Home > Buyers > The Buying Process

If you are a buyer looking to purchase real estate in the Triangle Area of North Carolina which includes Durham, Chapel Hill, and Raleigh, then you have found the right agency! Our experienced, qualified, North Carolina licensed Real Estate Brokers can assist you with your real estate transaction every step of the way. We are a full service real estate firm specializing in Wake, Durham and Chatham Counties.

If you are a buyer looking for a real estate professional to guide and advise you through the process, then you have located the correct real estate website! Whether you are looking to buy in Hillsborough, Chapel Hill, Carborro, Pittsboro, Durham, Raleigh, Knightdale, or Wake Forest, we have the tools needed to locate the perfect property. Not only will we help you to find a home, we will educate you on the real estate purchase process. It is our goal for you to become as educated as possible so that you may make an informed decision on your investment.

We have derived an overview for you of the home buying process in North Carolina so that you can become acustomed to the terms, contracts, forms and financing world that you will be introduced to. Please read through THE BUYING PROCESS and see how a real estate transaction in North Carolina operates. Please know that there is not a “normal transaction.” All real estate transactions are unique, as is every piece of real estate. There are no two pieces of property exactly alike, which makes for a different transaction every time.

THE BUYING PROCESS outlined for you here will give you a guideline to follow as you step into the real estate world. Please click here to see the forms that you may be asked to either fill out and/or sign. You may print these pages, make your notes, and email us with questions. We highly encourage you to look through these forms now at your own pace so that you are familiar with them when it comes time to start signing.

THE BUYING PROCESS

The first thing that you will want to do is contact a lender, or several of them for that matter, to get a quote on their current interest rates for your loan. The lender may also have special financing programs to offer, so check around and find the best rate!
Many factors go into determining an interest rate such as term of loan, credit rating, down payment, and type of loan.

We have a mortgage calculator and home loan qualifier to assist you in getting started. This will give you a good idea of what you are looking at before you contact a lender. Remember when you are qualifying yourself or when you are giving information to the lender, you will want to make sure to be as accurate as possible. The last thing that you want is to find your dream home and find out during the contingency period that you actually do not qualify for the home and the loan is rejected. You will be much better off knowing from the beginning what you are able to afford and what the lender will loan to you before you even begin to look. The flip side is that your financial and credit rating status are better than you thought and you actually qualify for a higher loan therefore, more house!!

When you speak to the lender about becoming prequalified, the lender will qualify your loan amount based on an income to debt ratio. This income to debt ratio lets the lender know how much of a monthly payment you can afford based on your monthly net income minus your expenses. Once the lender derives this number he or she will be able to tell you how much of a home loan that you are qualified for.

Once you have found a lender that you feel comfortable with and that you feel will help guide you through the process, then you will want to obtain a Pre-Qualification Letter to present with any offer that you want to make on a new home. This Pre-Qualification letter is not a Loan Comittment letter, but a letter stating that as of the day that you submitted your loan info, it seems as though the lender should have no problem loaning you the money needed for the home. There are many factors that go into having the loan approved, but this letter informs the seller that you have done your homework, know that you qualify for the home, and are ready to start the loan process. This also lets the seller know that you are a serious buyer and have already completed step one of the financing sector.

So, once you have a lender and a Pre-Qualification letter stating how much home you are aproved for, then you are ready to find a professional Real Estate Agent and/or REALTOR.

You will want to talk with a few REALTORS to determine which personality fits with yours the best. There are over 80,000 licensed agents in the state of North Carolina, so chances are, there is one out there that is perfect for you. (Please note that not all agents are REALTORS.)

You will want to make sure that the agent is knowledgable about the area that you are interested in. The agent doesn’t necessarily have to know the neighborhood, but you are looking for someone who knows the city, county, schools, commercialized areas, heavy development, etc. You will want to make sure that your agent is concientious and internet-savvy, as these are two very important personality tools to have in today’s real estate world. Without the internet it is almost impossible to search for new homes and communicate offers efficiently. Without being conscientious, your agent may miss important details.

