I highly recommend a buyer consultation for all buyers. The process of a buyer consultation starts with the buyer and I meeting at my office to go over the details of the home buying process. We will cover a variety of items, including everything from the offer to purchase contract to real estate terms and guidelines.
One common real estate term that buyer often get confused about is ‘earnest money’. Earnest money is collateral given to the sellers upon acceptance of the offer to purchase. This money, in the end, will go toward the down payment of your new property.
In our buyer consultation, we will also go over all the contingencies that may be in the contract. The most common contingencies are the financing contingency, the inspection contingency and the home sale contingency.
Although it is very important for me to teach the buyer about all these terms and the home buying process, this meeting is also meant for the buyer and I to interview one another. One of the main goals of this interview process is so that the buyer and I can decide on the buyer’s needs and their time frame. We want to make sure we have a comfortable, respectable relationship from the start, so that we can work through property search and ownership as smoothly as possible. If a buyer does not have a lender or a home inspector, I can also give several recommendations for them to choose from at this time.
All buyers should have a buyer inspection even if you are buying your second home. Terms and conditions are always changing.
Since June 1, 2009, Shorewood has been offering a “neighborhood improvement no interest loan program”. This is to meant encourage residence to take out loans through the village for home repairs and improvements. This two year program will help address condition of properties in need. There are four types of loans to borrow from and the pool of money for these loans consists of $346,500.
