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BUY WITH US
At ERGO, we know that finding and purchasing a home can be challenging in today’s market, but we are experts at minimizing this stress.
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Purchasing a property is a rewarding experience and one of the biggest financial decisions you will ever make. Whether this is your first purchase or you are an experienced buyer, this decision must be met with know-how, confidence, and care. We have the contacts and resources to go above and beyond what the average agent can provide.
Our goal is to make this transition as seamless as possible. From looking for your dream home, to buying a rental property, to expanding your investment portfolio, ERGO's trusted advisory team will leverage our expertise to support you on your real estate journey.
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THE HOME BUYING PROCESS
The process to purchase a home has a number of different steps. Let us answer your questions.
STEP 1: FINANCING & PREPARING TO BUY
Financing your purchase is the most important piece of the puzzle when buying a property. If you are paying cash, you will need to show proof of funds in the amount of the contract purchase price. This is easily achieved by obtaining a letter from your financial institution, verifying that you have the money in your account.
Getting pre-approved for a mortgage, on the other hand, involves giving your credit score, income, debts, assets and other various information to a mortgage lender.
STEP 2. CHOOSING A REAL ESTATE AGENT
After you have pre-approval for financing, you can begin interviewing real estate agents. Buying a property requires making important financial decisions, understanding complex real estate/legal issues and completing a lot of paperwork. It helps to have an expert on your team when undertaking such a large investment. Ergo Real Estate will guide you through this process.
STEP 3. SHOPPING FOR A HOME
Buying a property can be one of the most exciting times of your life, but it’s important to ask yourself a few questions and explore how to balance your wants and needs with your budget before you dive in.
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Let your ERGO professional guide you to get a feel for the local market. They can help you narrow your search, walk you through different properties within your price range, and direct you to more homes than you’d be able to view on your own. An ERGO agent will always carefully consider your individual needs as they suggest viewings, rather than simply trying to push you toward the biggest sale and commission. When you've found the perfect property, make an offer.
STEP 4. FROM OFFER TO CONTRACT
Once you have picked out the property you want to purchase, your real estate agent can help you make an offer that the seller will accept. When you make an offer, you'll be expected to include earnest money (typically 1-3% of sale price). It is known as a “good faith” deposit. This small amount of money, which is held in an Escrow account, will go toward your closing costs and it lets the seller know you are serious in your intent to purchase their property.
STEP 5. FROM CONTRACT TO CLOSING
This is the most important part of buying a home. This is the time when you get a home inspection on the property and handle repairs/replacements or negotiate final price reduction, depending on the state and condition of the home.
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You must have a licensed property inspector inspect the property within the agreed time frame of the effective contract to purchase. You may opt to have different inspectors inspect the property, if you wish to obtain professional opinions from inspectors who have different areas of specialization (eg. roof, HVAC, structure). For commercial property purchase, you will need to have an environmental audit done on the site for the lending institution. Your ERGO team can recommend various, trusted inspectors.
STEP 6. CLOSING & MOVING IN
Congratulations! It’s time to close on your property. You'll go on a final walk-through of the property and be prepared to SIGN!. There are many different documents that must have your signature on them in order to complete the sale. This process typically takes a full day, on average, but once closing is complete, you own the property.
READY TO START THE HOME BUYING PROCESS?
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ERGO INTERNATIONAL
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FINANCING & PREPARING TO BUY
Financing your purchase is the most important piece of the puzzle when buying a property. If you are paying cash, you will need to show proof of funds in the amount of the contract purchase price. This is easily achieved by obtaining a letter from your financial institution, verifying that you have the money in your account.
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Getting pre-approved for a mortgage, on the other hand, involves giving your credit score, income, debts, assets and other various information to a mortgage lender. The lender will review your finances to determine if you're likely to be approved for a mortgage, as well as how much money you could qualify for when actually applying for a loan. This does not guarantee funds, it will show a realtor that you’re serious about getting a home and that you've done some homework. This process usually takes less than a week, as long as you have all your information in order. (A pre-approval letter and credit report are generally good for 60-90 days)
If you need a mortgage, we recommend building a green file prior to meeting with your lender. A green file contains all the important financial documents you will need it to secure financing for your property. The typical green file should contain:
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Financial statements
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Bank accounts
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Investments
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Credit cards
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Auto loans
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Recent pay stubs
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Tax returns for two years
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Copies of leases for investment properties
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401K statements, life insurance, stocks, bonds, and mutual account information.
Check Your Credit Rating
Your credit score will have a big impact on what type of property you are able to buy and at what price. It is recommended to check your credit score with an experienced lending institution to determine what you can afford. The lender will research your credit ratings from the three credit reporting agencies Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Ergo is happy to recommend one of our experienced lenders in the residential, construction, or commercial and investment real estate fields.
