Negotiations with seller
The seller has 3 options when they are presented with a purchase agreement offer. They can accept the purchase agreement with the exact terms you offered, reject the purchase agreement flat out, or they can counter offer the terms you wrote into the offer. In a counter offer situation, the seller can “counter” any terms, whether it be price, closing date, seller paid closing costs amount, etc. When the seller counter offers and sends the offer back to you, you as the buyer have the same 3 options. You can reject the counter offer and walk away from the deal. You can accept the terms that they changed or you can counter offer back. For more information on Counter Offers, click here http://www.southoftherivernews.com/real-estate-terms/how-does-a-counter-offer-work/
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Write an offer on the home you like
Putting together and offer on the home you like is an essential part of the process. You need to know that when you are making an offer, you will be required to put down “earnest money” that will be deposited with the listing broker when your offer is accepted. There are a few main points that need to be decided before writing an offer. First, the price. Second, are you asking for closing costs to be covered by the seller. Third, home inspection or no home inspection. Fourth, closing date. Fifth, arbitration or no arbitration. There are many more points to the purchase agreement but these are the points that the sellers will look at with the greatest weight.
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Search for Homes
So you have your criteria set and communicated to your Realtor, you have a preapproval and a clear picture of what your payment will be. Then we look for homes! I would suggest looking at 2 homes the first time you go out looking. Never see more than 6 homes at a time. They will all mesh together and you will start forgetting what the positives and negatives of each home were. During the summer, it is very easy to see the homes in the daylight hours, but during the lovely Minnesota winters, that can be tough. I highly suggest you try and visit the homes in the daylight. You will get a much better feel for the curb appeal, the immediate neighborhood, the exterior of the home (roof, siding, landscaping) and you will have a better idea of how much light is available in the home. Wear your slip-ons, it will make your life easier going in and out of homes. If you are looking at hobby farms, bring a pair of boots to get a good look at the acreage and the area. If you are looking in the winter, don’t forget the snow boots! In today’s market where there are a great percentage of foreclosed and vacant homes, you don’t want to jump through a foot of snow in slip-ons.
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Meet with trusted Mortgage Lender to secure home pre-approval
Without a pre-approval letter, it is useless to look at homes. It may sound harsh, but I just want to be real. If we go looking at homes on Friday evening, you fall in love with a home, write an offer and send it in…. you may be in trouble. Most mortgage lenders will not run to the office at 9pm on Friday to write a pre-approval letter for someone they haven’t met with. If the home you want is in a multiple offer situation (meaning more than one buyer is has made offers and wants to purchase), you are not going to get far. Any listing agent won’t give your offer much weight with their sellers if you are not pre-approved. Even if you know you can afford it, and will have no problem getting a mortgage, go get pre-approved before looking at homes. It is essential to you being able to have a good positive home buying experience. When you are behind the proverbial 8 ball and trying to catch up with the process, it will become more stressful. A good mortgage lender will discuss your financial picture and help determine what programs or loan will be best for your individual situation.
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Meet with a Realtor
In order for a Realtor to determine what sort of homes to show you, you must have a good idea of what it is you want in a home. Which areas do you want to live in? If you answer Minneapolis, great, but which are of Minneapolis? If you say southern suburbs, there are large differences between Bloomington, Lakeville and Lonsdale. The first part of your search criteria must be clearly defined. Neighborhood! Take into consideration your commute to work, the school district, and other important places like distance to parks, shopping, medical care…. Or any other places that are an important part of your daily lives. Once you have the neighborhood picked out, determine the style of home you want. Do you want a condo, townhome or single family home? Do you prefer slit entries over two stories? Do you want acreage or just an average city lot? How many bedrooms do you need? Is the number of garage spaces available? Sometimes it is easier to write down a list of what your ideal home would be, then pick the most important pieces and set them as the criteria. Price is important! What is your “comfort” range. I don’t care how much more you can get preapproved for, I want to know what is comfortable for you in a monthly payment. Don’t forget those pesky taxes, insurance and utilities.
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