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The Buying Process
Over the years we have developed a system to help you purchase a home that saves you time and effort.
It starts with a FREE, no obligation, initial consultation meeting where you and the agent discuss exclusive buyer agency, what you have done up to this point in your home search, the area you are interested in, your time table, specifics about the home's features, and financing the purchase. After the consultation meeting, we enter into a Buyer Agency Agreement.
 Next, you get pre-approved from a lending institution. Pre-approval means giving your paperwork to a lender who will then issue you a commitment letter for a mortgage.
Next, we do a search for properties based on the detailed description of your dream house given at the initial consultation. We search the Multiple Listing System (MLS), discount brokerage websites, for sale by owner (FSBO) websites and newspapers. We only show you homes that match what you are looking for.
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Next, you drive by the homes. If any of these homes appeal to you on the outside, we set up an appointment to go inside them.
At this point, if you like one of these homes, we will write up an Offer to Purchase. We write the Offer to Purchase with the best price and terms for you, the buyer. We determine a negotiating strategy and negotiate on your behalf. In some homes we recommend that the seller obtain a CLUE report on the home to see if there is a problem with obtaining house insurance. If the houses were not what you were looking for, we discuss the houses and make adjustments to the search process and go from there.
After the Offer to Purchase is accepted, there is a period of usually ten to fourteen days to have your inspections and tests done. We recommend only the toughest home inspectors in the business [ certified by the ASHI ] . www.ashi.com
If the home is not in the shape you want it to be, you don’t have to buy it. A few days after the inspection period is over, you and the seller sign a Purchase and Sale Agreement. In Massachusetts, the Real Estate Board Purchase and Sale Agreement (P&S) is written in the seller's favor right off the press, so you need an attorney to make changes to the Agreement so you are properly protected.
Next, you officially apply for a loan. An appraisal of the property is ordered and completed. A new commitment letter is issued.
Before the property can close, there are a few tasks to be done by the buyer such as:
Obtain hazard insurance
Put the home's utilities in your name
Obtain a bank check for the money owed at closing (the amount of the check is provided by the closing attorney)
Finally, the BIG day arrives - the closing. The closing usually takes place at the closing attorney's office or sometimes at the Registry of Deeds. You will sign many papers. The closing takes about an hour and, when it's all over, you are the new owner of a home!
Two to four weeks after the closing, we contact you to see how things are going and to see if we can help you in any way.
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