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Alternative Energy Specialists
Elderly / Assisted Living / Families
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The Counseling Session is a free Consultation with a professional so that you can get an overview of the home search/purchase process and a detailed description of what a Buyer Agent can, and cannot do for you. Q. Are you currently contractually represented by a buyer’s agent? As you may well know an affirmative code of ethics and state license law prohibit me from interfering with any exclusive agency relationship you may already have in place. If you are not already committed to an exclusive agency agreement with another buyer agent, I'd like to set up a Buyer Counseling Session with you. Conversely, to get you in homes right away, you may choose to read through this information ahead of time and just give a call to my home office and we can cover any of your questions on the phone. OR, we can sit down and go through it all together before we go out looking at houses, whichever you prefer.
Agency Choices In most states all Realtors can act as buyer agents, (with a signed agreement) until they show one of their firms listings, then they are acting as a dual agent, and must treat both parties equally. Because they are contractually bound to represent the seller’s best interests, by law, a Dual Agent CAN NOT advocate for the buyer! That agent can’t disclose to you any confidential information he knows about the seller’s, their motivation, financial situation or urgency to sell. Working with a dual agent is like asking you to ask your boss to negotiate your next raise for you, or you asking a car salesman to negotiate the best deal on a car he is selling you. So why would you hire a listing agent to negotiate the best deal on a property their firm is selling? For that matter, why would you hire a listing agent to represent you as a buyer, knowing full well that if you become interested in one of their firm’s listings, your agent CAN NOT represent your best interests. There is only one way to avoid dual agency and that is by hiring an Exclusive Buyer Agent (EBA) who represents Buyers and only Buyers 100% of the time. Only an EBA can show you every home on the market that fits your needs and negotiate on any of the homes as the buyer’s advocate EVERY time, with no conflict of interest. The only way we may be faced with a “dual agency” situation is if both you and another of our agent’s clients are interested in negotiating an offer on the same house. If this situation arises, our broker will provide a “designated agent” for each buyer client to insure that all confidentialities are maintained. Because home buyer’s taste in homes is so diverse, everyone’s home search is different. That’s why a dual agency situation has never arisen in our brokerage!!! EBA's must treat sellers fairly, however, they owe no loyalty to any seller. EBA's work for you the Buyer and apply their experience to get the best results for the Buyer all the time. EBA’s have no listing contracts, no seller clients and therefore will never get the listing side of the commission. For this reason, they have absolutely no motivation to steer you towards, or try to sell you any particular property. We show you every property that might fit your needs, give you an objective evaluation of each and you make all of the decisions. We don’t care who’s home you buy, only that it is right for you. We locate, evaluate and negotiate for buyers only.
Our Client Fiduciary Duties Representation gives you benefits. Above all, a buyer's agent owes the following fiduciary (legal) duties to his client: 1) Obedience to your lawful instruction: What you direct us to do, we are required to do, (provided it is legal). 2) Loyalty: We are to put your best interests above our own. (We are there to help you purchase what is right for you; we are not there to sell you something). 3) Disclosure: Whatever we learn about a property and the sellers, good or bad, we tell you. 4) Confidentiality: Our highest responsibility, we disclose nothing about you, your finances, motivation, etc. unless you authorize us to disclose specific information. 5) Accountability: For your moneys and paperwork: Everything is handled with the utmost speed and efficiency, contingency dates are met, moneys are put into escrow accounts where they belong in accordance to law. 6) Reasonable skill and care is provided in the handling of all of your business. I will protect you from all foreseeable risks of harm and recommend that you get expert advice when your needs are outside the scope of my expertise, (i.e.: attorney, mortgage broker). These are the basic duties a buyer's agent has to his client. Every homebuyer should know, understand and expect them from their agent. I feel that as your agent both myself, and anyone that I refer to you provides all of the above and at least a little more. If you haven't already discussed these things with a prospective agent, you would be wise to ask them, "As my agent, what are your fiduciary duties to me"?
