Congratulations on your decision to buy a home! This is, undoubtedly, one of the most exciting decisions of your lives, and we are committed to providing you, our clients, with the highest level of service so that you are completely satisfied with your home buying experience.
As your Realtors, we will:
- Custom-tailor your home search.
- Provide you with a comprehensive inventory of available homes.
- Provide you with an extensive listing of properties recently sold.
- Provide you with neighborhood/area snapshots.
- Provide you with school reports.
- Provide you with street maps.
- Provide you with transportation information.
- Help you sell your current home.
- Coordinate and oversee every step of your purchase.
In addition to providing you with the most comprehensive service possible, here at Miron Properties, we are dedicated to making the purchasing process as straightforward and smooth as possible and to ensuring that you feel confident in your understanding of this process every step of the way.
The 10 Step Purchasing Process:
- Presenting the Offer – contract & good faith deposit.All offers are usually presented in contract form. This means that you will sign a contract for sale with the terms of your offer carefully spelled out. You will also include a good faith deposit. This good faith deposit will be held in your Broker’s Trust Account during negotiations. Normally, both the listing agent and the agent presenting the offer meet with the seller to go over the terms of the offer in detail. The financial qualifications of the buyers, their motivations, and their circumstances will be presented to the prospective seller. At Miron Properties, we will help to present an offer with the lowest price and best possible terms for you, our clients.
- Negotiating Terms and Conditions – counter-offers by both Seller and Buyer.
Once the initial offer has been presented, the seller can accept, reject, or counter-offer the proposal. The negotiating process may be short and smooth, or drawn-out and complicated. At Miron Properties, we will advocate zealously on your behalf – we work tirelessly for our clients. - Agreement – “meeting of the minds” – Buyer and Seller signing the contract.
You and the sellers have agreed upon the purchase price and terms of the sale, and have both signed the contract. A copy of the signed contract should be immediately given to all parties involved, as well as the attorneys. You will need an original copy of the contract with original signatures, in case the bank requests it. - Attorney Review Period – attorneys review and revise the contract.
Attorney Review gives you the right and the necessary time to take your contract to a lawyer for his/her review. The Attorney Review Clause should be clearly printed in the contract. It is not unusual for attorneys to extend this three-day review period so that clauses can be added to the contract or clauses in the contract can be changed. At Miron Properties, we will help you find a real estate attorney who will ensure that your contract will best protect your interests. - Home Inspection – structural, termite, radon, lead paint, asbestos, mold, etc.
As the purchaser, it is your right and responsibility to inspect the home. The contract should have clauses that deal with the home inspection and specify an amount of time wherein such inspections will occur. Normally, a buyer is given two weeks to get the inspections completed. Should you need more time, your attorney will contact the seller’s attorney and they will, then, arrive at an amended time frame. Typically, home inspections include structural, termite, and radon inspections. At Miron Properties we will help you find a home inspector that will do a thorough and complete inspection of your potential home. - Balance of Deposit– balance of the 10% (or agreed upon amount) deposit is due within 10 days (or agreed upon date) of final contract.
Once inspections have been completed, the balance of the deposit (usually 10%, unless another amount is mutually agreed upon) is usually due. Both the home inspections and deposit are coordinated such that a buyer does not have to send the deposit until the home has passed inspection. As a result, once the deposit is in, only the mortgage contingency remains to be met. You will send the deposit money to your attorney, who will then send it to the seller’s attorney. The seller’s attorney will keep the deposit money in a trust account until the closing. The good faith deposit (usually $1,000) will be released to the seller’s attorney as part of the deposit as soon as the Broker receives an attorney’s letter directing him to do so. At Miron Properties, we will make sure that you understand what each step in the process means and what you need to do, every step of the way. - The Mortgage Process – application, satisfaction of all requirements and completion of necessary paperwork, notification of pre-approval, conditional commitment and, finally, “clear to close” commitment.
Once inspections are completed, you will apply for your mortgage. Banks approve a mortgage application based on an applicant’s financial ability and on an appraisal of the home being mortgaged. A bank normally takes two to three weeks to send out a written mortgage commitment, after the application and all the necessary documentation have been received. Once the written commitment is in, your attorney will order a title search and a survey, if he hasn’t already done so. At Miron Properties, we will help you find a mortgage broker that will best suit your mortgage needs. - Walk-Through Inspection – prior to closing purchaser re-inspects property.
As the purchaser, you have the right to inspect the home just prior to the closing to make certain that the home is in the condition that was required in the contract. Normal expectations are that the house and grounds have been maintained in the condition they were at the time of contract, that all personal belongings and/or debris have been removed, that the home is vacant, and that it is in broom-clean condition, unless otherwise specified in the contract. At Miron Proerties, we will be alongside you through this last inspection to ensure that everything about the house is exactly as you wish it to be. - The Closing – title is transferred, financing documents and title insurance policies are exchanged and agreed upon costs are paid. You get the key to your new home!
At the closing, the deed will be conveyed and the title will pass on to you. The seller will give you the keys to your home, and both you and the seller will receive a statement (known as RESPA, or a closing statement) in which the disbursement of all moneys is clearly shown. A normal closing on a single-family house takes approximately 1 hour. At Miron Properties, we will be with you at the closing to make sure that all of your questions are answered and that your final step before you own your new home is stress free.Congratulations – Congratulations! You are now the proud owner of your new home!
Once you leave the closing, you can move into your new home! At Miron Properties, we are honored to have worked with you to find your dream home! We are always here to answer any questions you might have and to meet any of your real estate needs in the future!
Ruth Miron-Schleider, a long-time resident of Bergen County, has been a real estate broker for over 3 decades. She is the Owner and Managing Director of MIRON PROPERTIES. Ruth is a Certified Residential Specialist, an e-PRO Internet Professional and an Accredited Buyer Representative. She is a member of the Eastern Bergen Board of Realtors, National Association of Counselors, the Senior Advantage Real Estate Council, and the Graduate Realtor Institute.
Ruth has been the Recipient of Circle of Excellence Award every single year since 1999, and the recipient of Reader’s Choice #1 Real Estate Agent Award every single year since 2015.
For a complimentary consultation, call Ruth at MIRON PROPERTIES, 201.266.8555 (office), 201.906.6024 (direct), or contact her via e-mail: Ruth@MironProperties.com.
Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed, subject to errors and omissions.
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