Buying Your Home with MYH-O-M-E.com

Introduction

MYH-O-M-E.com Buyers Direct is a home buying program that combines an e-commerce application with the services of a local experienced agent.  Home buyers who can find a home to buy on their own by using the power of the internet will get up to 1% of the purchase price refunded to them within days of closing directly from MYH-O-M-E.com.   Local, experienced MYH-O-M-E.com agents and transaction coordinators handle home tours, offer preparation advice, negotiations, inspections and the closing process. (Please see section titled Duties of Buyer’s Agent or call us at (303)650-2866) 

How You Save Money

Very simple…of the commission paid to MYH-O-M-E.com from the purchase of    your new home up to 1% of your purchase price will be rebated directly back to you.  Within days of closing on your new home, MYH-O-M-E.com will have in the mail to you, your rebate, to be used for any purpose, window coverings, new washer/dryer, pay the painter, pay your first month mortgage payment…countless possibilities.  Example: you purchase a home for $300,000 and before you get settled in your new home you will receive a rebate check for up to $3,000 from MYH-O-M-E.com.   The amount of rebate you receive from MYH-O-M-E.com depends on the number of days you and your MYH-O-M-E.com agent spend touring properties: 

 1-2 days, your rebate is 1%
 3 days, your rebate is .75%
 4 days, your rebate is .50%
 5 days or more, your rebate is .25%
The minimum rebate you can receive is .25% of the net purchase price.

The amount of research you spend in identifying your new home is key to the amount of rebate you receive.

Eligibility

You can be eligible to receive this rebate offer if:
1. You begin your home search by registering as a VIP member in our
      MYH-O-M-E.com website.
2. You are under no obligation with another real estate agent.
3. You are a first time homebuyer.
4. You are purchasing one of MYH-O-M-E.com listings.

Our Business Model

Most traditional real estate agents spend the bulk of their time working with buyers on the hunt for the same property you can easily find on-line.  We focus our service where customers need it most, providing information to assist you with your home buying decision, winning the deal, handling the contracts and guiding you through a smooth painless transaction.

Your MYH-O-M-E.com Team 

Your MYH-O-M-E.com team is comprised of a group of highly specialized, motivated, knowledgeable, successful and professional real estate professionals.  We have an accumulated total of over 50 years of real estate experience and we conduct every transaction with care keeping our clients’ needs in front.    

Components of Our Service

* Advice on Getting Started: we can help you figure out what neighborhoods to concentrate your search in, what you can afford, and how the whole process works.  Whether your focus is in the “distressed” home market or real estate investment properties or first time residence, we have agents who specialize in those markets.

* Property Tours: You choose the properties you want to see through your internet research and our expert agents will arrange the viewings and conduct the tour.  We will provide useful information throughout the tour to assist you with your home buying decision.  To arrange a tour, open any property page on our website and click “request a tour” or contact us by phone or email.

* Comparative Market Analysis: Your MYH-O-M-E.com  agent will provide advice on preparing your offer and terms.  You will also be provided with a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA).  The results of this CMA will provide you with the current market value of the home you are most interested in by comparing it to most recent sales of properties most similar to the one you want to buy.

* Competitive research: understanding the seller’s requirements and the number of buyers offering on the property is crucial to winning the deal.  Your MYH-O-M-E.com agent will determine your competition and the seller’s terms to make your offer to purchase the most attractive.

* Preparation of offer documents: your MYH-O-M-E.com agent will prepare all of the required documents in preparation of presenting your offer.  Remember, as your buyer’s agent we work for you and your offer will reflect verbiage to protect you and your rights.

* Offer presentation to the seller: typically the listing agent presents your offer to their sellers.  Your MYH-O-M-E.com agent is an expert in preparing offers and presentation packages to direct the seller’s agent presentation of your offer.  Sometimes, situations exist where it may make better sense for your MYH-O-M-E.com agent to present your offer in person, in those cases we will every make effort to do so.

* Negotiations: your MYH-O-M-E.com agent will negotiate with the seller’s agent and the seller on all aspects of the offer.  Including responses to counter-offers, preparation of new offers, be present during the property inspection with your home inspector, prepare the inspection notice report and negotiate it’s resolution

* Contingencies support and Transaction management: once you have an executable offer to purchase you can still terminate the purchase.  Your MYH-O-M-E.com agent has full understanding of the contract documents and included contingencies.  Your MYH-O-M-E.com agent and staff will manage the transaction from acceptance to close to make it as painless for you and to ensure compliance, keeping you safe from default.