What we can do for you: Provide you with info regarding the process, property and market conditions Direct you to other professionals that have info you need to make good, educated decisions Advise, guide, advocate and provide our opinions Identify options and their possible effects Help you plan a strategy to negotiate and counter-offer Disclose all known material facts and defects about a property Disclose everything we may know about the owners, their situation and motivation Direct you to Board of Education and independent web sites for school data Direct you to Town Hall for info on any/all planned future development that might affect current or future property values Direct you to police and independent we pages for safety/crime statistics Inform you of the process to get info from seller regarding any deaths by natural causes or otherwise, aids or ghosts if you want to know Help you get loan program info
We Can’t Make your decisions for you or take responsibility for any of your bad decisions. Tell you any confidential info about any of our other clients. Guarantee to help you buy property below market value. Take advantage of you or your situation. Violate State, Federal or Fair Housing Laws when we help you buy or rent a property. It is also our obligation to report any Acts of Discrimination. Hide or Misrepresent any Material Facts or Defects about a property or pretend they don’t exist Choose the Neighborhood or Community you should be living in Tell you if the area is Safe Tell you what School Systems are better than others Be sure what planning and zoning will really do Tell you if anyone who lived at the property died there from a murder, suicide, had HIV or if it’s haunted Collect any Kickbacks or Rebates from any professionals that we may recommend Buyer Agreement When you are ready to select me as your Buyer Agent, and our firm to represent your interests, written authorization is required by Connecticut Law before I can begin to do any work on your behalf The contract will be described in detail so that you understand what is expected of all parties involved If you have an Attorney, all blank forms can be forwarded in advance for a comprehensive review Our agreement doesn’t have to be a long-term arrangement unless you prefer that. Who Pays the Fee? Agents are usually paid from the Listing Broker who offers the property for sale on behalf of their Listed Seller Clients. When no other Broker is involved and you buy a property directly from an owner, our fee will be included in your offer amount. It is paid to us at the closing from the proceeds of the sale just like the bank, the attorneys & all other professionals involved in the transaction.
Confidentiality This is our Highest Obligation to a Client Always remember that anything you say to us regarding your situation, motivation, finances, etc., as your Exclusive Buyer Agent, will always remain completely confidential
Dual Representation Since Buyer's Trust takes no listings we can only be in dual agency if two of our buyer clients are negotiating on the same property. We do not treat either client any differently since we are required to maintain confidentiality for all our clients. Our objective is to have all Clients satisfied with our service so we continue to receive client referrals from everyone.
Pre-Qualification We will assist you in getting Pre-Qualified or Pre-Approved, with Lenders, for the type of mortgage you desire Being pre-qualified will strengthen your negotiating position with sellers. By getting pre - qualified first, you will be in a better position to have your offer accepted. It will also prevent the disappointment of finding that perfect home, and then discovering it is beyond your financial reach. Qualification Letters Your Lender will issue one of two types of letters regarding your financial qualification The first may be a pre-qualification letter based upon an interview with a loan officer The other would be a credit pre-approval based upon evaluation of your credit report and financial details of your loan, interest rate, terms & mortgage request by a loan officer and/or an underwriter. In the eyes of the seller a buyer that has taken the time to get pre-approved is a cash buyer. Typically the only thing a bank requires to give a full mortgage commitment is an acceptable appraisal of the property. This is your strongest position to be in when negotiating with the seller.
Lending Process The Lender will inform you what financial documents to bring to the meeting and provide you with a list of any other additional items you will need to provide An appraiser will inspect the property and determine its market value With the application filed & the loan in process, you may not hear from the lender for some time until another need arises for information or a disposition is issued
We will
monitor the situation and if problems arise, we will work with your Loan
Originator and Attorney to resolve them for you
Loan Origination Once the Inspection process has been fully explored, the mortgage process begins with the application The application can be taken in any location that is convenient for you and the Loan Originator
Property Search Once you've selected the right mortgage program, you will need to determine your target purchase price range As EBA's we will not try to sell you the most expensive home you can afford, instead, we follow your instructions for price range limits We will help you assess your property needs, wants and wishes so that a strategy can be implemented to match those needs with housing inventory.
Search Process We will provide you with an inventory of properties in your price range and ask you to drive by them Make note of all properties that may interest you even if they are not for sale Keep a log with your notes for reference purposes If the selections within your Price Range are not satisfactory you may have to re-assess your purchase timetable or your town preference or both. We will not ask you to expand your price range, you must decide on that.
Showing Appointments Once you have made your property selections, we will make the appointments at times that are mutually convenient You need to reserve our time in advance so that we can give you the undivided attention that your home search deserves.
Touring Property Together we will tour all of the properties on your selection list until you find the right one Finding the property is the easy part! As your Agent, our job starts when you find the right property for you and your family.
Determining Range of Value When you've made a final choice, we will demonstrate to you a property's probable range of value by preparing a Market Analysis for you. Comparable property will be analyzed & many variables will be considered.
Supply & Demand The price you pay will depend on many things You will probably pay market value and sometimes more depending on the Market's Conditions, amount of available inventory and buyers in the marketplace.
Offer Process When you are ready, we will help you make a written offer on the property you have decided is right for you. The offer will contain all terms, conditions and contingencies to protect your interests in addition to all required disclosures and pre-qualification letters, which accompany an offer One of these disclosures is a signed property condition disclosure completed by the seller, which you review, and sign. This form is not a warranty and is no substitute for thorough property inspections
Writing the Offer For your protection, your offer should include Environmental, Building Inspection and Mortgage Contingencies If you must sell your current house in order to purchase the new one, a Hubbard clause will be a part of the offer. Any additional or specific concerns can be addressed in advance with language provided by your Attorney if needed.
