First time home buyer looking for advice

Hi – long time reader, first time poster at Brownstoner.  First time home-buyer as well!  I’m looking to buy a co-op in Downtown Brooklyn.  I know what I’m looking for and I may have found a place I’m seriously interested in but my question is…how do I *actually* go about buying? I’ve called my bank and should have no problem getting approved for my loan amount.  I’ll be putting down 20%. Do I need a real-estate agent?  If so, how do I find one?  Do I need a lawyer? What is the process like for putting in an offer and negotiating?   What does the closing process look like?  How much does it cost? What sort of questions should I be asking about the apartment before putting in an offer?  I know the price, the maintence, the taxes…anything else I should be asking? I’d really appreciate any advice you all can offer, I know we have some experts here!

See as you mentioned that you are a new buyer.If you don’t have any experience buying the home before than you should go for a real estate agent.And he will let you know that do you need to hire a lawer for the same as this depends upon the country to country moreover most of the time a real estate agant is a lawyer itself.

If you’ve seen the unit already and didn’t indicate that you were using an agent, chances are they are not going to let you bring one in now, and split any commission.  Hire a real estate lawyer, NOT a lawyer that someone at work or someone in the family recommends because they know them but whose specialty is not real estate.  I will recommend my lawyer.  He will walk you through the whole process.  David Fainkich 917-376-1588\.  david@dfainkich.com   As far  as the building, find out what special assessments have been recently and for what, whether ther are mor planned for the future and find out how old the roof, boiler, brick pointing, windows are.  Your lawyer can explain all these issues and might recommend that you hire an inspector to explain the issues to you.       If this building is new construction (<3 years old) make sure you thoroughly vet the reputation of the contractor or walk away.

Ditto on hiring a real estate lawyer, specifically one who is used to handling NYC coops. Don’t hire an inspector only if the lawyer advises you to – DEFINITELY hire an inspector, whether construction is new or old (I’m sure it isn’t new, as no one is building new coops, only new condos, so if you are using the word “coop” specifically, rather than as a generic for “coops and condos,” then you won’t have to worry about new construction, as it will be older.  (DIBS is right to advise you to vet new construction contractors thoroughly – lots of horror stories – I don’t think I would ever buy new condo contruction, not until a few years had passed and the problems they left the buyers had been sorted out.)  But yes, in older coops (and not so old) you need to be concerned with what repairs will be coming up, how the building finances them usually (reserves – do they have much?  assessments as needed – ask yourself if you can afford this if you get hit with a big assessment suddenly, if that’s how they generally finance repairs and capital improvements, AND/OR maintenance increases – again, can you afford this – assume they will go up steadily in any event, just not dramatically unless the coop finances its repair needs this way, in which case they could rise dramatically if the building needs something done.  So, get a history of maintenance increases, in addition to any assessments, over the past few years.  (Your lawyer will do this, or should.) Also, listen to your lawyer!  If they advise you to walk away from the building after the due diligence is done, DO carefully consider following their advice (mine told me to walk away and not buy my coop; I didn’t; made out financially, in the end, but my lawyer was right, there were some miserable times – my lawyer correctly picked up on entrenched dysfuction in the small coop).  Also, if you don’t end up getting this one, do consider using a real estate agent where you can.  Some brokers don’t co-broke (share their commission with a buyer’s broker), so you can’t.  Other brokers (the bigger ones, generally, and REBNY member brokers) will split the commission with a buyer’s broker.  Use one where the property you want is listed by a broker who shares.  (DIBS is right – they may not let you bring one in now if you didn’t tell them you had one when you saw it, even if they generally split commissions with buyers’ brokers – but they might, it can’t hurt to ask.)  I didn’t have one – bought a place listed by a small broker who did not split commissions – it does help to have your own broker  representation, I’ve decided (if you choose someone good, as in all situations) – I’m not sure I’d buy a listing from that sort of broker again – I’d want my own buyer’s broker next time – some things, I learned, in hindsight, would likely have been handled differently – especially important to have, I think, as first-time buyer, as I was. But find out about how buyer broker agreements work – you may still want to be sure you are free to buy without using your buyers broker if you decide to buy a place listed by a broker who does not split commissions. Good luck!