You sit down with a lender to find out how much you can (or want to) spend, what kind of loan you can (or want to) obtain, and which paperwork you need to provide the lender in order to obtain a written pre-approval letter, e.g. tax returns, employment verification, etc. This pre-approval letter when submitted with an offer will increase the seller’s confidence in your ability to close, making your offer more attractive.

Guy & George set up a special account for you on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) so that you can receive instant notifications of listing changes in real time, including changes in status and price.

NOTE: Our MLS uses the following statuses: Delayed, Active, Active with Offer, Pending, Sold, Expired, and Withdrawn

Guy & George will schedule in-person showings to see homes that interest you. Assuming what we agreed to buyer agency (see Step 1), then Guy & George can also do the following.

• Provide an opinion or critique of a seller’s property beyond just disclosing defects.
• Recommend a negotiating strategy, including suggesting an offering price and providing an opinion about whether a property is priced too high or too low.
• Research and disclose information about a property’s history, specifically visiting the nearby village/town/city hall to review the property (permit) file.

Guy & George will help you construct, draft, and submit an offer outlining various terms, including the purchase price; items included; the closing date; and various contingencies including but not limited to inspection, financing, appraisal, and home sale.

Assuming that you signed a buyer agency agreement with Guy & George, we can do do the following while constructing and drafting the offer:

• Structure the offer and draft offer provisions with your best interest in mind.
• Recommend and assist you with negotiation strategies for the best price and beneficial terms.

After your offer has been accepted, it is customary to make a good faith deposit to be held in a third party neutral account. This deposit is referred to as the earnest money deposit and can not be released until instructions of its release are signed by both the buyer and the seller. Assuming that all goes well with the transaction, these monies are applied to the funds needed to purchase your new home.

If you have not already done so when obtaining your pre-approval letter, you will now have to submit the rest of the necessary paperwork requested by your lender in order to eventually obtain the final approval of your loan. 

You have a specific number of days to inspection and test the property’s components. A general inspection typically last 2-3 hours, after which you receive a written report to help you decide if further inspections are needed of specific property components, e.g. the chimney, and to help you compile a list of repairs you want the seller to make or credit you money for in order for you to move forward with the transaction.

Testing contingencies include radon, well water, well system, sanitary system, asbestos, mold, etc.

NOTE: Any contingency can be waived but make sure that you are fully aware of the potential negative consequences.

You have a specific number of days to ensure that the appraiser, if required by the lender in order to obtain final loan approval, comes out to the property and generates a written appraisal report with a numerical value of the home. Typically the lender requires that this numerical value is equal to or greater than the agreed upon purchase price in the offer. If it is not, then you can back out of the transaction or request a reduction in the purchase price.

You have a specific number of days to provide the seller with a lender-generated letter, a.k.a. loan commitment letter, stating that you are clear to close on your loan. NOTE: If there is no loan, you will have to provide the seller with documentation, a.k.a., proof of funds, demonstrating that you have the cash to purchase the property.

Within 3 days of closing, you re-visit the property to ensure that all necessary repairs have been made and that the rest of the home is in the same condition as it was when the offer was accepted.

Wisconsin has customarily been referred to as a “closing table state”. You typically will meet at your lender’s, agent’s, or title company’s office to review and sign your loan and closing documents. The seller will often be present to sign their closing documents too… thus the term “closing table state”.

After signing your loan and closing documents and then verifying that your money (a.k.a. funds) has transferred to the seller, the property is officially yours.

Grab those keys and head on over to your new home!