Since we at Massey Real Estate, LLC understand the importance of a good Real Estate Broker and understand what you, the buyer, need, we suggest that you give us a chance. We are a no obligation agency up until you are ready to put in an offer on a property. We feel that if you are not 100% satisfied with our service that you are not obligated to remain with our firm. We will even gladly assist you in locating a Broker who can better meet your needs.

Now that hopefully you are looking to hire us as your agency, here is where the fun begins!!

Just so that you understand how agency representation operates in North Carolina, we have included for you the Working With Real Estate Agents brochure. This brochure will explain to you our job as your agency working with and for you. We will hold fiduciary obligations to you during, throughout, and after the transaction has closed. It is important that you, the buyer, understand that if you hire us to be your Exclusive Buyer’s Agent that we are working for you and not for the seller. Anything that you convey to us is kept confidential and anything that we may learn of the property and/or seller, we will convey to you immediately. Think of us as your team, fighting for your best interests to save you time and money, while at the same time making a wise long-term investment.

When we get ready to submit an offer on a property, we will ask you to sign an Exclusive Right to Represent Buyer. As part of our no obligation policy (up until an offer is submitted) we do not ask for you to sign anything until you are ready to buy. We will fulfill all duties mentioned in the contract without signatures, but you are not bound to our agency for any reason. Up until we submit an offer on your behalf, you may walk away from our company and we will even assist you in locating a Broker who can accommodate your needs. When an offer is being submitted, we will sign an agreement at that time.

When you are ready to begin the hunt, one of our Brokers will customize a search for you based on your personal preferences. We will email the search to you and set up your search so that you are notified immediately if there is a change and/or addition to any listings in your desired area or with certain desired criteria. You can e-mail us with any questions pertaining to any property that is listed in the Triangle Multiple Listing Service. We have access to all properties in the Triangle Area and can assist you as your buyer’s agent with any of them. Two great benefits of being a buyer with our company is that you will not pay us any fees out of your pocket and if the seller doesn’t offer you a 12 month home warranty at closing, then we will, paid for by Massey Real Estate, LLC.

Once you have found properties that interest you through our searches, then either we can set up a time to meet if you live locally, or if you are relocating from out of state or out of town, then we can make arrangements for you to have a tour of the area while you are here searching for a home. (If relocating to the Triangle, please see our relocation section).

Now that we have found you the perfect home and/or investment, it is time to put in the offer. Before we put in the offer, we want to take a look at the Seller Property Disclosure Statement. This statement given by the seller lets the buyer know if there are any known defects on the house and/or lot. It is North Carolina law that all sellers must disclose any known material facts to the buyer about the property that they are selling . If the disclosure statement is acceptable to the buyer then we are ready to proceed with the contract. (If we are not able to view the disclosure statement before submitting an offer, there is a place to check stating that they buyer has not viewed the disclosure statement and if isn’t able to within 3 days of submitting the offer then the buyer can withdraw their offer and have all earnest money refunded.)

Before submitting your offer, your Broker will have supplied you with a comparable market analysis to determine if the asking price is fair and what should be a good guideline for you to make your offer. When deriving a price for a comparative market analysis, it is best to be able to find homes that are similar, in the same area and have sold within the past 30 days. Anything over 30 days may need justification as to the price. Examples: new highway opened, new shopping center opened, road being widened (negative price) etc. Sometimes agents do not have a choice except to use comparable properties that have sold much longer than 30 days prior. If this is the case with your property, keep in mind the time change, which could affect an area and or property directly.

