Buyer

A Guide to buying your home

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Agent Representation Secure Financing Home Shopping Make An Offer Down Payment & Closing

The Advantages of Buyer Agency

Your Interests are Professionally Represented
We will take care of the hassles of everyday real estate transactions for you. We let you concentrate on your full-time job, while we do our job. We will guide you through the home-buying process and exclusively represent your interests as we help you and a home, present your contract offer, negotiate, and close on our home.
You Get a Personal Specialist who Knows Your Needs
Your buyer’s agent gets to know your real estate needs and concerns. Your Agent will save you a lot of time by providing you all the details about any home before you see it. In addition, your agent will listen to your feedback and concerns about each home.
You Will Quickly and Conveniently Get a Great Home
You will have a professional agent working for you that will be working to find and secure the ideal home for you. You won’t need to spend endless evenings and weekends driving around looking for homes or trying to search computer networks by yourself. When you tour homes with your agent, you will already know the homes meet your criteria and are within your price range.
What is The Buyers Agency Agreement?
When you sign the agreement, you are simply agreeing to “hire”a personal representative who, by law, must represent your best interests to the best of his/her ability. All of this personal service is available at absolutely NO COST TO YOU.

Understanding Agency

Seller Agency
Agent represents the best interest of the seller
Agent will owe the seller fiduciary duties
Agent must give the buyer all material facts so the buyer can make an educated decision
Buyer Agency
Agent represents the best interest of the seller
Agent will owe the seller fiduciary duties
Agent must give the seller all material facts so the seller can make an educated decision
Dual Agency
Agent represents both the buyer and the seller equally
Agent’s objective is to get a mutually satisfactory agreement among all parties
All parties have confidentiality. Agent may not do anything to the detriment of either party

The Mortgage and Loan Process

Pre-Qualification
A determination of whether or not a borrower can obtain credit and the amount of credit the applicant can obtain.
When do I Need to get Pre-Qualified?
In order for a buyer to be a qualified buyer, they need to obtain lender pre-qualification prior to viewing property.
Why do I Need to be Pre-Qualified?
In such a competitive market, buyers who are not pre-qualified are often dismissed. It is not uncommon for a seller to receive multiple offers. If one buyer is pre-qualified, and one is not, it’s not likely a seller will choose a buyer who may or may not be able to obtain financing.

Knowing exactly how much you can comfortably spend on a home reduces the potential frustration of looking at homes beyond your means.

You may be able to afford more than you think. A few thousand dollars in a home will have little impact on a payment and may have a huge impact on the condition of the home. Online calculators are rarely accurate and may impact what you think you can afford.
How do I get Pre-Qualified?
Select a lender or two (it’s ok to shop around)

Fill out the lenders application (online or in person)

Prepare your financial information to submit to the lender
What Documents will I Need to Provide the Lender?
Picture I.D.

Social Security Number

Employment History for 24 months

List of Liabilities/Payments (vehicle, student loans, credit cards, etc.)

Copies of your most recent pay stubs (2-3 months)

Copies of your bank statements (2-3 months)

Tax Returns (2 years)

(This is a general list of items that most lenders begin the process with. Your lender may seek additional documents and information)

How Do I Choose a Lender?

Referrals are the best way to choose a lender. Ask your friends, family and work associates. Here is a list of individuals our past clients have used and recommended.

Yvonne Kelly
Fairway Mortgage
406-272-8841
yvonne.kelly@fairwaymc.com

Sara Mains
First Interstate Bank
406-255-5177
Sara.Mains@fib.com

Kamber Kelly-Brodock
Rocky Mountain Bank
406.655.2788
KKelly@rmbank.com

Roshan Foran
Yellowstone Bank
406-248-3600
rforan@yellowstonebank.com

Monica Dooley
Stockman Bank
406-896-4801
mdooley@stockmanbank.com

Download an Example of the Cost Estimate

Will all Lenders Have the Same Fees?

No. Each financing institution has their own fee structure. The fees themselves will be similar across the board but the dollar amounts will vary. Generally speaking, if an institution (generally mortgage companies) has lower closing costs, the interest rate will be higher. The borrower must determine if it’s better for them to pay a higher interest rate over the life of the loan and be able to come in with less at closing.

Shopping for Your New Home

Now that you are pre-qualified and we know exactly what you can afford and/or what payment you are comfortable with, we can start shopping!

Wants vs Needs
In order to find the “perfect” home, sometimes it’s necessary to determine what is a want vs a need. It’s important you make the determinations early in the process so we can effectively help you find a great home. This will significantly decrease what can be a stressful home search due to being overwhelmed with an abundant amount of options that don’t fit what you really need.
Now What?
As your agent(s), we will begin the property search for you. You will receive notifications of property meeting your search criteria. Please keep in mind that the search criteria we set is somewhat broad to ensure we don’t miss something that may be perfect for you (ex: don’t put in “fenced” because a property may be fenced but it reflects it’s not because it’s missing one small side). Upon notification, you can take a look at the pictures and let us know if you want to view the property.

Additionally, we are always touring homes and may find something for you that’s not yet on the market or is perfect for you but it didn’t come up on search results because it was 25 square ft. too small. We are always shopping for you!

Please remember that Zillow and similar websites will NOT have the most up to date information.

