Barbara Carter Real Estate Associate Broker at Century 21 Alliance Realty Group

There are different customs in different areas. Earnest money or a binder, is not common in our area of New York State. In the Hudson Valley there is typically no money put down at the time of a purchase offer. In the past and still in other areas, it was commonplace to put money down when offering to buy a property. Currently the down payment is given at the time the buyer signs the contract and held in escrow until the closing. Money at contract signing is the consideration, and one of the elements that makes the contract enforceable.

This is a commonly asked question. A contingency is a condition to the agreement. The most common contingencies in our area are: Attorney approval, inspection ( the buyer requests inspections and a due diligence period, clear municipals (no outstanding issues with the town and certificate of occupancy is in order), clear title (no issues in the ownership of the property to be conveyed), home sale ( the buyer needs to sell a property in order the purchase the property being offered on), financing ( mortgage approval), Appraisal ( the home would need to appraise at a price that allows to mortgage to be approved). Anything that is a condition to the sale can be added as a contingency. During a sellers market, contingencies should be kept to a minimum to make an offer more attractive to the seller. Your agent or attorney can advise as to which contingency makes the most sense in your purchase. I hope this helps! .

I get this question all the time. It can be confusing when you are searching online and you see so many varying values on one property. The appraisal is a part of the mortgage process. It determines the amount that a lender will loan to the borrower. The appraisal is used as a tool to protect the lender's investment in case of foreclosure, if the property being appraised is determined to be worth less than the sale price agreed upon by the buyer and seller. The appraised value is based on recent comparable sales with similar features, style and condition. It is the determined value of a property in the present moment. An assessment is different. Municipalities place an assessed value to determine property taxes. The municipality does not use current sales analysis. The assessed value is not the current market value. I hope this helps. The true market value of a home is the amount a buyer agrees to buy for and a seller agrees to sell for.

Yes, 100%! You and your Realtor are not qualified to notice latent defects. Home inspections are often required if you are financing your home with an FHA or VA loan. Other mortgage programs, may not inspections may not require an inspection but you would want one for your own knowledge. Licensed home inspectors are trained to inspect properties and see things we may not notice. Can your uncle do the inspection? Short answer, yes, but he must be licensed. It might make sense to have a third neutral party do the inspection. If defects are found and further negotiation is to take place regarding repairs or a credit, the seller could question the inspectors opinion if it comes from a relative. Home inspections a an important part of a big investment. The benefit far outweighs the cost.

The first step in searching for properties is to get preapproved for several reasons. Many homeowners require that their home only be shown to qualified buyers, often asking that their sellers agent request a copy of the preapproval from the buyers agent. Having the preapproval is essential when making an offer on a property. In a sellers market, a buyer wants to put the best offer forward. The lender will point out the costs of a mortgage and closing costs that a buyer may not be aware of. This information of affordability is very important. Ultimately, getting a preapproval is very important to the homebuying process for all people involved.

Our area is served by several multiple listing services, each with their own rules regarding accepted offers and how they are reported. Rules for some multiple listing services require that agents report an accepted offer as soon as it is verbally accepted causing the listing to appear as pending or contingent on listing portals. Other multiple listing services require listings to stay as active until contracts are signed. During the time an offer is accepted, inspections done and up until contracts are signed the listing will appear as active on various real estate websites.

There are many factors that come into play in determining a closing date. The type of lending, attorney schedule, inspections and repairs, appraisal, title and municipal issues can effect the length of time it takes to close a transaction. In New York State a deal that everything goes smoothly and the buyer is paying cash a deal can close as soon as 30 days.

The first step after and accepted offer on a property is for the buyer to have an inspection period. If the inspection is not waived, the buyer typically has a period of 7-10 days for due diligence. During this time a NYS Licensed Home Inspector can be hired to inspect the property. Other inspections that are typically requested are water, septic, pest and radon. If the inspector finds something that needs further investigation, a specialist maybe recommended.

New York State requires two documents be signed at the first meeting with an agent. The NYS Agency Disclosure and a Fair Housing Disclosure are required to be presented at first substantive meeting. The agency disclosure explains the relationship the agent will have during the transaction. The Fair Housing Disclosure explains the fair housing laws of the state.

We are licensed in the State of New York. Our primary areas of service are Ulster, Dutchess and Orange and surrounding Counties in the Mid Hudson Valley. We have team members that are experts in all areas of real estate including residential, commercial, land and new construction.