These are all important questions that a knowledgeable and attentive agent will ask when they sit down and meet with you at their office. Sure you can have a realtor meet you at the end of the driveway open the front door and say do you want to buy it but in my opinion that is an agent looking to line their pockets. We want to be sure that you are in the care of a realtor who is going to take care of you from start all the way through to finish.
So what else do you need to know about buying a house? There are conditions that you should entertain, in the right market of course, to protect you. The first is the financing condition. This condition is usually five days and that would be business days. This is the time for you to meet with your mortgage broker with offer in hand to now get that approval. Remember, banks are conducting appraisals these days. The other most commonly used condition is the home inspection and again, this is a condition that is there to protect you to educate you about the home that you are looking to purchase. Home inspections generally cost $400-800 and represent a contract between you, the buyer, and the home inspector. Knowledge will only help you to make a firm buying decision. Make sure that these conditions are explained to you so you understand how they work and why they are being included in your offer to purchase.
There are a few other important points to go over. The deposit is held in trust account of the listing brokerage and that is there until the final closing. A deposit basically tells the seller how serious you are about buying their home and strength is given when you bring a certified deposit check. You have 24 hours from the acceptance of the offer to produce the deposit cheque. I strongly recommend that it be certified or a bank draft. The other important part of the offer is the closing date. This is the day that you will take possession of your property.
We cannot close Real Estate on weekends or stat holidays so ensure that is a day that will work with your schedule. Next are the items that will remain in the home for your purchase i.e. appliances, window coverings, electric light fixtures, furnace, air conditioner (make sure to know if any are rentals) anything that is movable or removable. You definitely want these items clearly stated on the offer. Any exclusions you want the realtor to ensure they go over with you so there are no surprises when you get your keys and find that what you thought was going to remain in the property isn’t there.You will need a lawyer for the closing. Title insurance is also required. Depending on where you are purchasing there is land transfer tax too. All of these should be duly noted in a realtors booklet to assist you in buying a home.
Remember to ask questions and think of this as a lifelong purchase. After all it’s not groceries you’re buying….it’s a dream come true! Make it a memorable one and choose a realtor who will help make it happen.