First, speak to a mortgage broker to get a pre-qualification letter (which helps you determine the price range for your future home). Then, you work with a real estate agent to help you find a home to buy (purchaser real estate agents are typically paid by the seller through an agreement reached with the seller’s real estate agent). Depending on your budget and preference, you can exploring buying a single family home, a multi-family home, or a cooperative or condominium unit. Please feel free to contact me if you would like recommendations to residential real estate agents and/or mortgage brokers serving New York City and Westchester County.
Then, once you find a home you like, you can have your real estate agent put in an offer to the seller’s agent. If that offer is accepted (the seller’s agent can make a counteroffer and you can also submit a counteroffer to their counteroffer), then the seller’s attorney will prepare a contract to send to your real estate attorney for review. After the contract has been negotiated and finalized, you then provide a check for the downpayment simultaneous with contract signatures. When you get a copy of the fully signed contract, you can provide it to the mortgage broker for the loan application.
You then work with your mortgage broker to obtain a loan commitment letter from a bank, which binds the bank to offer you a loan to buy your property. An appraisal of the property will need to be performed by the bank. Title will also have to be cleared by the seller before you can purchase it. This typically includes obtaining a title report which shows a history of the property, having a survey of the property performed to confirm the exact dimensions of the property and obtaining title insurance.
Once you get a loan commitment letter, then you have to work to clear the contingencies raised in the loan commitment letter in order to get a “clear to close” from the bank. This will involve getting property and casualty insurance for your new home. Please feel free to contact me if you would like recommendations to property and casualty insurance agents serving New York City and Westchester County.
Once you have a “clear to close” from the bank, you can then work to schedule a closing date and coordinate your move in. Please feel free to contact me if you would like recommendations to moving companies serving New York City and Westchester County.
A final walkthrough is usually performed with your real estate agent to confirm that the seller is selling the property in the condition promised under the contract. You will also likely need to run to the bank before closing to get certified checks so be sure to factor that into your schedule leading up to the closing.