Steps to Ownership
From Start to Finish!
We are here every step of the way!
1. Obtain Buyer Representation
Your Realtor is here to work with you! Be protected. How? Read our Buyer Services article for more information.
Understanding the Buyer Representation Agreement is an important step for any Buyer. Feel free to read through this explanatory form and call us with any questions! Buyer Representation Agreement. DISCLAIMER: 2020 Forms, Subject to Change.
2. View Properties
Your local RE/MAX agent will assist you in selecting and viewing properties that match your specific search criteria. At this stage, it is important for buyers to be honest in regards to their needs, wants and limitations.
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3. Make an Offer
Once you have found the home, cottage, commercial business or peice of land that suits you, i is time to make an offer! There are some important considerations while making offers.
It is important to fully understand the Agreement of Purchase and Sale! Discuss this with your Realtor!
Whether you are looking to purchase property in Tobermory, Sauble Beach, Owen Sound or anywhere in-between, we can help you.
Making an offer you can afford
This is where the rubber meets the road — and where your RE/MAX agent earns his or her stripes. After weeks or months of planning, preparing and searching, you’ve finally found a home on which you’re ready to make an offer.
It’s an exciting time, to be sure, but also one where emotions can easily come into play, particularly if you’ve found a home you love and really want.
Your RE/MAX agent will help you keep your emotions in check, balancing against the realities of the market. Think of it as a game of poker — you don’t want to be so excited that you tip your hand to the seller. Nor do you want to be too conservative and bid so low that you lose out.
If you’ve taken the important step of getting pre-approved for a mortgage, you know exactly how much you can afford, and are less likely to get caught up in a bidding war that will carry you above your price point.
Keeping your emotions in check
If you’ve done your research, received mortgage pre-approval, and looked at a good selection of houses with your RE/MAX agent, you’re going to feel well prepared and in control. Sure, you may really love this one house and desperately want it, but you should also remember that there are likely others just like it, or better, out there. And if that voice of reason doesn’t pop into your head at negotiation time, your RE/MAX agent will help caution you against letting your emotions get carried away.
Of course, the interest and potential competition for a property depends on market conditions. If it’s a buyer’s market, you hold the cards and you’ll be confident in knowing there are other options out there. If, however, it’s a seller’s market, acting fast to make an offer that you can afford and is acceptable to the seller is a combination of instinct, preparation, and the experience of your RE/MAX agent.
Avoiding bidding wars
Several factors are at play come offer time: price, which speaks for itself; inclusions, which cover exactly what is included in the deal, such as appliances; and other conditions such as closing date. You want the best combination of those items that suit you, as does the seller.
Then there are human relations. If you make an offer the seller deems insultingly low, for example, there may be nothing you can do to bring them to the negotiating table. After all, this is their home you’re buying, and quite often sellers still have emotional attachments to their home, even though they’ve decided to sell. It’s the job of your RE/MAX agent — as well as the seller’s agent — to navigate these often complex issues for both parties.
One of the most important tools you have when it comes time to make an offer is the comparables your RE/MAX agent generates from the Multiple Listings Service, or MLS. These are excellent snapshot reports into the recent sales activity of similar — comparable — properties in the same neighbourhood. You can see important information such as original and adjusted asking prices, number of days properties were on the market, listing agent history, and actual selling prices.Once you have this information, weighed against the details of the home you’re making an offer for, you will feel tremendously empowered to make an informed decision, and less likely to enter into a bidding war.
4. Closing
So you’ve made a successful offer to purchase with your RE/MAX agent on the home of your dreams — or at least taken that important first step toward home ownership. Now what?
Well, now there’s usually a bit of waiting, as closing periods typically take anywhere from several weeks to a few months. But there are some important things that need to happen right away.
Legal obligations
Once your offer has been accepted, there’s usually a conditional period, during which you take all the necessary steps with regard to financing, home inspection, and everything else that needs to happen before you officially seal the deal.
Your mortgage lender will need a copy of the offer to make sure everything is still in order and in keeping with your pre-approved level of financing.
And as we discussed in Costs from A to Z, this is when the home inspection takes place. You should accompany the inspector throughout this process, which takes about three hours, so you can learn as much as you can about the various systems in the home, from heating and plumbing to electrical and roofing. Importantly, the inspection may identify some repairs that need to be made, which may allow your RE/MAX agent to negotiate a lower purchase price or insist that the repairs be made at the seller’s expense before you proceed with the deal.
At the completion of the conditional period, with any adjustments or repairs made to your satisfaction, your RE/MAX agent will finalize the deal and your lawyer will process the paperwork, including the mortgage documents with your lender.All of this would point to a final date of actual legal possession — the real closing day, when:
- Your mortgage lender will provide the funds to your lawyer
- You pay all the remaining closing costs
- Your lawyer pays the seller and registers the home in your name
- You have all your insurance in place
Whether it’s weeks or months between finalizing the deal and actually moving in, it’s just a matter of planning your move: hiring a mover or renting a truck and doing it yourself; arranging services such as electricity and cable; rerouting your mail; and other moving essentials.
Congratulations!
You’ve done it! Welcome home!
Let us help guide you through buying a home, cottage, vacant land or business in Bruce & Grey County, including Sauble Beach, Red Bay, Tobermory & more!