It always makes me smile when I walk in the door and hear John, the owner, enthusiastically showing kids his latest discovery. He and his staff always seem to know what school activities are underway and stock the craft shelves accordingly.

Fiske’s is one of the little things that, for me, make Holliston special.

Get a pre-approval letter.

Contact a mortgage lender and ask them for a preapproval letter outlining how much money you’ll be able to borrow to buy a home, and ask them to review the fees involved with the purchase. They’ll ask you some basic information about your income and assets, and they’ll run a credit report on you and anyone else you plan to purchase the home with, such as a spouse/partner or other family member. They’ll then issue you a preapproval letter outlining the amount of a loan they feel they can approve you for.

Note: You are not required to use this lender for your loan. You can continue to shop for the best interest rates.

Finding a buyer’s agent.

In Massachusetts, it’s common to work with a buyer’s agent to help you find a home and negotiate the best price. Usually this does not cost you anything, as the entire home sale commission is paid by home sellers. The buyer’s agent represents your interests while the listing agent represents the seller’s interests. The listing agent’s fiduciary responsibility is to garner the best price for the seller, while the buyer’s agent’s loyalty is to get you the best deal.

Finding a buyer’s agent is pretty easy. You can ask your friends, family, or employer for recommendations, or check out online review sites like Yelp to see which agents in your area are rated positively.

House hunting.

This is the fun part! There are lots of tools that make it very easy to search for homes. House hunters usually start by signing up for free MLS (Multiple Listing Service) service with their buyer’s agent to receive auto emails of new home listings that meet their search criteria. If you’re in the Boston suburbs, you can also use our free text service to find out home details in seconds as you’re driving or walking by a home for sale. You can also conduct “lifestyle searches”, which allow you to search homes by category such as waterfront homes, homes with privacy, equestrian properties, and more.

If time is of the essence, I’d also recommend finding a buyer’s agent who will preview homes for you. This means the agent visits properties on your behalf, weeding out the “duds” and showing you the most promising matches. This is a popular service, as it can save you a lot of time and frustration in your home search.

Making an offer on a home.

In some areas of the country, home buyers can choose to make a verbal offer on a property. In Massachusetts, offers to purchase real estate must be made in writing. When you submit an offer, your buyer’s agent can counsel you on the price and terms (such as the close date, your down payment amount, and when the offer is good until) you propose for purchasing the home.

Most offers to purchase are contingent on a home inspection and on the home buyer securing a mortgage on the home. Once you’ve decided on the terms and contingencies, you’ll sign the offer. It is customary to provide a copy of your preapproval letter, along with an initial good faith deposit check of $500-1,000., to submit with the offer. Your buyer’s agent will present this offer package to the listing agent. 

Negotiating the offer.

The home seller may choose to accept your offer, reject your offer, or (most commonly) make a counter offer. It is very common to have several offers back and forth before settling on a price that both parties can agree to. The time involved with this negotiation process varies. It can be done in a matter of hours, but sometimes stretches over several days. If you and the home seller come to an agreement on the price and terms of the purchase, you’ll both sign updated offer paperwork outlining what you’ve agreed to.

The listing agent will then deposit your initial deposit check into an escrow account. Note: If you decide to back out of the purchase due to home inspection issues that can’t be resolved between you and the seller, this money will be refunded to you. However, if you get cold feet (and it does happen from time to time) and back out without cause, the seller is not required to return these funds.

Filing your mortgage application.

Once you have the offer to purchase signed by the seller, contact your lender and complete a formal mortgage application. You’ll need information such as your Social Security number, current and previous employers and residences, most recent pay stubs, copies of bank statements, credit card and loan statements, and asset information (such as stocks and pension funds). The lender often charges a fee to process your application.

Hiring a home inspector.

You’ll want to hire a certified home inspector to inspect the home for material defects and other issues. You might get recommendations from friends, family, or online review sites like Yelp or Angie’s List. Typically, the home inspection is done within seven days of the offer being accepted on the home and you usually have 24 hours after the inspection to decide whether you wish to go forward with the purchase.

Conducting the home inspection.

Home buyers usually attend the inspection so they can see firsthand any issues that the home inspector uncovers. Inspections can take several hours. During this time, the inspector will walk around the perimeter of the home, look at the roof, siding, windows, gutters and downspouts, grading around the home, etc. They’ll then conduct an inspection of the interior, including the basement and attic space. Once this is done, your inspector will write up an inspection report to share with you outlining their findings.

If the inspector finds significant evidence of pests, they may recommend hiring a pest inspector. Also, in this region, it’s a good idea to conduct a radon inspection. Based on the inspection, you may choose to continue with the purchase or back out of the offer. If the inspection uncovered major repair issues you were not previously aware of, you may want to consider asking the seller for concessions.

Signing a purchase and sale agreement.

At this point, a purchase and sale (P&S) agreement will be drawn up outlining all of the terms of the purchase in further detail. Typically the seller’s agent provided an initial draft for review. I highly recommend that you have an attorney review the purchase and sale agreement to ensure the terms are written in a way that protects your interests. You may choose to use the bank’s attorney, or to hire a real estate attorney on your own. Typically the review takes several days involving communication between the buyer’s and seller’s attorneys. Once the language is agreed upon, you and the seller will both sign several copies of the P&S. Your lender will also want a copy of the executed (signed) P&S.