* Property appraisal: an appraisal is required by your lender before you can get a mortgage, This means an appraiser hired by your lender will have to check out your new place.  Your MYH-O-M-E.com agent will make sure the appraiser gains access to your new home and will provide as much assistance required by the appraiser or lender to ensure accuracy.
* Post-inspection property tour: you may request your MYH-O-M-E.com agent to walk through the property with you before closing so you can see for yourself that any repairs relating to the inspection resolution have been completed.

* Coordination with the Lender: we’ll provide your mortgage broker or lender with the information needed to fund the loan in time to buy you home.

* Coordination with the title company: we’ll provide the title company with all the purchase-related document, ensure title commitment and CIC documents are prepared and handled properly.  We’ll review the title commitment with you and the title company to ensure accuracy for a timely closing.  We will also attend closing with you to make sure your questions and concerns are handled professionally.  Remember: we are your advocate.

What you are responsible for are:

* Searching online for properties to buy: you determine what properties you want to see.  Your MYH-O-M-E.com agent will provide recommendations.

* Touring properties: scheduling with your MYH-O-M-E.com agent day and time to view properties you are interested in seeing. 

* Entering into a buyers agency with MYH-O-M-E.com
 

Deciding Whether to Buy

The first question to answer is whether the time is right to buy a property.  Some people try to time the market for maximum financial gain. But nobody knows when a market will improve or decline, particularly when it can take months or longer to find the perfect place to buy.

The question of whether real estate is a better long-term investment than stocks has been hotly debated.  A website called HouseMath compares the costs of renting and buying, allowing you to adjust assumptions about local taxes, mortgage rates and capital appreciation.

Any property can gain or lose value, talk with a MYH-O-M-E.com agent at (303)650-2866 to get information on areas or neighborhoods that historically have appreciated in value and areas and neighborhoods that are trending upward.

Apart from the financial risks and rewards, the reasons to buy are that you get the creative control to really make a place yours.  You can paint a wall or tear it down.  But if you aren’t handy, the repairs can be a hassle, and if you plan on only staying in one place for a year or two, the transaction costs on the mortgage and the real estate deal itself will take a big bite out of whatever equity you hope to build.  You probably should not buy a house for financial reasons if you are expecting to move again within two years. 

Deciding What You Can Afford

Even once you know you want to buy a place, you have to decide how much you can afford.  If you know how much cash you have on hand for a down payment, you can use the online mortgage calculator on our website to estimate what your monthly mortgage payment would be for different prices.

A rule of thumb is not to spend more the 65% of your income on mortgage, car and credit card payments unless you’re confident that your income will continue to grow.  You should also know that you’ll have to pay for mortgage insurance if you borrow more that 80% of the money used to buy your home, which takes the same form as a slightly higher interest rate.

Once you have decided that you indeed are ready to purchase a new home contact a mortgage lender, our preferred mortgage lender can be found on our recommended vendor list.  The mortgage lender can provide additional advice on mortgages and can provide a more reliable estimate on your likely mortgage payment.  The mortgage lender will also provide a Pre-approval letter which estimates the maximum price a lender could support your paying based on the information provided by you.  Getting a pre-approval letter doesn’t obligate you to work with the lender who generated it and it shouldn’t cost anything.  Moreover, the pre-approval letter will have to accompany any written offer to give the seller some assurance you can afford to pay the home you are offering on.  Seller agents will not present offers to their seller without a pre-approval letter. 

Choosing A Neighborhood

Know your price range is the first step in picking out a neighborhood.  Most people have a pretty good idea of the neighborhood in which they want to live, either because they’re just moving across town or because they’ve made contact with some locals who can give good advice.  You can also get a feel for a neighborhood just by driving around town and stopping in a café for a cup of hot chocolate.

If you’d prefer to do your research on line, try looking up the neighborhood on Wikipedia, which usually provides some basic facts and links to other useful sites.  You can also compare school quality across neighborhoods by finding links with that information on our website.  Even if you don’t have kids, this can have a big impact on re-sale value. 

