What To Expect When Buying a House. Unlike Cooperatives (Co-ops) and Condominiums (Condos) there are no Boards to meet or approvals to get.
If you plan on financing your purchase we recommend you seek a pre-approval for financing before starting your search for a property. Once you have identified the House you want to purchase and your real estate broker has submitted an offer, it will now be the time to call a real estate attorney (212.265.4900).
At this time you also want to have a home inspection performed on the House. This should be done within a day or so of an accepted offer. A good inspector should examine certain components of the home you want to purchase and then produce a report covering his or her findings. They will inspect all interior (plumbing, electrical, HVAC, water heater, fire safety, etc.) and exterior (walls, foundation, grading, garage, roof, etc.). If problems are found that are too significant or too expensive to fix, you can choose to walk away from the purchase. For problems large or small, you can ask the seller to fix them, reduce the purchase price, or to give you a cash credit at closing to fix the problems yourself.
Once we receive the Contract of Sale from the Seller’s attorney we will confirm all of the information and negotiate the contract on your behalf. Once the negotiation is finished and we have gone over our due diligence with you, you will sign the Contract. The Contract, along with your down payment check (typically 10% of the purchase price), is then sent to the Seller’s attorney for the Seller’s signature. Once the Sellers have signed and the down payment check has been deposited into the Seller’s attorney’s escrow account you are “In Contract”. Your Contract will probably have an on or about closing date, however in New York, a reasonable period generally accepted to be around 30 days, is given to both parties to close.
Once you are “In Contract” we order a Title Search from an abstract company. The Title report will disclose all land records against the property including all previously recorded deeds (the deed chain), mortgages, judgments against the seller, easements, and other liens affecting the property. The Title report will also contain “municipal searches” which include search results from the department of buildings violations records, real estate taxes paid and unpaid, water and sewer payments made or not made, emergency repairs done by the city and so on. The title report will also contain a federal and state tax lien search as well as a bankruptcy search, so you can be sure that the seller can convey the real estate.
Once we receive the report, depending on what is in it, we will work with the abstract company and Seller’s attorney to clear any issues.
If you will be financing the purchase, once In-Contract, you will work with your mortgage representative to obtain your loan. It is important to remember that if you do not have a mortgage contingency your inability to obtain financing will not let you cancel the Contract of Sale. If you do have a mortgage contingency clause, typically 30-45 days from the “contract date”, and are unable to secure financing, you can cancel the Contract of Sale and receive your down payment back. The loan commitment letter will be issued with a few conditions that you will need to satisfy prior to closing. Typically once the loan commitment letter has been issued by the lender your contingency period expires. If you are unable to obtain a loan commitment letter in the contingency period you will be able to terminate the contract (a seller may grant you an extension of the contingency period).
Once you have satisfied all of your loan conditions and obtained a clear to close from the lender l it is time to schedule the closing. We will work with the Seller’s attorney and Lender’s attorney to schedule a mutually agreeable time.
Prior to closing you and your real estate broker will schedule an inspection of the house. During this inspection you should turn on all light switches and appliances and check the windows and walls for any damage that was not there when you signed the contract.
Prior to closing we will send you a statement that will show guide you through all the steps of the closing from what documents you will need to bring to what checks will need to be written.
Once closing day comes around we will explain all of the relevant documents to you prior to signing them. After closing you will receive a binder from us containing all of the relevant documents from the transaction.
You then get to live happily ever after in your new house until of course it is time to sell and buy a new property. When that time comes we hope you will give us a call again.
If you plan on financing your purchase we recommend you seek a pre-approval for financing before starting your search for a property. Once you have identified the House you want to purchase and your real estate broker has submitted an offer, it will now be the time to call a real estate attorney (212.265.4900).
At this time you also want to have a home inspection performed on the House. This should be done within a day or so of an accepted offer. A good inspector should examine certain components of the home you want to purchase and then produce a report covering his or her findings. They will inspect all interior (plumbing, electrical, HVAC, water heater, fire safety, etc.) and exterior (walls, foundation, grading, garage, roof, etc.). If problems are found that are too significant or too expensive to fix, you can choose to walk away from the purchase. For problems large or small, you can ask the seller to fix them, reduce the purchase price, or to give you a cash credit at closing to fix the problems yourself.
Once we receive the Contract of Sale from the Seller’s attorney we will confirm all of the information and negotiate the contract on your behalf. Once the negotiation is finished and we have gone over our due diligence with you, you will sign the Contract. The Contract, along with your down payment check (typically 10% of the purchase price), is then sent to the Seller’s attorney for the Seller’s signature. Once the Sellers have signed and the down payment check has been deposited into the Seller’s attorney’s escrow account you are “In Contract”. Your Contract will probably have an on or about closing date, however in New York, a reasonable period generally accepted to be around 30 days, is given to both parties to close.
Once you are “In Contract” we order a Title Search from an abstract company. The Title report will disclose all land records against the property including all previously recorded deeds (the deed chain), mortgages, judgments against the seller, easements, and other liens affecting the property. The Title report will also contain “municipal searches” which include search results from the department of buildings violations records, real estate taxes paid and unpaid, water and sewer payments made or not made, emergency repairs done by the city and so on. The title report will also contain a federal and state tax lien search as well as a bankruptcy search, so you can be sure that the seller can convey the real estate.
Once we receive the report, depending on what is in it, we will work with the abstract company and Seller’s attorney to clear any issues.
If you will be financing the purchase, once In-Contract, you will work with your mortgage representative to obtain your loan. It is important to remember that if you do not have a mortgage contingency your inability to obtain financing will not let you cancel the Contract of Sale. If you do have a mortgage contingency clause, typically 30-45 days from the “contract date”, and are unable to secure financing, you can cancel the Contract of Sale and receive your down payment back. The loan commitment letter will be issued with a few conditions that you will need to satisfy prior to closing. Typically once the loan commitment letter has been issued by the lender your contingency period expires. If you are unable to obtain a loan commitment letter in the contingency period you will be able to terminate the contract (a seller may grant you an extension of the contingency period).
Once you have satisfied all of your loan conditions and obtained a clear to close from the lender l it is time to schedule the closing. We will work with the Seller’s attorney and Lender’s attorney to schedule a mutually agreeable time.
Prior to closing you and your real estate broker will schedule an inspection of the house. During this inspection you should turn on all light switches and appliances and check the windows and walls for any damage that was not there when you signed the contract.
Prior to closing we will send you a statement that will show guide you through all the steps of the closing from what documents you will need to bring to what checks will need to be written.
Once closing day comes around we will explain all of the relevant documents to you prior to signing them. After closing you will receive a binder from us containing all of the relevant documents from the transaction.
You then get to live happily ever after in your new house until of course it is time to sell and buy a new property. When that time comes we hope you will give us a call again.