Home Buying Guide in Fairfield County
What should I expect when buying a home in Fairfield County? This is a common question that comes to home buyers mind especially for first time home buyers. For home buyers, owning your dream home is a great achievement because it’s a lifetime investment. Understanding the home buying process in Fairfield County is key to having a smooth, faster and memorable home ownership journey.
In this post, I have outlined a home buying guide in Fairfield County to help you understand the process because it varies from one state to another. In summary, buying a home in Fairfield County is a two-step process which are;
a) The Binder of Sale
b) Contracts
In order to understand these two steps better, let’s break them down into the following phases.
Buying A Home In Fairfield County
1. Making an Offer
The first step is the offer to purchase or the binder of sale. The custom in Fairfield County is that your real estate agent will draft the binder of sale with the terms of the purchase which will be superseded by the real estate contract that is drafted by the seller’s attorney.
Your realtor guides you on how to prepare the binder of sale which is then presented to the agent who is representing the home seller. The terms of the offer which are presented to the seller’s agent include: the offer price, home inspections, the contract date, the contingencies and dates, the closing date and the earnest money deposit. The amount of earnest money deposit that you need to commit in an escrow account is usually 1% of the offer price.
Once an offer is accepted and signed by both parties, the information is sent to the seller’s attorney to develop a contract to supersede the binder of sale. If you have already secured a pre-approval letter from your mortgage lender, attach it also as it will prove to the seller that you are a serious buyer and they will consider your bid more than your other competitors.
2. Home Inspections
Before you agree to formalize the deal, it’s advisable that you request for a home inspection. As the home buyer, you will need to hire a professional home inspector who will come and assess the condition of the house. A home inspection phase is very important as it will help you have confidence with the property that you are about to invest on in terms of quality and safety.
3. Signing of The Purchase Agreement Contract
The purchase agreement contract is drafted by the seller’s attorney and reviewed with the seller’s. The unsigned copy goes to the Buyer’s attorney who reviews the contract, negotiate changes that may be necessary, and has their client (the buyer) sign the originals. The additional deposit is presented by the buyer at this point. In most cases, it usually ranges from 3-10% of the property price. This deposited amount is listed on the terms of the original binder of sale.
The singned contract and deposited funds are sent back to the Seller’s attorney. The Seller signs the contract and returns one to the Buyer’s attorney and the Seller.
4. The Mortgage Contingency
The majority of home purchase agreement contracts are contingent and they rely on the home buyer getting approved for a mortgage in order to complete the home buying process. After the seller and the buyer have signed the contract, the buyer’s attention now shifts to fulfilling the lender demands.
Your mortgage lender will ask for your income statements, tax returns, and credit score among other key personal information before they can finally approve your mortgage application request.
5. Title Search
The buyer’s attorney will then initiate a title search with relevant authorities so as to determine the legal owner of the property. A title search will also indicate if there is any debt or lien on the property that needs to be cleared before closing is done.
6. Home Closing
This is the final phase of a home buying process. Once the buyer’s agent conducts a final walk-through on the house and determines that everything is perfect as agreed upon, both the seller and home buyer agrees to close the deal.
Attorneys for both parties will guide the home buyer and seller through the various paperwork. The home buyer receives the property legal documents which signifies the end of the home buying process in Fairfield County.
Follow this guide when buying your home whether as a first-time home buyer or seasoned buyer and you will enjoy your home ownership journey here in Fairfield County. Click here for your Buyer’s Guide
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