Searching Online

Once you’ve figured out what you can afford to pay and where you want to live, you can start looking at places to buy.  For any market, the biggest database of homes for sale is the Denver area Multiple Listing Service (MLS), which combines listings from all the brokerages in the Denver area.  Usually at least 95% of all listings are available on the MLS.  The MYH-O-M-E.com website is a MLS-powered site, all properties listed on the Denver area MLS can be searched through our website.  Other options for your property search can also be found through our website.

You may also want to search for homes on the community website craigslist, you may find for sale by owners listings.  Your MYH-O-M-E.com agent can also assist and guide you through viewing and purchasing a for sale by owner or new construction.  The “for sale by owner” must agree to pay the standard commission fee to MYH-O-M-E.com. 

Touring Properties

Once you have an idea of what’s on the market, you’ll want to walk through a few open houses to get a sense of what you like. 

To set up a tour with a MYH-O-M-E.com agent, view the full property details on the MYH-O-M-E.com website and then click set a showing or simply call (303)650-2866.  A few tips for making the most of your tours:

* Attend a few open houses in your area of interest. When you attend an open house let the agent holding the open house you are working with a MYH-O-M-E.com agent.  Otherwise you will receive unsolicited communication from every agent you come in contact with.
* Drive by the homes you’re interested in prior to the tour. To be sure you’ll really want to see the inside
* Build up a solid list of contenders.  If you can, to make the best use of your time.
Rely on your MYH-O-M-E.com agent to set viewing appointments for you.  Your MYH-O-M-E.com agent can help you by keeping you focused and viewing only those homes that match your criteria.

When touring properties, you’ll want to:
* Bring a notebook.  So you can jot down questions and observations, and a camera.  You think you’ll remember everything but, chances are you won’t
* Avoid signing any guest registers. As this may pledge the buyer’s commission to the seller’s agent.
* Be on the look out for oddly placed furniture.  That may conceal carpet stains or damage.
* Turn off any music.  So you can gauge road and exterior noise.
* Bring a golf ball.  If you like to determine whether the floors slope.
* Bring a tape measure.  To make sure your couch can fit in the living room and the bedrooms can accommodate your beds.  You may also want to bring a flashlight to look in dark the places.
* Check the basement’s ceiling height. Also, if the basement is unfinished look for evidence of water infiltration on the walls and floor.  Look for cracking in the walls and floor too.
* Check for hardwood floors.  Underneath the carpet by pulling at a corner of the carpet near a heating vent.
* Check for water damage in the bathrooms.  Try to wiggle the toilet, if it is not firmly set to the floor you may have a problem.  Knock on the walls of the shower, if the thuds have different sounds, you may have a problem. Look for wood rot and water stains on the floor trim.
* Talk to neighbors you see.  About the neighborhood
* Look for: wavy exterior siding, discoloration on the exterior southern wall, close interior doors, interior cracking around doors and windows, negative drainage around exterior foundation, sump pump (is there water in it?)
* Make sure there’s enough storage space.  For all of your stuff

Since the value of your property depends on what you can sell it for down the road, some things that you may not want for yourself still matter a lot:
* Location.  You may not care if the neighborhood is a little gritty or if the property is on a busy street, but this will lower the future value.
* Bedrooms and Bathrooms.  Homes with three or four bedrooms are easiest to sell, particularly if the bedrooms are all on the same floor.
* Garages. Houses with no garage are harder to sell than homes with 2 or 3 car garages
* Master Bedroom.  Can a king size bed comfortably fit?  Is there a bathtub in the master bath? A walk in closet?
* School district.  If you’re buying a single family home, the school district can swing the price up or down 5-10%.  It’s also nice to be around transit.

And don’t go overboard on the amenities.  Fancy granite countertops and upgrade appliances shouldn’t distract you from what really matters: location and property size.  Pools don’t add much to value but nicely landscaped yards do. 
 
There’s also plenty of online research you can do, on PropertyShark.com and Zillow.com as well as county and city sites for tax and zoning information.

