within 24 and 48 hours.

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Getting to P&S.

As soon as your offer is accepted you should schedule a home inspection. Call family or friends who have recently purchased a home and ask if they can refer an inspector. In Massachusetts home inspectors must be licensed. A list of licensed inspectors can be found at http://www.state.ma.us/reg/boards/hi/*.
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You will have 7 days to inspect the home by as many inspectors as you wish. This always includes a general, all-encompassing home inspection. Sometimes Buyers will also have radon testing done or will want to call in a tradesman/specialist such as a pest inspector, roofer, plumber, electrician, handymen, etc. to look at a specific system or problem in the house and provide work estimates.

Inspections should be scheduled as soon as possible because all inspections must be completed in the 7 days following the offer.

The listing agent will provide a standard purchase and sale (P&S) agreement shortly after the offer is accepted. The P&S is usually signed about 10 days after the offer.

It is advisable to hire an attorney who practices real estate law to review the P&S and negotiate any changes on your behalf. Once the Buyer and Seller agree upon the final terms of the P&S, the listing Realtor provides multiple copies of the document to be executed by the buyer. The remaining deposit is due at this time by check or certified check.

Most often, buyer's deposits total 5% of the purchase price, so the amount due will be 5% less the initial offer deposit. After the Buyer signs the P&S and gives the additional deposit, the Seller signs and the P&S is executed.

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Mortgage Commitment.

As soon as you know that the sale is moving forward you should complete a mortgage application so that a bank appraisal can be ordered and scheduled.

As part of the application you will be asked to provide documentation such as and executed P&S, pay stubs, income tax returns, bank statements, etc. It is important to get all requested documentation to your mortgage representative in a timely manner so that your final commitment will be issued by the mortgage contingency date.

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Shop for home insurance.

You will need to prepay the first year of homeowner's insurance and bring the binder naming the lending institution as first mortgage to your closing.

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Reserve a moving company, notify utilities and pack your belongings.

Schedule a moving company as soon as you know your closing date. Your Realtor will provide you with names and telephone numbers for utility companies in the town you are moving to.

You must make arrangements to change these utilities to your name on your closing day. If the house is heated with oil you may want to ask the seller who their current oil company is and if they recommend the company.

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The Closing.

Prior to the closing schedule a walk-through of the property. The walk-through is scheduled to take place after the sellers have moved their belongings and tidied up the house, usually the evening before the closing.

Call the closing attorney the day before and request a HUD settlement sheet that details the buyers and sellers sides of the transaction.

You will need to get a bank/certified check payable to yourself if you are required to pay closing costs or additional deposits.

In addition to the bank check, bring your driver's license, personal checkbook and your paid insurance binder to the closing.

While all transactions are unique, the summary described above is a general sequence of events provided to give you an idea of the process of buying a house. If you have any questions, please contact me.

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