Purchasing a property is likely the largest financial decision you will ever make. Whether this is your first purchase or you are an experienced buyer, this decision must be made carefully.
Having a clear sense of your reasons for buying will help you choose the right property, and will help us better advise you. Call us and get us involved early, we can help you clarify your “why.” This simple step will set you up for success.
Before you start shopping for your property, it is a good idea to make some preparations.
Collect your important financial information
Submitting a current, clear set of documents that indicates your ability to afford a home, is necessary to secure financing for your property. This data should contain:
Identify your financing team
Every transaction is unique, and your choice of whom you use to help you finance your transaction should be as well. Are you very comfortable with financing and numbers? Perhaps then you could concentrate on a lower cost, professional provider. First time home buyer? Perhaps you would choose a mortgage broker that is well referred, and that you feel comfortable with. Somewhere in between? Let us help you by referring you to the correct team member for your needs
Confirm your credit rating
Your credit score will impact what type of property you can buy, and at what price. It is first recommended to check your credit rating with an experienced lending institution so that you can determine what you can afford. The lender will research your credit ratings from the three credit reporting agencies Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. We will be happy to recommend experienced, knowledgeable lenders in the residential, construction, and commercial and investment real estate fields.
Be careful with your finances
Now is not a good time to make sudden career changes or large purchases. You want to approach your property purchase from a position of financial stability
Buying a property requires making important financial decisions, understanding complex issues and completing a lot of paperwork.
It helps to have an expert in your corner when undertaking such a large purchase.
It is our job to guide you through this process, smoothly and professionally, keeping your interests safe.
Factors to consider when choosing your real estate professional
Once those preparations are out of the way, it is time to find the right property for you.
Take a long drive
Ask your Realtor for a “get to know the neighborhoods” tour. This is often called a “dashboard” tour. Identify areas, style of housing, and neighborhoods that interest you. Drive around and get a feel for what it would be like to own a property in the area. Start getting a sense of the properties available in those areas, and the way folks who live there go about their day.
Patterns in your living are important. The choice of being close to amenities, or seclusion, and what combination of the two you feel are correct for you, is often the key to making an informed decision. Once you identify the general goals for your search, try to lock down a list of items you are looking for, and at what price. This process is called “prioritization.”
Now take a shorter drive……
Select a few properties that interest you the most and have your Realtor make appointments to visit them. Ask your Realtor to “bracket” them with similar matches, or alternative options, so that you can understand how your list of desires matches up, or doesn’t match up with the available properties. Use your newly created “priority” list to inform your tour.
Sometimes, after a day of touring, you’ll have to adjust your list of priorities to fit the available inventory. Sometimes…….You just may not be in the market at the right time…..Having a list of priorities that have been “pressure tested” out in the real market is essential to making an informed decision. Some times that decision is to wait, and sometimes that decision is to hurry up, but having a list that is (roughly) consistent throughout your search, gives you the best chance of making the best decision.
In any home you are seriously considering, confirm with your Realtor the current condition of the home (better than normal? Worse than normal?) and potential long term resale value of the properties you are considering….. After looking at a few, and conferring with your Realtor about the best options…………
Let’s make an offer!
Once you have picked out the property you want to purchase, your Realtor can help you make an offer that the seller will accept. A good agent will investigate the potential costs and expenses associated with the new property. An agent can also help you draft your offer in a way that gives you the advantage over another offer.
CONGRATULATIONS your offer was just accepted! First, let’s breathe – the hardest part is over, you actually found the home you love! You are probably asking yourself, ‘what happens now?’ Here is a cheat sheet to help you stay one step ahead of the game. With the submission of your offer, you should already be pre-approved and have submitted your pre-approval letter to your broker. Yay! That’s a huge step… Now let’s dive into the transaction process.
1. Know the Key Players
You will want to identify the key companies involved in your contract. Copper West Real Estate and your Broker; your Escrow and Title Company; your Lender and your Home Warranty Company (if you need one). You will also probably need a Professional Home Inspector (if you don’t have one, recommendations are available from your Realtor) and any other Professional Inspectors you might need to line up for home before your contingencies expire.
Please note, time starts ticking once the contract is mutually accepted.
