Selecting the Property

View this video to figure out how much you can afford, how to work with a real estate agent and what to do when you find the home you want to purchase: Shopping for Your Home.

 Select a property.

1. Not all homes offered for sale have signs. Today most potential homebuyers use the internet to find available properties. Sites such as Realtor.com and HomesDatabase.com are excellent sources for current listing information.
2. When you have selected homes from listing databases that you would like to see, contact your Buyer’s Agent, if you are working with one. Remember that if you contact the listing agent directly, you are speaking with the agent who is representing the seller, not you.
3. Your agent can generate a list of properties that match your preferences and price range. Review each listing that you visit and take notes of unusual features, colors and design elements. Note anything that may be broken, including loose doorknobs, wobbly hinges, stuck windows, cracked glass or mirrors. Check faucets and water pressure.
4. Pay attention to the home’s surroundings. Do you like the location? Are there amenities nearby that are important to you, such as being near a park? Are utilities above or below ground?
5. Visit open houses with your Buyer’s Agent so that you may benefit from expert advice and experience. If you decide to make an offer on a house that you and your agent toured, you will be fully informed by the Seller’s disclosures (required by Maryland law), visual observations and comparing the property to others that have recently sold in the area.
6. If you are working with a Buyer’s Agent, but you choose to attend an open house without your agent, you may be asked to fill out an agency form. Make it clear to the Agent offering the open house that you have a Buyer’s Agent. The Agent hosting the open house should also clearly disclose that he/she represents the seller. Have your Buyer’s Agent contact the listing agent with any questions you have about the house.
7. Immediately after viewing a home, rate it on a scale of 1 to 10. It’s easy to confuse homes when you view many in a short time. Keep the listings of the top 2-3 properties, so you can narrow your search. Focus on strengths and unique features that make each house memorable to you. Review your notes for the top choices and revisit one or two properties.

Narrow your search.

1. When you find your dream home, do more homework. Under Maryland law, real estate agents are required to point out material facts they know or should know. Sellers must provide buyers with a disclosure about the property’s condition, including latent defects—be sure to ask for it so you can review it with your Agent before making a decision about a property.
2. Act on reason, not emotion. Talk to residents about what they like and don’t like about the neighborhood. Observe traffic patterns. Check the zoning on any nearby vacant lots. Research crime statistics if you have concerns, and check out information about schools, property taxes and neighborhood amenities. Your Buyer’s Agent can give you sources for this information.
3. Your agent will also look for information about the house and make sure it is still available. (The Seller has the right to decide whether to disclose any competing offers, so you may not know whether anyone else in interested in the house.)

Make an offer.

1. Ask your Buyer’s Agent for a written comparative market analysis to decide whether the asking price is fair, and work with your Agent to decide the right price to offer. Your Agent will prepare and present a Contract of Sale that lists the purchase price, down payment, financing terms, fee payments, projected settlement dates and other details .
2. If the house needs considerable repairs and updates or has been on the market for a long time, you may make an offer that is lower than the Seller’s asking price. However, if the house is in excellent condition and has had attention from other buyers, your Agent may advise that your offer should be closer to the asking price, or even higher.
3. When Sellers consider offers, price isn’t always everything. Also important are such things as contingencies–the need to sell a home you currently own, for example–or even your flexibility about the closing date.
4. Always look at a house you want to buy with two questions in mind. How much do I want this house? Could I stand to lose this house?
5. If the Seller does not accept your initial offer, you have the option to negotiate through your Agent. If the Seller accepts another offer, do not be discouraged. The right house is waiting for you!

Put it in writing.

1. Once you and the Seller have agreed on an offer, make sure everything is in writing, even the inclusion of appliances, existing furniture, lighting fixtures or drapery. Remember that only the written terms of the contract are binding on the parties.
2. You are entitled to copies of all documents, so make sure you receive them.
3. As the buyer, you have the unconditional right to terminate a contract of sale if the seller does not provide you with the disclosure/disclaimer form before the contract is final. The right to terminate lasts until five days after the disclosure/disclaimer form is provided or when the buyer makes a written application for financing of the property subject to the contract of sale.
4. When negotiating and executing a contract, be sure to sign or initial everywhere that is indicated. If all parties do not sign every place required, the contract may not be binding or some terms may be unclear. Make sure your agent points out to the listing agent if the seller has missed a place to sign or initial.
5. Never assume the contract is complete until all the signatures are in place!