Contingencies

Just because your earnest money is held in escrow after the acceptance of your offer to purchase doesn’t mean that you have to buy the property.  There are a number of contingencies written into the contract to buy that protects you against buying a property.  Some of those contingencies are:
 
* Inspection.  Your home inspector may discover that the property has problems that weren’t apparent to you or your MYH-O-M-E.com agent when you made your offer.  You may elect to terminate the transaction or negotiate with the seller the repair or a price reduction in lieu of repair.  Your MYH-O-M-E.com agent will be very instrumental
* Property Appraisal.  Your mortgage lender will have the home appraised prior to final loan approval.  If the property does not appraise at the value of your offer the lender will not allow the purchase of the property. Either the terms of the purchase offer must change or the transaction terminates.
* Review of Homeowner’s association documents.  You have the right to review the homeowner’s association documents, this informs you of the do’s and don’ts of the community you are buying into.  If you don’t agree to abide the HOA declarations, we can terminate the transaction.
* Home Owners insurance.  Your mortgage lender will require you to carry hazard insurance on your purchase.  Identifying this insurance is your responsibility prior to final loan approval.  If for some chance you cannot find hazard insurance you think is suitable we can terminate the transaction.
* Loan Approval.  If for some reason you cannot obtain full loan approval, we can terminate the transaction.

Your MYH-O-M-E.com agent plays a hugely important role in ensuring fiduciary continuity, making sure you and your money is always safe.

What is Buyer’s Agency?

Broker, acting as either a Transaction-Broker or a Buyers Agent, shall perform the following Uniform Duties when working with Buyer:

a. Broker shall exercise reasonable skill and care for Buyer, including but not limited to the following:

1. Performing the terms of any written or oral agreement with Buyer
2. Presenting all offers to and from Buyer in a timely manner regardless of whether Buyer is already a party to a contract to Purchase the Property
3. Disclosing to Buyer adverse material facts actually known by Broker
4. Advising Buyer regarding the transaction and to obtain expert advice as to material matters about which Broker knows but the specifics of which are beyond the expertise of Broker
5. Accounting in a timely manner for all money and property received
6. Keeping Buyer fully informed regarding the transaction

b. Broker shall not disclose the following information without the informed consent of Buyer
1. That Buyer is willing to pay more than the purchase price offered for the Property
2. What Buyer’s motivating factors are
3. That Buyer will agree to financing terms other than those offered
4. Any material information about Buyer unless disclosure is required by law or failure to disclose such information would constitute fraud or dishonest dealing
5. Any facts or suspicions regarding circumstances that could psychologically impact or stigmatize the Property
c. Buyer consents to Broker’s disclosure of Buyer’s confidential information to the supervising broker or designee for the purpose of proper supervision, provided such supervising broker to designee shall not further disclose such information without consent of Buyer, or use such information to the detriment of Buyer.
d. Broker may show properties in which the Buyer is interested to other prospective buyers without breaching any duty or obligation to such Buyer.  Broker shall not be prohibited from showing competing buyers the same property and from assisting competing buyers in attempting to purchase a particular property
e. Broker shall not be obligated to seek other properties while Buyer is already a party to a contract to purchase property
f. Broker has no duty to conduct an independent inspection of the Property for the benefit of a Buyer and has no duty to independently verify the accuracy or completeness of statements made by Seller or independent inspectors.  Broker has no duty to conduct an independent investigation of a Buyer’s financial condition or to verify the accuracy or completeness of any statement made by a Buyer
g. Broker shall disclose to any prospective seller all adverse material facts actually known by Broker, including but not limited to adverse material facts concerning Buyer’s financial ability to perform the terms of the transaction and whether Buyer intends to occupy the Property as a principal
h. Buyer shall not be liable for the acts of Broker unless such acts are approved, directed or ratified by the Buyer

Additional Duties of Buyer’s Agent. 

Broker is a limited agent of Buyer, with the following additional duties;
a. Promoting the interest of Buyer with the utmost good faith, loyalty and fidelity
b. Seeking a price and terms that are acceptable to Buyer
c. Counseling Buyer as to any material benefits or risks of a transaction that are actually known by Broker

Buyer’s Obligations to Broker.  Buyer agrees to conduct all negotiations for the Property only through Broker, and to refer to Broker all communications received in any form from real estate brokers, prospective sellers or any other source during the Term of the Buyer’s Agency agreement.

Language has been approved by the Colorado Real Estate commission (BC60-04-05)