2. Determine Your Dates
Contract Dates are critical. You want to make sure you have your important dates in order, so you don’t miss and fall out of contract. Let’s work off this easy timeline:
a. Date of Acceptance – this is an important date, as it sets the timeline for important deadlines (ie. earnest money, contingencies, and closing).
b. Pre-approval Letter Date (if you did not submit one with the offer) OR Proof of Funds Date,
if your deal is cash.
c. Promissory Note Redemptions Date (usually 3-5 business days from mutual acceptance). This is the date your earnest money needs to be deposited into escrow at the Title Company.
d. Contingency Dates (to stay in compliance with the contract these are VERY IMPORTANT):
i. Financing Contingency and Appraisal: This is important, because this is subject to 1) Buyer and the Property to qualify for the loan from Lender; 2) Lender’s appraisal shall not be less than the Purchase Price. Both are solely for your benefit and of course, can be waived by you in writing at any time.
ii. Title Insurance: Once the Preliminary Title is received, the buyer has 5 days to notify the Seller in writing with any matter. A Buyer’s Agent and Seller’s Agent are not qualified to advise on specific legal or title issues.
iii. Professional Home Inspection / Private Well / Onsite Sewage System: In all contracts, the buyer is granted a risk-free number of business days to perform an inspection on the property. The inspection can be far ranging from; building permits, to whole home inspections, to well tests, to boundary lines. If, after a period of time, but BEFORE the home inspection period runs out, you decide you don’t want to purchase the home, you can terminate the contract. Depending on the location of your property, other inspections are used in addition to the regular home inspection. An example of this would be a well inspection, for a property with its own water source, or a septic inspection for a property with a septic system. However, if you want to continue purchasing the home SUBJECT TO repairs to be completed by the Seller, then you can do that too, but remember that all negotiations about repairs need to be completed within the home inspection timeline or you are deemed to have accepted the condition of the property. We will often have a termination agreement ready to go if things are getting close, just to be safe.
a) Typically, you start with calling a home inspector. (Located under “Home Inspectors” here) and set up an appointment. This is an arrangement set up by you, and paid directly to the home inspector. The inspector will call the listing agent to set up the access, however. It usually costs $400 or so.
b) The inspector will show up, inspect the house, and at the end we all sit in on a presentation from him/her about the condition of the home. Some inspectors just submit a report to you via email, but recently inspectors have been presenting to the clients, which is quite nice.
c) After that, you decide what you would like to do, and we help you re-negotiate, or just accept the condition of the home (it’s about a 50/50 mix). Interestingly, in the vast majority of the cases, the repairs are less than $500.00. If they are over $1,000, and higher (except for common things like a roof replacement, a higher cost item that isn’t overly technical) negotiations can prove difficult, but usually work out. It’s important to know, however, that when deals come apart, they usually come apart because of emotions, not large dollar amounts.
iv. Lead Based Paint period: If the property was constructed prior to 1978, a Lead-Based Paint Addendum will be given to the buyer and the buyer has 10 days to perform any inspections.
v. Property Disclosure Law: Buyer and Seller acknowledge that unless this transaction is otherwise exempted, Oregon law provides that buyer has a right to revoke Buyer’s offer by giving seller written notice within 5 business days after receipt of the Seller Property Disclosure.
There are few ins and outs of tracking and counting all of these timelines and it is the job of your Broker and the Copper West Properties Transaction Manager, to help you stay on track and within compliance of your contract. We are here to help!
3. Important Terms You Should Know
Personal Property: Not attached, moveable (i.e. furniture, pictures, stand-alone microwave)
Fixture: Attached to the structure, immovable (i.e. chandelier, blinds, built-ins)
AS-IS condition: Buyer assumes all risks of adverse conditions that may be discovered after closing. Please note: The AS-IS clause will NOT protect a seller from liability if known adverse conditions in the home are intentionally concealed from the buyer.
4. Both Buyers and Sellers sign documents at the Escrow company.
5. Documents go back for one final review, and about 48 hours after the last person has
signed, drumroll… You own a home!
Closing Day
If you have come this far, then this means that it is almost time for a congratulations, but not yet. Do not forget to tie up these loose ends:
Final Walk-Through Inspection.
More of a formality than anything else, the final inspection takes place a day before, or the day of the closing. You will visit the property to verify that all is in working order, everything is the same as when you last viewed the property, that there are no extra items left behind, and that everything included in your purchase is still at the property.
Home Services and Utilities.
We will provide a list of useful numbers (or you can click here) for the activation of home services and utilities after the closing occurs.
Be Prepared.
We are ready to assist you should an unforeseen glitch pop up, even at this last stage. Something at the property breaks down, or some other minor detail – no need to worry. We have encountered these problems before so we know how to handle them efficiently and in a stress-free manner.
Closing.
The closing agent will furnish all parties involved with a settlement statement, which summarizes and details the financial transactions enacted in the process. You and the seller(s) will sign this statement, as well as the closing agent, certifying its accuracy. If you are obtaining financing, you will have to sign all pertinent documentation required by the lending institution. If you are unable to attend the scheduled closing, arrangements can be made depending on the circumstances and the notice that we receive. If you are bringing funds to the transaction, you can elect to either have the funds wired electronically into the closing agent’s escrow account, or bring a certified bank check to the closing in the amount specified on the settlement statement. The seller should arrange to have all property keys and any other important information for you at the closing so that you may receive these items at this time.