Most often the buyer is required to make a further deposit (typically five percent of the purchase price) at this time. These funds are deposited into an escrow account. If you determine that you can’t secure a loan, and you notify the seller in writing before your mortgage commitment date (discussed below), this deposit, as well as your initial deposit will be returned to you.

Securing a mortgage commitment.

It may take several weeks or more for your lender to review your mortgage application. Throughout this process, they may ask you for many different documents pertaining to your income, debts, credit status, and assets. During this time, they will also send an appraiser to the home to make a determination of its value and whether they can issue the loan on this property.

Note: Your offer to purchase (and subsequent P&S) will include a mortgage commitment date. This is the date you have until to secure a loan. If you can’t secure a loan by that date, it’s very important to notify the seller in writing by that date so that you don’t put your deposit in jeopardy. It is not uncommon to need a short time extension to secure a mortgage. This is usually not a big issue, as long as you or your agent notify the sellers beforehand.

Walkthrough.

Typically the morning of the closing, you’ll want to walk through the home to make sure there hasn’t been any catastrophic damage, and that the owner’s belongings have been removed, before you take ownership.

Closing.

The closing is usually scheduled at one of the attorney’s offices or at the local Registry of Deeds. Your attorney will be there to walk you through the paperwork to be signed and answer any questions you may have. Your buyer’s agent, the seller, his/her agent and attorney may be at the closing as well.

Once all the paperwork is signed, the attorney will record the deed to the home at the Registry of Deeds. (This is referred to as “going on record”). Once the deed is registered, your buyer’s agent will give you the keys to your new home!

[Photo courtesy of Donna McNeeley]

Why has this concept never truly carried through to the world of real estate? With a wealth of demographic data at our fingertips, we have the ability to market a property for sale to those individuals most apt to be interested in it. Yet in our field, we don’t often see this occur. Agents might advertise an expensive home in a magazine read by affluent home buyers, but their targeted marketing ends there.

Why not build a customized campaign around each unique home? It’s exciting to build a profile of those likely to love the home we’re selling, and develop customized campaigns based on this data. As marketers, we have access to incredible insights about prospective buyers in a way that helps to sell homes faster. We just need to leverage these resources to our sellers’ advantage.

Many house hunters today have tremendous geographic flexibility. Their jobs allow them to work from any number of cities. Looking to learn more about living in the Boston area?

Our new article in the Wall Street Journal highlights the many advantages of living in the Boston suburbs.

I hope you’ll find it useful! And I’d love to hear from you about what you like best about the Boston area.

I hope you’ll find these tips helpful. And of course if you or someone you know is looking for a home in the Boston suburbs, please call me at 508.904.4967. I’d love to be of assistance.

It’s quite inspiring to be a partner with the legendary Sotheby’s auction house. We aspire to deliver the unsurpassed level of service they’ve long been known for.

It’s an extraordinary partnership and one that I am so thankful for. Our clients benefit from amazing connections with affluent home buyers around the world through unique marketing alliances we’ve built with the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and other channels. Stay tuned for our feature later this week in the Wall Street Journal’s microsite “The Business of Extraordinary Living”.

Please contact me to learn more about what the Sotheby’s brand can do for you. My husband Kyle & I market luxury properties across the Boston suburbs, including Dover, Holliston, Hopkinton, Sherborn, Southborough, Wayland, Wellesley, Westborough, and Weston, among others.

Leslie Mann, Hallmark Sotheby’s International Realty, 508.904.4967

“Oh gosh,” I said, “don’t they start at noon?”

She smiled: “Well, we’re on Sherborn time here.” So I decided to embrace her mindset, and enjoy a few extra minutes of sunshine on this glorious day. I wasn’t able to catch the races, but saw once again what a wonderful, peaceful place Farm Pond is.

People quietly swimming, little kids grinning as they jumped of the dock. What could be better?

Visitors can meet New England farmers, food producers, and artisans and buy a wide variety of homemade crafts, soaps, baked goods, popcorn, teas, herbs, fine art, and annual plants. Celebrating the quality and abundance of local agriculture, floriculture, specialty foods, and crafts, the festival will include a full day of food sampling, shopping, and entertainment.

Visitors are encouraged to bring a blanket and enjoy a picnic lunch in the gardens. Guests may also want to spend some time exploring the many gardens of Elm Bank, including the New England Trial Garden, the historic Italianate Garden, Weezie’s Children Garden, and the New England Herb Society Garden.

Location:
The Gardens at Elm Bank,
900 Washington Street
Wellesley, MA 02492

Sponsor: Massachusetts Horticultural Society
Cost: Adults – $6; MassHort Members – $4; Children Under 12 – $2
Phone: 617-933-4988, Email: massmarketplace@masshort.org

[Photo courtesy of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society]

Today I’d love to hear from you. What can we, as real estate agents, do to make the home sale process smoother/easier for you, as you’re tackling these life challenges? What are the good and bad experiences you’ve had when selling your home?

Pretty sweet…a beautiful home with all the upgrades in an executive neighborhood, surrounded by 25 acres of conservation land, plus it has virtually no heating/cooling expenses. $758,800