Planning and preparation are keys to all endeavors. Pelletier Realty Group handles every real estate transaction as unique, requiring our full attention to details. Whether you are a seasoned real estate investor looking for a bank owned property and short sale or buying your first home Pelletier Realty Group is committed to your success.
Visualize Your Future → Outline Your Needs → Talk to a Real Estate Agent → Determine Your Financing → Search For Your Property → View Property → Contract → Home Inspection → Appraisal → CLOSING → Moving into Your New home
You will be prepared and know the next step in your real estate transaction well before it happens. Pelletier Realty Group will be busy addressing the details so you can be busy planning your move to your new home. Call Pelletier Realty today for your specific Time Line to Purchase Real Estate Outline 603-529-2020.
- Review Pelletier Realty Group's tips for house hunters below for some additional advice you may find useful.
- Review Pelletier Realty Group's advice for buying your first home AKA Starter Home.
Pelletier Realty Group's Home Evaluation Worksheet
In your search for the perfect home, some features will be more important than others. Pelletier Realty Group's worksheet can help you keep track of the different homes you see. It works like a score sheet to help you evaluate properties. Click the link to the left and print one sheet for each house you are interested in.
Pelletier Realty Group's Tips for House Hunters
Buying a home can be an emotional process and while you can't completely remove the emotions involved in purchasing a new home it is important to keep your goals in perspective. We sometimes want what we can't have and often aim too high straining our purse strings. Identify and write down what you need and then when you find the house that meets your needs write down what the property also has for features you want.
- Identify what you need. Why are you moving to begin with? Do you need a short commute, more bedrooms, and large yard? Make a list of what you need and prioritize them. If you are moving to gain living space, what living space - bedrooms, kitchen or baths? Determine your needs for the location, style, size, age and condition of your new home.
- What features would you like but don't have to have. If you have always wanted to have a fireplace but don't feel it is essential for you to purchase a property, and you find a property meeting your other search criteria, which has other items on your wish list, it may still be the right house for you.
Buy the floor plan not the decor. Try to visualize the property without the owner’s furnishings and decorating. Although the decor of a room can help you see its potential, it may be deceiving as to how you would actually use the room. Picture your furniture in the room and picture your family living there. Do you really need that 4th bedroom or inground pool? How does your family live now? What would accentuate your lifestyle.- Consider the upkeep. Sometimes the property that has it all can also consume all your free time to maintain it. Ask the owner for the costs involved with owning the property. You should be able to review fuel bills, electricity, property taxes water and sewer bills and service contracts such as landscaping, plowing or pool maintenance. Knowing the age of the systems and house structures such as the roof, septic and furnace is also helpful in determining the efficiency and possible replacement costs. Most Sellers provide a property disclosure (pdf of form) that answers numerous questions about what the Seller knows about their property and gives some costs associated with it.
- Hire a Home inspector. Even though the Sellers disclosure is informative the home inspection is a wealth of knowledge. This is a hands on see for your self lesson on the property you are about to own. Home inspectors are trained to see and identify the condition and factual aspects not the cosmetic or personal perceptions. Most home inspectors are a part of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors. Try to hire a home inspector who includes photos in their report. This can be especially helpful when negotiating repairs in order to identify to the Seller where and what repair is needed..
- View more then one property. In order to gain perspective and comparisons you need to see at least three properties. It’s also a good idea to view one below, one above and one in the middle of your price range. You should also know what has recently sold in the neighborhood. You don't necessarily want be the most expensive house on the street that increases others value while your value stays flat.
- Narrow down your search and investigate the property and the neighborhoods. Visit the property a second time and measure rooms open closets and storage areas you may have missed the first time through. Drive by the property at different times of the day and check the commuting time.
- Finding the right Realtor for you. Treat your meeting as a job interview and determine how knowledgeable the agent is and whether they will be providing the best service for you. Have they listened to what you requested? Did they take the time to address your needs and wants? What services can they offer?
- Get preapproved for financing before you start looking.f Knowing your true price range can take the mystery out of looking. The Seller will respect your offer and be more willing to negotiate knowing you have done your homework and are serious. Being pre-approved also takes the last minute stress of fin ding financing in order to submit an offer on the house you truly want. A general rule of thumb is your mortgage payment should be approximately one third of your gross income. If possible try to have 6 months of mortgage payments in a savings account for an emergency account.
- Be prepared for your closing day. In the process of financing your lender should give you a Good Faith Estimate, itemizing the estimated closing costs, pre-paids and down payment. Your total estimated mortgage payment should also be on this form. You should have a good idea of what funds will be required to close. The title company should be able to provide you with an Alta Settlement Statement form 48 hours prior to closing.