Understanding the Offer to Purchase All terms will be discussed with you in detail so that you will understand all of the components of the Offer to Purchase, Lead Paint Disclosure, Agency Disclosure, Property Condition Disclosure, etc. Offer to Purchase (Realtors Negotiate following their clients' directive): It is very important to understand that the offer to purchase is NOT a contract. It is a unilateral offer to buy a home for an offering price IF buyer and seller can agree in the future on the condition of the property and issues arising thereof, and IF the buyer can obtain favorable financing.): - Purchase price as set by the buyer on initial offer. - 1% "earnest money" check written to "Buyer's Trust Escrow" is Presented with Offer to Purchase but stays in our escrow until offer is accepted. - Personal property to be included - Appliances - Window treatments - Swimming pool - Shed - Any other as "requested" Buyer - Mortgage contingency (date by which financing is to be obtained), allows us an "out" if we've any problem getting financing. - Type of mortgage (conventional, FHA, CHFA, VA) - Inspection contingency (deadline for objections on condition of property). After buyer and seller agree on a purchase price "in principal", we will get a signed, accepted offer. We then hire our inspector(s) to go in and help us identify any problems that may affect what we consider the value of the property to be. - Building - Radon/radon in water - Termite/Pest - In-ground fuel tank - Lead paint (homes built before 1978) - Septic - Water -"Ping Pong" clause: allows us to return our results of inspection to the seller, ask that specific problems be remedied by seller, or we get a monetary credit for those items. The seller then has a couple days to respond to our requests, to let us know what they intend to fix or what moneys they will agree to credit us. We then have a couple of days to review seller's response and renegotiate or walk away from the seller. If we have a "meeting of the minds" with the seller regarding the property condition and any of it's issues, then we proceed towards contracts. - Property Disclosure Statement (Seller to provide to Buyer, buyer reads and signs as acknowledgement of having read and understanding what the buyer represents regarding the property condition). - Lead Paint Disclosure Statement (Seller to provide to Buyer, buyer reads and signs as acknowledgement of having read and understanding what the buyer represents regarding lead paint presence at the property). - Anticipated closing date (to be confirmed with mortgage company after written commitment letter is obtained and all bank requirements satisfied) Decision Support Possible negotiating strategies will be fully discussed with you What to Offer, How to Counter, What & How Much to ask for, terms that are flexible or fixed Every decision is yours to make and generally, you the Buyer determine the price Nothing has ever been sold without a Buyer! We follow your instructions but can't control the outcome of negotiations We will present offers directly to a seller if it is warranted
Lost Properties If the Negotiation is not successful, you continue reviewing all available properties meeting your criteria Our process of showing you the available inventory will continue even after a successful negotiation to insure you are informed of all properties meeting your needs
Securing Signatures If your offer was successful, our job is to ensure that all parties’ signatures & initials are complete on the offer to purchase and that contracts are to go to your attorney Copies will then be given to you, your attorney, your Lender, and anyone else you deem appropriate
Inspection Process
- Buyer
to obtain as desired and/or required by mortgage company Inspections are to be performed in a short window of time, usually 5 days You may select any Home Inspector(s) you wish or ask for recommendations This is your opportunity to have an objective professional opinion and we will supervise the inspection itself with you present. The Seller's Agent may also be present for inspections but they aren't allowed to interfere with the process. If structural or mechanical deficiencies are discovered, the inspector will note that in the report Copies of the report will be given to you and us. We will review the report with you, help you assess your options & prepare an appropriate written response
Survey
Condominium Re-Sale Certificate
Finalizing Repairs A written list of required or desired repairs will be forwarded to the Seller and their Listing Agent, along with a copy of the pertinent section of the report detailing the deficient items When all parties agree on the repair items, that addendum will be signed
Title Search
Final Phases We will assist you in making sure that all of your deadline dates are either met or extended in a timely manner.
Closing Process When your mortgage has been formally committed, you will receive written verification The closing process will then begin The Attorneys for both clients will make arrangements for a closing 'on or about' the date in the contract. Outstanding loan documents must be forwarded Utilities will need to be called to setup accounts for you as the new owner
· Proof of insurance (binder or declarations page) and paid receipt for first year’s premium to be provided to Bank/mortgage Company and Buyer’s attorney prior to closing.
Pre- Closing Inspection Prior to the closing, we will guide you through a Pre-Closing Inspection of the property It verifies that all fixtures detailed in the contract are still there and that the property is in relatively clean condition subject to normal wear and tear
The Closing
Adjustments to purchase price at closing:
CLOSING COSTS:
POST CLOSING
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