If you have questions that are not answered here or elsewhere on the site, please send me an email at kmckenzie@mris.com and I will respond within one business day.
How do I know my qualifying purchase range?
One of the first things you should do when starting to shop for a property is to contact a mortgage lender. The lender will review your credit history and debt-to-income ratio, and consider other factors in providing you with an estimate for the size of mortgage that it would be prepared to extend to you. Your lender should provide you with a pre-qualification letter stating the price for which you qualify and a "Good Faith Estimate" of related costs. More and more sellers are requesting such a document before entertaining an offer from prospective buyers. It's also generally a time-saving practice for you, since doing so avoids the disappointment of selecting a property and then finding out you might not qualify to purchase it.
Where do I find a mortgage lender?
You are free to select any mortgage lender you wish or to work with a mortgage broker, who can guide you through the selection process.
The firm I represent is a full-service brokerage. One of the benefits of working with Real Estate Teams is that the firm has an ongoing relationship with America East Mortgage LLC. which has a representative conveniently located at our Frederick office. My clients have concluded many successful transactions for which America East was the lender.
Please note that the partners of Real Estate Teams do have a financial interest in America East Mortgage, but are prohibited by both federal and state law from receiving commissions, referral-fees, or other direct consideration for any clients referred the firm.
Who will handle the settlement?
With the consent of your lender, you are free to choose your own settlement company (sometimes called a "title company") or attorney to administer the settlement process (also referred to as "closing") and to negotiate the time and location of the settlement with the other party in the transaction. In performing your research to select a settlement company, keep in mind that your goal should be to ensure an uneventful closing process, not necessarily to select the lowest-cost provider.
Real Estate Teams recommends United Title because of its successful history in administering many settlements on behalf of our clients.
Please note that while the partners of Real Estate Teams do have a financial interest in United Title, they are prohibited by both federal and state law from receiving commissions, referral-fees, or other direct consideration for any clients referred the firm.
What are the priminary items required for a mortgage lendor application?
Please click here for a checklist provided by America East Mortgage.
Why do I see so many properties for sale on the Internet that I later find out are already sold or under-contract?
Many of the publicly available databases are aggregated from still other databases and are sometimes not updated in real-time. Once a property has been placed under-contract, it may take days or weeks for the status of the original database record to be reflected on some of the internet sites that buy or rent content from other parties.
Please be assured that I will show you all the current listings available in the area and/or price-range in which you have expressed interest.
How do I protect myself against hidden-fees and surprises at settlement?
2 days (ETA) prior to closing, the settlement company will provide both parties to the transaction with a federally required form, the HUD-1 Settlement Statement, which describes all of the expected fees and taxes related to the transaction. I will gladly walk you through the form and explain each line carefully. You should then review the form closely afterwards and contact me as soon as possible if there's anything unclear or unexpected.
How do I set the price for my property?
Current market conditions, location, and the condition of the property will influence the price. In working with prospective sellers, I visit the property, conduct a market analysis of similar properties in equivalent neighborhoods that have sold within the past six months as well as those currently on-the-market in order to establish a price range, which we will use as the basis for discussions.
Will you negotiate your fee?
No. As a full-service brokerage, Real Estate Teams' competitive advantage is in providing superior customer-service, professional representation, and ensuring a successful and low-stress transaction. Premium service cannot be sustained using a discount-brokerage's fee structure. |
