Buying your First Home: Concluding the Sale

Now that you have located a home and have confidence in its condition and value, it is time to move forward to signing the necessary papers. Here too there are steps you need to take, along with your real estate agent, to make sure your first home-buying experience will continue to be a good one.

Completing a detailed purchase agreement is an important step in buying your home. It will usually be written at the time of your offer. It stipulates how much you will pay for the property, what appliances, fixtures and furnishings from the home will remain after the sale, plus a move-in date. A thorough agreement is essential and should be completed with the help of your agent, Title Company or a real estate attorney. Imagine showing up for your first day in your new home and all the house contains is bare walls!

With your purchase agreement/offer you will also make a deposit to the property owner—usually a very small percentage of the offer, which is later applied to your down payment. Your realtor will hold this “earnest money” until your offer is accepted.

To process your home loan, you will also need to have homeowner’s insurance. If you already have renter’s insurance, you can arrange to upgrade your policy with your insurance agent. If you have no insurance experience, check with people who have made a claim on their policy. Was their agent responsive to their needs? Did they receive sufficient payment for their losses? Did the insurance company seek to help them meet their financial need or instead locate loopholes in the situation? For a first-time buyer this is again a matter for professional assistance from a reputable agent. If you are not dealing locally, your real estate agent can again be a great help in making recommendations.

Finally, you approach the closing. Closing costs will include the fees to transfer title for the property from the prior owner, plus whatever fees were mentioned when you arranged for your home loan. Your lender should always provide you with an estimate of your likely closing costs.

Before closing you should take a final walk-through of the property. Attend the closing along with your real estate agent. Other parties present may include the seller, your seller’s agent, representatives of the respective lenders, attorneys for those involved and a representative of the title company. After all the documents are signed and payments made, you will receive the keys to your new home.

These three articles have taken you through the basic steps of buying a home. Obviously, every situation cannot be covered in a set of articles. That leads us again to the importance of selecting a qualified real estate agent to assist you in your purchase. With an experienced agent you will find resolutions for your concerns and answers to your many questions about buying your first home.