The Buyer Counseling Session
Relocation Division
Realty3 CT is an elite member of the largest
International Relocation Network
Whether you are moving in town, in the state, across the
country or around the globe our professionals have
the power to move you!
Our Legal Duties
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Obedience to your lawful instructions
Loyalty to your interests above our own
Disclosure for material and pertinent facts
Confidentiality for any info you provide us regarding
your motivation, urgency, financial position or
personal situation
• Accounting for your $$, paperwork, dates
• Reasonable Skill and Care according to license laws
We are not in sales – We are service providers
Representation
I represent your interests when the seller is a ‘FSBO’,
represented by an agent from another firm or the listing
agent is from our Firm
• If you want to make an offer on a property that I have listed, I
will have two clients in the same transaction and have a higher
form of legal responsibility
• I maintain the confidentiality of all clients,
provide equal treatment to all parties and
disclose all material defects required by law
• If this occurs, you will know in advance
Many Clients
• I represent many clients at the same time
• Since I also represent other buyer clients, there are times
when they may be interested in viewing some of the same
properties that you are targeting
• All client information is confidential and I will not betray that
trust
• If you are interested in making an offer on a property I will not
share that with any of my other buyer or seller clients
I Can’t
• Make any decisions for you
• Guarantee to help you buy property
for less than market value
• Misrepresent material facts or defects about a property
• Discriminate or violate Federal Fair Housing Laws
• Collect any undisclosed money from any service provider
• Tell you if an area is “safe” or which schools are “best”
• Guarantee what planning or zoning will do
I provide you with sources that will provide you with
information so you can make your own decisions
Impacted Properties
I respect the fact that many factors are important to
your buying decision
• If a property has had a murder, suicide, felony, is
haunted or psychologically stigmatized, state law will
dictate my disclosure responsibilities
• You have the right to ask the
seller in writing if any
issues have occurred.
• The seller must respond in
writing. You can also contact
the police or ask the neighbors3
Other Concerns
I can research any material issues that might
impact the property but you need to research
other non-material issues like
• Sexual Offenders and off-site considerations like
noise, traffic, surrounding property conditions and
more that might affect the value of the property
• There are many websites
that will provide you with
detailed information
Written Authorization
• Section 20-328-6a of the CT License Law states that if you want
confidentiality, I am required to secure your written authorization
to represent your interests prior to viewing any property
• Some agents in other firms may elect to delay or circumvent this
requirement which should concern you and we want to apologize
for their unprofessional and illegal behavior
• If an agent would be willing to avoid
providing you with mutual promises
in
writing shouldn’t you wonder what
else they
might not do correctly later?
Written Agreement
• You will have a thorough explanation of the terms to an
agreement so that you will completely understand it
• I am happy to provide you with a blank agreement so that you or
any of your advisors may review it in advance
• If my firm charges for
representation, signing, retainer
fees you will know in advance
• When I receive your written
authorization I will begin to
work for you
How We Are Paid
I receive a ‘success fee’ from the proceeds of a sale – if you
do not buy I am not paid
• I don’t care what or when you
purchase since that is completely
your decision to make
• My main concern is that I provide
excellent service so that you will
recommend me to your family and friends
• Whether the property is listed with my Firm, another firm or a
‘FSBO’ – I will represent your interests so that you are
protected
Professional Fees
The seller does not pay the fee – you do!
• Your offer funds the entire transaction and all fees – my
firm’s fee, listing agent’s fee and other transactional fees
• The seller deducts all service fees, settles
all outstanding debts and then keeps the rest
• My firm expects a professional service fee
of 3% to represent you in your purchase
• You instruct me to collect this fee from
the seller, the buyer broker fee offered in
the MLS or from the proceeds of the sale
• If the amount offered does not cover the amount in our
agreement, the difference will be wrapped into your offer
Optional Services
• Home Warranty for your protection
• Loan Pre-Approval
• Peripheral Service Providers
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1031 Tax Exchange Intermediaries
Service oriented Real Estate Attorneys
Licensed Home Inspectors
Home repair professionals including roofers, electricians,
plumbers, heating contractors, handymen, junk haulers,
housekeepers, painters, landscapers, etc.