To view the contract that you will need to sign, we have included for you a sample Offer to Purchase and Contract for the state of North Carolina. We will ensure that we have all necessary information from you and from the seller’s agent, then we will fill in the form for you. (For everyone’s convenience, we can handle all forms via email and fax.) Before filling in the form, we will need to know what type of loan you will be getting and what the maximum interest rate will be that you will find acceptable for the loan. We will decide what contingencies you want to ask for and include them with your offer. We will decide on a closing date, which all buyers must attend. We will ask for you to review the contract, initial at the bottom of each page and sign the last page. Please know that if the seller’s agent and your agent come to a verbal agreement on an offer to purchase and contract, that the contract is not binding until all parties have signed. This is where the conscientious agent comes in handy. You don’t want to not get in signatures and then a better offer than yours come along and someone snatch your house!

There are many forms that may also be included with your offer to purchase and contract. These forms are an Additional Provisions Addendum, Lead Based Paint Hazard Addendum (for houses and structures built before 1978), Buyer Possession Before Closing agreement, Seller Possession after Closing agreement, and Radon Inspections Addendum.

It is a nice idea to look over these forms now and familiarize yourself with the wording while you are under no pressure to sign. People sometimes tend to miss things when the pressure is on!

When deciding what contingencies, if any, to ask with your offer, look to your agent for suggestions. Based on your finanical situation, condition of the home and/or lot, if it is tenant occupied, etc. will make a differences on the contingencies that you ask for.

Once the offer has been accepted, which can sometimes take days of going back and forth, then the process starts. Either the buyer or the agent can order any needed inspections. Massey Real Estate has a list of approved vendors for any needed inspections and/or repairs to assist you in this hiring process. (Please know that in North Carolina it is the buyer’s responsibility to pay for any and all inspections pertaining to the close of the transaction, unless otherwise stated in the contract and accepted by the seller.) It is important for the buyer to attend the home inspection. This is sometimes considered the best investment on your new home. The inspector will reveal all truth to the property, so you will want to be there to hear it! They will inspect from the roof to the foundation, inside and out! The licensed home inspector should provide you with a detailed book on your new home explaining what was inspected and the results that were found. The inspector will tell you what measures are needed to correct any problem area and/or what type of contractor is needed to do the job.

After all inspections are performed, you and your agent will decide what repair requests to ask for. We will fill out these two forms to submit to the seller. These forms are the Repair Agreement (wood-destroying insect) and Repair Agreement. Once the buyer and seller have agreed to repairs, (which is the second negotiation stage of the process), then either repairs are completed before closing, or the buyer is credited at closing for the repairs which are conducted after the property has transferred ownership. Please remember that any modifications to the contract must be approved by the lender. Modifications include, but are not limited to, repairs, carpet/paint allowance, closing costs paid, etc.

During this contingency stage, the lender has usually hired an approved, licensed appraiser to appraise the property, which is paid for by the buyer and considered part of your closing costs. Once the appraiser has given their professional opinion to the value of the property and it meets standards for the lender then you are on your way to receiving your loan commitment letter. Once you receive this letter and we pass along to the seller, then we are even closer to closing!!

It is customary that the buyer get to choose the closing “escrow” agent, time, and place. When it comes to “closing” day, within 24 hours of the closing, you will receive a HUD-1 statement to review. This statement reveals all monies received and paid out pertaining to your closing. You will be able to review and approve this statement before the closing. Once the closing has taken place, the lender must wait on a funding number before they can distribute funds and record the deed. Once these items are taken care of, then you are free to get the keys and start moving in!

To say, “Thank You” for hiring us as your agency, we gift all buyers with a free 1 year Home Warranty at closing. This warranty covers all major items on your home for the first year, so this alleviates having to replace pipes two months after you move in!!

The buying process is quite simple, at least that is what we want for you to believe at the beginning, during it, and at the end. We understand that this is a lot of things to take care of in a short amount of time, so the REALTOR association has derived a generic Real Estate Closing checklist to assist us in making sure that all jobs are complete.

We hope that you feel educated and informed and look to us to guide you with your decisions. We are here so that you do not have to deal with anyone else during this purchase. We want for you to feel comfortable and happy with your real estate purchase through Massey Real Estate, LLC!