Buying in New Hampshire: the process from start to finish

 

First, determine your budget. This prevents you from shopping out of your price range. It is heartbreaking to find out that the house you love is just too expensive. Alternatively, you may not have to settle for a home with only one bathroom when you really want two. Feel free to consult a few different lenders. You will be working closely with your lender throughout the process, so make sure the person you choose is someone who you won’t mind calling you multiple times a day should a problem arise. Also, you may get different preapproval amounts, different rates and different loan programs from different lenders, so it’s worth it to shop around. Ask your lender to prepare a preapproval letter. If you can submit a preapproval with an offer, you offer may carry more weight with a seller than an offer without it.

 

When you know what you can spend, you are ready to begin your search. Try to determine in advance what property attributes are the most important to you. What geographic area do you want to be in? How many bedrooms and bathrooms do you need? Do you need a bedroom on the main level? Are there home styles (i.e. chalet, ranch, contemporary) that you just can’t stand or absolutely love? Do you need privacy? Views? The more you know about what you want, the easier it will be to find the right property. Hone in on what you like by looking at homes on real estate websites. Real estate sites advertise all the homes that are on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), so you will see all available homes on every agency’s website. When you find a site that is easy to use, stick with it. They all show the same listings.

 

After you have narrowed down a list of homes, it is time to contact a REALTOR™. Realtors can act as listing agents and/or buyer agents. You can research local agents by reading their bios on the various real estate agency websites. You will want to look for someone who specializes in buyer agency. This ensures that they will be representing your interests. When you’ve chosen someone, contact them and go see a few properties. This does not commit you to working with them exclusively. Until you sign a buyer agency agreement, you are under no obligation to work with someone if you are not comfortable with them. If after a day of looking you decide they aren’t a great fit for you, you are free to try someone else. The right agent will listen you and work to find properties that meet your search criteria.

 

When you have found the home you want to buy, it’s time to make an offer. Some homes are priced to sell, and others have more room to negotiate. Your agent can show you recently sold comparable properties if you are unsure of what is a reasonable offer. When you write up your offer, be ready to include a small earnest money deposit as a show of good faith that you are sincere. (If your offer is accepted this money will be held in an escrow account and applied toward the purchase. If not, you will get it back.) Your agent will present the offer to the seller’s agent. The seller will either accept your offer or make a counter offer. When you come to an agreement on the price and terms of the purchase and both parties have signed, you are under contract.

 

The purchase and sales agreement will include a number of contingencies that will need to be satisfied before you can sign on the dotted line and take the keys to your new home. Satisfying all of the contingencies and getting financing usually takes around 45 days. One of the first things you will want to do (whether you are financing the purchase or not) is have the home inspected. Your agent will provide you with the names of local licensed home inspectors. The person you hire will spend a couple of hours with you at the home looking it over from top to bottom. If defects are found, depending on the severity, you may ask the seller for concessions or renegotiate the sales price. Another important thing to do as soon as you are under contract is find out if there are any restrictions to ownership. Examples of such restrictions might be covenants and easements, a homeowner’s association, park rules, or a lack of availability of property insurance. Your agent will help you uncover any restrictions on the property and provide you with association documents and contact information for the people who can help answer your questions. Typically you will have 10 days from the day the purchase and sales agreement is fully executed to do your research and determine whether you are comfortable moving forward.

 

If you are borrowing money to buy the home, your lender will order an appraisal. This is not a step that you need to participate in directly. However, if the appraised value of the home turns out to be lower than the purchase price, you will probably not be able to borrow more for the purchase than the appraised amount. In this case, you may either ask the seller to lower the price or you may pay the difference out of pocket. When the appraisal is settled, it is time to wait. You lender will have assembled a file on your purchase and that file will be sent through a process called underwriting, where the lender will review your finances in detail as well as the details of the home you are buying. If everything looks good, your lender will issue you an approval for financing.

 

During the last phase of the home purchase process you will work with a title company (or an individual real estate attorney). The title company can answer any closing questions you may have including how local taxes, water, and sewer bills work and whether or not you need title insurance. When the loan has been funded the title company draws up a HUD settlement statement which details debits and credits to the buyer and seller. The title company will go through the statement with you a day or two before the closing to make sure that it is correct. If so, then the only thing left to do is pack your bags and get yourself to the closing! After an hour or so of signing, your new home will be yours.