Loan Process
Prior to showings, you must be either pre-approved or
committed for a loan. If you are paying cash you will need
to provide proof of those assets
• Not all loan originators are good
• All are in ‘sales’ and owe no fiduciary duties to you
• My firm has extensive experience
with many loan originators and I
make recommendations when
our past clients have
had a great experience
• You will authorize the lender to discuss your fiances with me so
that I can provide you with more options
Loan Verifications
I need two letters of financial qualification from your Lender
• The first letter is the ‘blueprint’ to structure your offer detailing
the loan type, rate, terms, points, loan to value, seller
concessions, mortgage amount and maximum monthly (PITI)
principle, interest, taxes and insurance
• The second is a generic statement from the lender stating that
“Your tri-merged credit report, financials have been reviewed
and you are deemed worthy for the amount sought”
• No amount or property address is
stated and the letter is attached
to any offer you may make
Loan Terms
• Pre-Qualification
– Basic credit report pulled
– General Income and debts discussed
– Lender gives you a ‘ball-park’
• Pre-Approval
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Loan application made
Tri-Merged credit report pulled
Income and Debt statements collected/reviewed
Lender submits details in automatic underwriting
• Loan Commitment
– All pre-approval steps taken, application paid for
– Financial details and employment have been verified
– You are now ready to close on the property
We’re Ready
Once your financing is in order, we are ready to go
shopping for a property!
• Since I am not in sales, I respect your budget choices rather
than push you to spend more than your want
• Your needs, wants and wishes are programmed into the MLS
and calibrated so that you will receive automatic updates
based on your criteria
• You determine the info delivery
– email, pick up, fax or snail mail
Selection Process
• You may be receiving property updates from a variety of other
general websites – the info you receive from our MLS system
is far more detailed and tailored to your specific criteria
• Select the properties you wish to view and contact us so that
I can book your viewing appointments
• If you do not see anything you
like within your budget range,
you may need to re-assess
that price range
Showings
• Once you have selected the property you wish to view, contact
me to schedule appointments
• Most sellers require advance notice so I need time to book
showings and get confirmations
• Reserve my time in advance since I want to provide you the
attention that you deserve
• If you have a last minute need and
I have already been committed to
assist another client, I will attempt
to secure another agent within
my firm to assist you in showings
Open Houses
• Realtor® Code of Ethics and state law requires agents to ask
if you are currently, contractually represented
• You should Inform the agent that you are represented and
sign my name to register
• No agent may interfere with another agent’s client level
relationship, prevent you from entering the property, nor can
they say that if you do enter, they must represent you or write
your offer if interested
• Please collect their business card
and call me immediately if you
have any issues since this is a
serious legal breach
New Construction
• The same process applies if the builder is an agent or
represented by a listing agent but there is no process if they
aren’t represented by an agent
• Some Builders may lead you to believe that you can deal direct
and save. Our experience with past clients demonstrates that
this is not even remotely true
• A builder can’t prevent you from
having an agent, nor can they
interfere with the relationship
• Requesting information from their
website does not prevent you
from being represented
For Sale by Owner
• A seller may choose to represent
themselves but they can’t make
any choices for you
• FSBOs can be overpriced, have
heavy financial debt, possess some type of material defect
that they prefer not to disclose or don’t want to pay an agent to
protect them
• We can still view the property, determine if you want to make
an offer and if you do, I do not need the seller to pay my fee
since your offer includes it anyway
Feedback
• After a seller’s property has been shown, some listing
agents will call for ‘feedback’
• Since feedback can divulge your confidential impressions
or intentions, I will thank the agent for the opportunity to
show but won’t provide any additional comments
• Any information we receive
regarding the property or
seller
- positive or negative –
will be
immediately told to you
Market Analysis
• When you have made a final choice, I will provide you with a
general market and property analysis identifying the comparable
sold property, feature for feature in similar neighborhoods
• The price you pay will depend on many variables – market
conditions, amount of available inventory, seller’s personal and
financial situation, etc.