Narrowing the Search

Through discussing your wants and needs, we will be able to narrow down the homes you may be interested in instead of touring the hundreds of homes on the market. What we need to know:

What are of town would you like to live in?
Is there a particular school district you would like to be in?
Do you have a minimum amount of square footage you would like?
How many bedrooms do you need?
How many bathrooms do you need?
Is a garage a must? If so, how many cars?
Do have a preference on the age of the home?
Do you want a home in move-in condition or are you willing to do some work?
Are you seeking a condo, townhouse or single-family home?
Do you have a preference on the amount of stories?
What would be your ideal floor plan?
Do you want a yard? If so, does it need to be fenced?

Making an Offer

Once you find the property you want, we will write an offer.

The Price
What you offer on the property depends on a number of factors including its condition, length of time on the market, buyer activity, and the urgency of the seller. While some buyers want to make a low offer just to see if the seller accepts, this isn’t often a smart choice, as the seller may be insulted and decide not to negotiate at all.
How Do We Use Those Factors to Determine Price
We do a CMA, comparative market analysis. The program takes into consideration the age, condition, size and amenities of the property.
The Move-In Date
If you can be flexible on the possession date, the seller will be more apt to choose your offer over others. A 60-day closing is average.
Additional Property
Often, the seller plans on leaving major appliances in the home: however, which items stay or go is often a matter of negotiation.

Typically, you will not be present at the offer presentation. We will present it to the listing agent and/or seller. The seller will do one of the following.

Accept the offer

Reject the offer

Counter the offer with changes

The most common is a counteroffer. When a counteroffer is presented, we will work together to review each specific area of it, making sure that we move forward with your goals in mind and ensuring that we negotiate the best possible price and terms on your behalf.

Determining the Offer Price

You will be provided with a market value analysis to assist you in determining what a fair offer will be.

How is a Market Value Analysis Done?

MLS information is used to pull homes comparable to the one you are looking at. Criteria may vary due to location but as a general guideline, the following criteria are used:

Within the subdivision up to 1/2 mile radius
+/- 300 square feet
Similar type of home (single family, townhome, condo)

Once the number of properties are narrowed down, adjustments will be made for certain items such as, but not limited to:

Garage number
Central air
Underground sprinklers
Finished vs unfinished square footage
Heating type
Number of bathrooms
Number of garages

Download a free copy of our buyer’s guide

Down Payment & Closing Costs

Down Payment
A percentage (%) of the purchase price in which the financing institution requires the borrower to put down at closing. Your Earnest Money will be used towards the down payment.
Earnest Money
These are the funds submitted with an offer to show a seller you are serious about purchasing their home. These funds are held in an escrow account and will not be given directly to the seller. In the event the transaction is incomplete based on a contingency in the contract, the funds will be returned to you.
Closing Costs
It costs money to borrow money. These fees are related to services that must be performed to complete a home loan. These costs are over and above the amount you borrow for a mortgage and the down payment.
What Fees go into Total Closing Costs?
Closing costs typically include, but are not limited to:

Prepaid Costs (Insurance, Taxes & Interest)

Credit Report Fee

Loan Origination Fee

Title Search Fee

Recording Fee

Misc. Lender Fees

Appraisal Cost(s)
How Much Will I Pay in Closing Costs?
Closing costs vary due to the abundant amount of loan programs available. Generally speaking, total closing costs range from 2%-5% of a home’s purchase price. Lenders are required by to law to disclose to you, in writing, an estimate of what your closing costs will be.
Is There Anything Else I Have to Pay For?
We recommend all buyers have a home inspection. These inspections generally run between $250-$600 depending on the size of home and type of inspection.

Frequently Asked Questions

How will you tell me about the newest homes available?

The MLS provides up-to-date information for homes on the market. We are constantly watching the activity and will notify by phone/email as soon as there’s something matching your criteria.

Will you inform me of homes from all real estate companies or only yours?

We will keep you informed of all homes. MLS gives all agents access to the same listings.

Can you help me find new construction homes?

Yes. We will work on your behalf to interview and select a builder. One you choose the builder, we will walk you through the process the same as a pre-existing home.

How does for sale by owner work?

If you see a for sale by owner, give us a call and we will coordinate with them. Occasionally they will choose not to work with a buyers agent.

Can we go back through the the property again once our offer is accepted?

This is a common request and generally sellers are very understanding and accommodating.

Is it an option to move in before closing?

On occasion but it is highly discouraged. There are some extenuating circumstances that this will be negotiated.

Population Statistics

Population of Montana 1.039M

Population of Yellowstone County 158k

Population of Billings 110k

A Guide to buying your home

Buyer's Guide

The Advantages of Buyer Agency

Your Interests are Professionally Represented

You Get a Personal Specialist who Knows Your Needs

You Will Quickly and Conveniently Get a Great Home

What is The Buyers Agency Agreement?

Understanding Agency

The Mortgage and Loan Process

Pre-Qualification

When do I Need to get Pre-Qualified?

Why do I Need to be Pre-Qualified?

How do I get Pre-Qualified?

What Documents will I Need to Provide the Lender?

How Do I Choose a Lender?

Cost Estimate Example

Shopping for Your New Home

Wants vs Needs

Now What?

Narrowing the Search

Making an Offer

The Price

How Do We Use Those Factors to Determine Price

The Move-In Date

Additional Property

Determining the Offer Price

Buyer's Guide

Down Payment & Closing Costs

Down Payment

Earnest Money

Closing Costs

What Fees go into Total Closing Costs?

How Much Will I Pay in Closing Costs?

Is There Anything Else I Have to Pay For?

Frequently Asked Questions

Population Statistics

Disclaimer

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