pdsande's Profile
- Paul
- 2008
- 2008
- Brooklyn
- Crown Heights
- Rental
- Architect
- Male
- 27
Author's Posts
July 26, 2009
Ridiculous First-Time Buyer ?s
My wife and I moved to Brooklyn 1.5 years ago, and we are now considering a condo purchase. We have been casually looking around and checking out open-houses, and have recently found something perfect for us. We want to make an offer, but want to make sure that we are doing everything smart.
So far our only prep has been to get a mortgage pre-approval letter, but what should our next step be? I know that the Brooklyn standard is to forego a buyer-broker and stick with the seller's, but when should we get ourselves an attorney? Should we begin by casually stating our interest with the seller's broker, or should we draft a written offer with all of the details (seller's concession, financing contingency etc.)?
Furthermore, is 5-6% a good estimate for seller's concession/closing costs? What else am I forgetting? Am I being ridiculously concerned over nothing?
Author's Comments
Thanks for the incredibly helpful tips! The only follow up question that you've left me is about earnest money. Is it really standard to put 10% of the purchase price down as earnest money? We are hoping to find 90% financing, so that would be equivalent to our entire down payment! (Yeah, I know that getting approved for 90% financing and actually getting it are two very different things, but we've seen a number of preferred lenders who are up to it. We'll try and take them up on it.) Obviously we can handle that amount of deposit, but it seems enormous.
Posted by: pdsande at July 27, 2009 1:52 PM in response to Ridiculous First-Time Buyer ?s