• If you really want the
property, bid seriously
Legal Representation
• You are entitled to consult with a
legal representative at any time
during the process
• Please remember that a timely
response is important and I cannot
accept responsibility if the
seller accepts another offer
before your attorney responds
• It is important to select an attorney that specializes in real
estate to minimize the occurrence of potential problems
within your transaction
Offer Process
• When you are ready I will write an offer to include terms that
protect your interests
• All components and contingencies of the offer, along with the
process will be explained providing you with options,
alternatives and ramifications to choices
• Remember that all decisions are yours to make and I can’t be
responsible if things don’t work the way you had hoped they
would
• Your attorney can provide you
with advice and additional
protective clauses if desired
Customary Contingencies
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Initial and additional deposits
Mortgage Contingency
Insurance Contingency
Inspection Contingency
Hubbard Clauses
Closing Dates
Hold-over or Rent-back Contingencies
Seller-funded rebates for points, repairs, closing costs,
additional buyer agent fees
Cautions
• In most cases the property you select will provide a property
condition form which is neither a warranty nor
guarantee but a statement of ‘actual’ knowledge
• If any seller does not provide the form prior to the contract
being signed by all parties, you are entitled to $500 at closing
• In a FSBO transaction, I will ask you if you want us to secure
a property condition form or prefer
to have the $500 credit at closing
Confidentiality of Offers
• Once your offer is written and delivered to
the listing agent, there is no implied
guarantee that the terms of your offer
will remain confidential
• You can have the seller and listing agent
sign a confidentiality statement prior to presenting your offer
• In a seller’s market when multiple offers may arrive or exist –
there may be little that you can do without potentially losing out
• In a buyer’s market you may have more time but there is still no
guarantee that other offers may come in before you get your
statement returned. This is your decision to make and you will
hold us harmless from that decision
Presentation of Offers
• There are a variety of ways to reassure you that your offer was
presented.
• When permitted by the seller I can personally present; I can
hand deliver the offer to the listing agent; I can email the offer
to the agent; I can attach a verification of presentation form for
the seller to sign
• If there are no other offers, the
process is usually straightforward
but if there are multiple offers exist,
I will discuss the process and
your options
Negotiations
• Sometimes things don’t work out – no matter how much you
were willing to bend
• Each scenario has a personal backdrop that can often
interfere with you getting the property you want
• Take the time you need and start again
• If negotiations are successful, I will
secure all necessary initials and signatures
• All parties and others authorized by
you, will receive complete documents
Contract Extensions
• All performance dates require evidence
of written satisfactory completion
• If I have not received notification,
a written extension may be
requested by either party
• The objective is to insure that it is
signed by all parties prior to the
expiration of the date
• If not, it may result in someone
incurring a financial penalty or
loss of rights
Inspection Process
• The inspection phase is a mutually agreed timeframe that allows
the buyer a third party assessment of the structure and
mechanical components even if the property is “As Is”
• You may select any inspector you
choose but if any of my clients
have had a bad experience I am
obligated to disclose that to you
and require you to hold us harmless
from that decision
• If the listing agent or seller remain,
they may not interfere
Repair Requests
• Inspectors will submit a written report and it may be necessary to
secure experts to validate and quote the repairs identified
• Any requested repairs will be made in writing with that page of
the inspector’s report and/or the expert’s quote
• I will then formulate a written response based on your
instructions and attempt to
arrive at a mutually agreeable
solution in re-negotiating with
the seller’s agent
Finalizing Repair Phase
• Once agreed, repair items will
be addressed after receipt
of the written mortgage
commitment and prior to closing
• Sometimes a lender will send
an inspector to the property to
verify that repairs have been made or we will provide
paid written receipts from licensed professionals at closing
to verify that work was done
Mortgage Contingency
• Within a predetermined timeframe, a written commitment can
be expected from the buyer’s lender
• If extra time is required, a written extension may be requested
• The seller can decide whether to
grant the additional time or not
depending on your current
circumstance
• I will advise you of your options
Closing Count-Down
• Odds and Ends
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Verify all required repairs
Organize packing & movers
Contact utility companies for final readings
Transfer utility services into the buyer’s names
• Agent will schedule a pre-closing inspection
• Insure that contractually requested items are left
• Occupy on the day of closing
• Unless advance contractual arrangements have been made
Closing
• The closing date is a ‘ball-park’ date that is determined by
the closing attorneys and their respective clients
• Most closings proceed without incident since all details have
been handled and agreed upon prior to this event
• One of our professionals or our transaction coordinator will
be present to insure that everything that was agreed upon
stays that way!
Post-Closing
• I am always here to help if I can
• However, if you need general information or assistance –
please contact me!
• I appreciated the opportunity to represent you and please
keep me in mind when your friends, family and co-workers
want to buy or sell property
Thank you !
Realty3’s Mission
• Realty3 currently has four offices in Essex, Berlin,
Stonington and Southington, CT
• We are a local business with a national and
international presence through our elite affiliation with
Leading Real Estate Companies of the World and
Luxury Home Division
• Our mission is to provide superior
representational services, legally
and ethically, to consumers who
are interested in the buying and/or
selling of real property
Realty3’s Vision
• Our vision is to continue to offer our clients a distinct
competitive advantage in the marketplace when buying
and/or selling real property
• Our professional service consultants are dedicated to
delivering superior results for our clients by achieving
specialized professional designations
• Clients view the quality of our work as
second to none and continuously
recommend our representational
services to people they care about