TO FIND YOUR NEW HOME
An old adage in real estate is this – you make your money when you buy. That means you can’t pay too much now or you’ll be in a tough situation later. At Trophy Point, we pride ourselves on getting the best deals for our clients because we hope to earn your business again when you’re ready to sell.
Keep in mind that you will need money for an earnest money deposit (amount dependent on a few things, so chat with your agent if you haven’t already about how much to expect) & about $400-500 for an appraisal more immediately than you’ll need money for a down payment. Earnest money is a part of almost all offers, usually given within the first week of an accepted offer that tells the seller, “hey, we’re serious about buying this place!” It is totally refundable if you want to walk away from the contract before due diligence period ends (which is after we will get our inspection report back and ask for repairs). Assuming you close on the house, the earnest money deposit goes directly toward your down payment.
SPECIAL NOTE
Make sure to not open any new lines of credit from the time you get your pre-qualification letter through closing. Buying a car, opening a new credit card, etc. could heavily impact your lender’s ability to loan the amount you need for your home.
This is what most people refer to when they say an “offer”. It includes the basics like your offer price, the timeline you’re proposing, and anything you want to ask for (like a home warranty or termite warranty at no cost to you). Your agent will walk you through the contract and strategize with you to come up with a strong offer & make sure you feel confident with your offer.
This outlines how exactly you’re planning on paying for this home. It also tells the seller how many days are in the financing contingency period, aka how many days you have to get approved if you’re using a loan, and how many days are in the appraisal contingency period, aka how many days we have to get the appraisal back and determine our next move if the appraisal comes in lower than the purchase price. Like the Pre-Qualification/Pre-Approval letter, you don’t *need* to use the lender that you put on this exhibit. However, you will need to confirm the lender you want to use once the offer is accepted so that no part of the loan process gets held up.
This tells us everything the seller knows about their property. It isn’t the same as an inspection, but can give an idea of the state of the property.
This is only required for houses built prior to 1978, since that’s when the law was passed banning lead-based paint. However, almost every house we’ve encountered has been rid of lead-based paint for years even if it was built prior to 1978. This disclosure is simply a legal requirement to ensure that absolutely no lead-based paint is in the house (or if it is, that you know where in the house it is).
If the house has any HOA fees or is a part of any type of association, this disclosure should be included so that you know what fees and regulations you will need to abide by should you close on the house.
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