The “Buyer’s Corner”
While this website is primarily to help sellers market their properties, without you, the buyer, there is no one to market to. So here is a way you may want to approach buying a property.
- FIND A HOME
Review the SoldOK.com website to help find properties that match what you are looking for. After seeing a property you are interested in then,
- GET PREQUALIFIED
Go to the bank and get a “prequalification letter” or a “bank letter of intent”. (Click here to see some local banks.) When looking at property give the seller a copy of this letter. Presenting it will show them you can indeed buy their property and are not wasting their time. A seller will not likely sign a purchase contract with you if you do not have a prequalification letter.
- LOOK AT THE PROPERTY
Call or email the seller and set up an appointment to go look at the property. Make sure you have a property disclosure form and a lead based paint brochure supplied to you by the seller. The seller should have one available for you. Most States require the seller to provide the buyer a “property disclosure form”. No one wants any surprises.
- WRITE AN OFFER TO PURCHASE
If you like the property and want to buy it, write an “offer to purchase contract.” “Offer to purchase contracts” and most other real estate contracts must be in writing to be enforceable. (Click here to get a free sample contract at our “contracts and forms” page.) You can print our sample “offer to purchase contract” and fill in the blanks, write your own contract or have your attorney write one for you. If you believe our state approved sample is sufficient for your needs, print it, fill in the blanks and use it. As with any property transaction, while it is not required, we strongly suggest you seek the advice of an attorney to review the “offer to purchase contract”. Most attorneys will do this for a small fee. (Click here for a list of local attorneys.)
- DEPOSIT EARNEST MONEY
An earnest money deposit is a deposit made to a property seller to secure an offer to buy the property. It is similar to a down payment. Usually the buyer's check is made out to and kept at the title company (so choose a title company before you write the “offer to purchase contract”. Click here for some local title companies in your area.) This money is usually applied to the purchase price. Often earnest money deposits range from 3 to 5 percent of the purchase price, however, you can agree to none or more earnest money. It is up to the agreement of the buyer and seller. The earnest money is often forfeited if the buyer decides to withdraw the “offer to purchase” for an unjustified reason. Watch out here. Justifiable reasons often include the inability of the buyer to qualify for a loan, however if the seller has insisted on the above “prequalification letter” this will not be an issue. Another common justifiable reason to withdrawal an offer is an “undisclosed material defect.” That means any “major issue” that the seller has not disclosed on the “property disclosure form” could be a justifiable reason to withdrawal an offer. So sellers should complete the “property disclosure form” completely and honestly. If a buyer has deposited earnest money with the title company then wants to back out and you believe you are entitled to keep the earnest money, now is the time to seek the advice of an attorney. (Click here for a list of local attorneys.)
- HAVE YOUR CONTRACT REVIEWED
After your buyer and you have completed and signed the “offer to purchase contract”, have it reviewed by your attorney (review by an attorney is not required, merely suggested. Click here for some local attorneys in your area.) Then the buyer or seller will need to go to a title company with; (Click here for some local title companies in your area.)
- The “offer to purchase contract”,
- A copy of “the property disclosure form”,
- A copy of the “lead based paint” form,
- The buyer's “pre-qualification letter”, and
- Any earnest money deposit.
- SET THE CLOSING DATE
When you take the forms to the title company you will set up a “closing date” The closing date is the approximate date that the seller, the buyer, and the bank sign all the ownership papers, ownership will change and the seller gets their proceeds.
- HAVE YOUR CONTRACT REVIEWED
Most buyers will want to hire and pay for a home inspector. (This is not required but we recommend it.) This comes after the “offer to purchase contract” has been completed and turned into the title company. Most “offer to purchase contracts” allow the buyers to back out if “material defects” have been found that were not disclosed on the “property disclosure” form provided to the buyer earlier. (Click here for a list of some home inspectors in your area.) Often, after the home inspection the buyer will want some minor repairs made by the seller. We suggest sellers and buyers openly negotiate with each other as to what will and won't be done. Just a tip to buyers and sellers. You have both put a lot of time and effort in your agreement, if the inspection calls out a small issue, don't let your pride be a deal breaker.
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