The Attorney, Closing (or Escrow) Agent. Although actual procedures will vary
from state to state and province to province, some of the duties that will be
assumed by the Attorney or Closing Agent will be: · Coordination with the buyer,
the seller, and the Real Estate Agents involved in the transaction. ·
Preparation for transfer of the title or deed. Legally preparing for taking the
house out of the seller's name and putting it into the buyer's name. ·
Coordination with the lending institution. Receiving all paperwork from the
lender to be signed by the buyer. · Review of the Contract of Sale. Determining
that contractual obligations are met by both the buyer and the seller. ·
Responsible for filing with the proper government agency (e.g., the county) of
all items, such as the deed, that will become matters of public record. Legally
filing the change of ownership from the seller to the buyer. · Title Search.
Arranging to make certain that the title or deed is good and marketable. ·
Receipt, verification, and delivery of various funds. · Verification and review
of the various insurances associated with the ownership of Real Estate.
Mortgages Probably one of the reasons that buying a home is such an emotional
experience is because not only do you have the actual house buying to deal with,
but for most home buyers you also have the mortgage process to encounter.
This
can be a smooth and almost uneventful process, or an unnerving one. A great deal
depends on the preparation of the buyer as well as the selection of an efficient
mortgage company. What a Mortgage Payment Consists of 1) Principal: The
repayment of the original amount borrowed on a monthly basis. 2) Interest: The
cost of borrowing the principal amount, repaid on a monthly basis. 3) Taxes:
Real Estate taxes paid to a local government agency. 4) Insurance: Homeowners
insurance on the home. Also any mortgage insurance, which is paid to protect the
mortgage company. The total of these items is known as the PITI
(Principal/Interest/Taxes/Insurance) payment. Negotiating When it comes to Real
Estate matters, the 3 most important aspects of an effective negotiation are: 1)
Information 2) Preparation 3) Realism Information CMA's--Comparable Market
Analyses Once you have found a home that you are prepared to buy, the first step
in your process of negotiation is to determine the fair value for the home. Your
Agent can be of great help here, since Real Estate Agents have access to the
information that you need: Comparable Market Analyses (CMAs). A CMA will show
exactly what properties similar to the one in which you have an interest have
sold for. These analyses are based on fact, rather than opinion, and that
information will always be of more value to you. Generally, CMAs will list
houses in a particular location that are currently on the market, have sales
pending on them, have expired from the market, and have sold. Be forewarned: it
is primarily the SOLD properties that you need to be concerned with. What houses
are on the market for is not always a good indication of what their value is,
those that have pending sales will only tell you what the listing price is (not
what it is going to sell for) and those that have expired because they haven't
sold may indicate that they didn't move because they were overpriced.
Preparation Just having the right information is not enough.
