• While making a home visit, always make sure to gather the essential details of your property including the price range, monthly payment estimate, pre-approval letter, and more. When you have all these details in your hand, the sellers would consider you seriously for making an offer.
• Work with a buyer agent in New York to figure out your wants and needs. They play a wonderful role in letting you know the expectations you have on a property and help you to find out whether you focus on the property or the location.
• The buyer agent will avoid you the hassle of visiting a property by letting you preview homes via their mobile app or website.

• Always plan to make home visits together with your buyer agent so you can clear any doubts that are lingering in your mind.
• You will be free to spend little or more time in the home as homeowners will not be around for home visits.
• Remember the cliché, ‘first impression is the best impression?’ It’s not far from the truth. You can always count on your gut reaction to a home, but consult the buyer agent to determine the value of the property and re-evaluate your priorities.

No, there are no restrictions or limit on the number of home visits. Some people find their dream home in their first visit or some may look at more than 50 homes to make an informed decision. But, it’s recommended to visit more than one or two homes to choose the perfect town where you will spend the rest of your life.

But when working with Real Estate By Elida, we will listen to your needs and provide you with the perfect list of homes that hit your needs and goal, so we don’t waste your time of seeing 50 homes.

• When making a home visit, look more than the staging and decorations and shift your focus on the features and fixtures.
• Inspect the condition of the home.
• Take photos and take notes about the property so that you can refer later.
• Note all the possible home improvements you might want to make if you are buying the home to figure out the costs you may spend on it.
• While you are more tempted to check the house interior, you must also pay attention to the home exterior and the neighborhood.
• Take a brief look on all the amenities that are available including the commuter route, schools, shops, restaurants, parks, and more.
• If you are looking for a coop/condo, collect the details of the cost and rules of the homeowners association to determine whether you can live with it.

The following are the details that must be listed in a home offer form that comply with state and local laws.

• The price of the property for sale.
• Terms and conditions that includes closing cost, financing, and home inspection.
• Closing date.
• Deposit – This would be determined based on your current mortgage.
• Final walk-through request.
• Offer time limit.

The following contingencies should be listed in the offer:

Financing

You are required to write an offer with contingency clause to help you save if you can’t arrange or finalize the mortgage within a given number of days. Writing an offer with a contingency clause is important even if you have a pre-approval for a loan.

Real estate is a competitive market and it’s common that you will find yourself battling against other buyers. During this situations, you can get help from your buyer agent to strategize your offer in such a way that it impresses the seller. They will make this happen with real-time access to real-time market data. They will know how to best position your offer. Here are the three things a seller may do in cases they are receiving more than one offer.

• Accept the best among all the offers
• They will counter the offers to get a better price
• They counter one offer that’s close to their quote

You can work with your buyer agent to find out the expectations of the sellers including the moving date, waiving contingencies, adjusting the quote, and more.

A counteroffer is an offer made by the seller to your existing offer to make a few adjustments to some or all of your terms. You can make your own counteroffer, or accept or reject the counteroffer you receive from the seller. Only after you and the sellers have agreed to all the terms, the contract will be finalized.

Let’s remember one major point, Do the math, if the home is your dream home, and the seller wants a certain amount more than you offered.  This is a long-term investment, 20 to 30 years, divide that extra amount by 20 or 30 and ask yourself, how much a year extra is it?  I bet you will see for a minor amount a year; you can have your dream home.

The following are the keys that are mentioned in your multi-page contract:

• Accurate personal information and property address.
• The effective date of contract because the contingencies you have issued have time limit.
• A contingency list that encompasses financing, home inspection, appraisal, the sale of your current home, and more.
• Disclosure information of the property from the seller. This depends on your local state law.
• A list of features that conveys with the property.
• An inspection list that includes all the inspections that must be performed on the property and it includes home inspection, pest inspection, and more.
• Move in information.
• A ‘kick-out’ class from the seller which states that the seller is entitled to accept another offer before your home is sold. This clause is made only if your offer is contingent on the sale of your home.

Your agent & real estate attorney will help you in figuring out when to negotiate and when to remain silent. But, this purely depends on how much you want the listed townhouse for sale in New York and what you are willing to accept to get it. You should not negotiate when,

• The bidding price is too high.
• The appraised value of the home is below your offer.
• There are defects that are expensive to repair in your home inspection.
• They refuse to make reasonable repair before selling the property to you.
• You cannot stand the homeowners association rules that won’t work for you.

• Don’t enter unrealistic deadlines because you’ll need time to arrange a home inspection and receive the report, as well as arrange financing and moving from your current home.
• Don’t miss the deadlines, you will lose your chance to end the contract and keep your deposit.
• Watch out for items that don’t convey with the property.

The National Association of REALTORS® states that the most common reasons for contracts to fail or to be delayed are home inspection problems, financing problems or an appraisal issue.

A home inspection is done to find out the possible damages that can be caused to your home and must be immediately addressed. Your home inspector will check a massive list of systems, appliances and structures in your home to evaluate its condition. After the inspection, your home inspector will give you a report that identifies potential problems and future maintenance issues. Based on the home inspection report, you can decide whether to buy or move onto another home for sale in Port Washington. In some cases, you can also have an “information only” inspection, which means you’re buying the house as is, but want to know its condition.

The home inspector will check for the following factors:

• Structural condition of the home you are buying and it includes the foundation, beams, and floors.
• The condition of the roof.
• The condition of the mechanical systems including the heat and air-conditioning systems.
• Electronic and electric appliances.
• Plumbing system that encompasses leaks, rust, and water pressure.
• Electrical systems such as grounded outlets and code violations
• Safety issues such as stairs, handrails, mold or chimney maintenance

You and your buying agent must be present during the home inspection to learn about home maintenance and figure out any potential problems yourself. If you don’t understand or are worried about any particular issue, talk with the home inspector to fix it right away.

After receiving the home inspection report, you can ask your home inspector the following:

• Are the items flagged are minor or major issues?
• What needs to be done to fix the flagged issues?
• What’s the estimate of the cost of any repairs?
• Should I inspect the home again for electrical or structural issue by hiring an electrician or engineer respectively?
• Are there any home inspections or fixes that I must do after I am moving in to our new home listed for sale or single family house for rent in Port Washington NY.

A home warranty is a written contract that covers the damages of your home with discounted repair and retainment services. It typically lasts for one year and renewable. The company will cover repair costs and arrange for contractors in return for the annual fee you pay and you’ll pay a deductible fee and possibly service fees if you need to use the warranty.

• You can proceed without a home warranty but getting a home warranty would be beneficial if you are buying an existing home listed for sale. A home warranty is must if you are buying a home with appliances that are more than four years old as it can give you peace of mind about paying for unexpected repairs and finding a reliable contractor. It comes to your rescue when you are having a limited saving. If you have plenty of emergency savings, you’re handy or know good contractors, you may not need a warranty. Your buying agent can help you with good recommendations.

Note: If you’re buying a newly built home, structural defects are usually under warranty by the builder for 10 years and other items are typically covered for six months to two years, so you don’t usually need a home warranty.

• The home warranty company’s license with your state’s real estate commission
• The fine print – that’s where you’ll find exclusions and limitations
• What’s covered and what’s not
• The coverage limits – your repairs will only be paid for up to a specific level
• Service fees and deductibles
• How quickly service and claims are handled
• How contractors are vetted and what happens if you use your own
• Coverage differences between a basic warranty and enhanced warranty
• Online reviews