SHOPPING FOR A HOME
Once those preparations are out of the way, it is time to find the right property for you.
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Buying a property can be one of the most exciting times of your life, but it’s important to ask yourself a few questions and explore how to balance your wants and needs with your budget before you dive in. This takes some prioritizing. Begin simply-do a bit of research.
Get to know the neighborhoods which interest you. Drive around to get a feel for what it would be like to own a property in the area. Start looking for ones that meet your needs. For residential properties, for instance, we suggest you start by listing each room you would like your house to have. Then, go room by room and write out the features you want each one to have. You might consider organizing these features into three categories: must-haves, nice-to-haves and deal-breakers. When you’re done going room by room, consider must-haves and nice-to-haves for the home as a whole.
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Let your ERGO professional guide you to get a feel for the local market. They can help you narrow your search, walk you through different properties within your price range, and direct you to more homes than you’d be able to view on your own. An ERGO agent will always carefully consider your individual needs as they suggest viewings, rather than simply trying to push you toward the biggest sale and commission. When you've found the perfect property, make an offer.
FROM OFFER TO CONTRACT
Once you have picked out the property you want to purchase, your real estate agent can help you make an offer that the seller will accept. When you make an offer, you'll be expected to include earnest money (typically 1-3% of sale price). It is known as a “good faith” deposit. This small amount of money, which is held in an Escrow account, will go toward your closing costs and it lets the seller know you are serious in your intent to purchase their property.
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If your offer is accepted and you enter into a purchase agreement with the seller, they will take the property off the market while the transaction moves through the entire process to closing. A closing agent will research the complete recorded history of the property to ensure that the title is free and clear of encumbrances before the closing date and that any new encumbrances are added to the title properly. If everything goes well, this process only takes a few days to a week until you will be under contract on your new property.
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Important tips to keep in mind to streamline the process:
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For protection and the sake of clarity, keep written records of everything. It is extremely useful to transcribe all verbal agreements, including addendums and counter-offers and to convert them into written agreements to be signed by both parties. Our ERGO agents will assist you in drafting all the paperwork for your purchase and make sure that you have copies of everything.
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Stick to the schedule. Once you have chosen your offer, you and the seller will be given a timeline to mark every stage in the process of closing the purchase contract. Meeting the requirements on time will ensure a smoother negotiation flow, so that there is no agreement breach from either party. Our agents will keep you updated and informed throughout the process, so you feel prepared each step along the way.
FROM CONTRACT TO CLOSING
This is the most important part of buying a home. This is the time when you get a home inspection on the property and handle repairs/replacements or negotiate final price reduction, depending on the state and condition of the home.
​
You must have a licensed property inspector inspect the property within the agreed time frame of the effective contract to purchase. You may opt to have different inspectors inspect the property, if you wish to obtain professional opinions from inspectors who have different areas of specialization (eg. roof, HVAC, structure).
For A commercial property purchase, you will need to have an environmental audit done on the site for the lending institution. Your Ergo team can recommend various, trusted inspectors.
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Stay in close communication with your lender, who will advise you when additional documents are needed for final approval for your loan application and to fund your loan. If the agreement is conditional upon financing, then the property appraisal will take place to determine the value for the lending institution, via a third party. This is done so that the lending institution can confirm that their investment is accurate. You will then secure a letter of commitment from a mortgage lender, which confirms you loan approval.
This process involves the underwriting of the legal terms of the mortgage, final mortgage drafting, final research of your financial information. The home then goes into escrow, and a home warranty, which protects the homebuyers in the event of systems and appliance failure, is purchased. A title search is performed by a title company, who then writes a title opinion, does a property survey, and offers title insurance. All of these items must fall into place to purchase the home.
CLOSING & MOVING IN
Congratulations! It’s time to close on your property. You'll go on a final walk-through of the property and be prepared to SIGN!. There are many different documents that must have your signature on them in order to complete the sale. This process typically takes a full day, on average, but once closing is complete, you own the property.
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The closing agent will furnish a settlement statement to all parties, which details the financial transactions enacted in the process. You and all sellers, as well as the closing agent, will sign this statement to certify its accuracy.
If you are obtaining financing, you will be required by the lending institution to sign all pertinent documentation. (If you are unable to attend the scheduled closing, alternator arrangements can be made depending on the circumstances and notice). If you are a cash buyer, you can opt to either have the funds wired electronically into the closing agent’s escrow account or you may bring a certified bank check in the amount specified on the settlement statement.
The seller will arrive at closing with all property keys and any important information so that you may receive these items at this time.
