Meeting with me and signing a listing agreement or a buyer agency agreement is the first step. That paperwork is binging you to me and me to you to work together to meet the goal of selling or buying. I will have a fiduciary duty to be loyal to you and work hard for you. For this service, I will earn a commission. If I don't produce, you don't owe me a dime! Yes, I work for free until you get what you want. As a buyer's agent, I will find properties for you to view or arrange for you to view properties you find. I will work with unrepresented sellers as well.

Whether you are buying or selling (or both) the next process towards settlement begins. As a buyer, you will need to contact your lender and update your file with your processor. You may want to begin to watch the rates and discuss locking in your rate with your loan officer. I will send a copy of the contract to you and your loan officer. Your earnest money check will be deposited into the broker’s escrow account. The loan officer should discuss with you ordering an appraisal and may even want to collect payment for that very important report.

The inspection process should begin very soon, often within days of contract acceptance. As part of your contract, you had an addendum to gain permission from the seller to have a structural and mechanical inspection, radon test or other inspections for environmental issues such as lead paint or underground storage tank. You can pick the contractor or company to do these inspections and you will need to pay for them usually at the time of service. I can call and make appointments for any and all inspections. There is usually a window of time allowed for these inspections and you will need to get in writing an addendum to ask the seller to make repairs. This is another part of negotiations. If the seller will not repair all the items on your list or if you are buying the house “as is”, this is a way for you to terminate the contract and seek your deposit back in full as long as you are within your time frame.

 The termite inspection is separate from the other inspections and needs to be completed within 30 days of settlement.  Well sample and testing at a lab is another inspection and can include bacteria, chemical and metal such as for radium or lead, testing results. It is another addendum and negotiation as part of the buying process. Septic test again is a separate inspection and has its own negotiations. Reports need to be in writing as proof should you ask the seller to repair or update these functions of the home.

 You should also set aside time to review any homeowner’s association documents provided by the seller if applicable. If you are the seller, get a copy to give to the buyer. There should have been an addendum to the contract if this applies to your transaction.  It may include a budget or operating expenses and covenants and restrictions. Maryland law allows for 5 days from the receipt of this document for you to review and be released with your full deposit if you find those to not meet your needs in a neighborhood.

 Within the first few days of contract acceptance, title office will be contacted and given a copy of the contract. They will order title work and order the payoff amounts for the mortgage company.  There is a charge to the buyer for this and it will be collected at settlement. This is one of the charges that can be paid out of the closing assistance if provided in your contract. Should you decide not to proceed due to the home inspection repairs or home owner’s association review you may still need to pay for the service. The title company will coordinate with your lender and part of your loan process is a copy of the title work. The title company most likely works only weekdays just as banking institutions do. They do have limited appointments especially towards the end of the month. It is important to let me know what days and times will work best for you early in this process. I will coordinate with the lender as well as the other parties in the contract such as the other agent and the seller/buyer. If you are not able to sign documents for yourself, sometimes a Power-of-attorney can be appointed by you with someone you trust. There is a fee for preparing this as well as recording the original document at the courthouse.

 The first week or so has a lot of activity and then we wait! Your loan officer will update you on your loan process and may require additional documentation. Please let me know if you have any problems or let me know if I can help to keep paperwork moving quickly to their office. Now is a good time to make calls about switching over utilities and arranging for home owner’s insurance.

 Just before settlement we will do a pre-settlement inspection to make sure repairs are made and the house is in the same or better condition. I will follow up with you a few days after settlement to see how things are going for you.