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CHATHAM VILLAGE REALTY, LLC - Chatham's Finest Real Estate Sales and Vacation Rentals

Buying Real Estate On Cape Cod

Before delving into the fun part of our work (i.e., getting to know you, introducing our beautiful locale to you, and showing you exciting homes that might someday be yours), we do have to take care of some minimal state-required paperwork.

When you first meet with a Chatham Village Realty agent to discuss specific properties, you will be asked to sign an agency disclosure form.  (Yes, we know this sounds like a formal way to begin a working relationship, but it is a state requirement.)  First, what this is NOT - This is not a contract, nor does it signify any obligation for you to continue to work with Chatham Village Realty beyond this meeting.  Rather, it is a Massachusetts-mandated form that discloses to you where our representation lies.  This disclosure form describes the different types of representation available in Massachusetts, it includes your agent's name, our firm's name, your name, and it outlines the nature of our firm's representation in this relationship.  If you wish to view a blank copy of this form, please click here (Adobe Reader Required).  You are not required to sign the disclosure form, but your agent is then required by the state to record that you refused to sign the form.  Please note that this form is required under consumer protection law.

Now that we can discuss properties with you, we are interested in learning about your needs, your hopes, your time frame, and yes, your budget.  Many buyers have certain expectations and it is our job to educate buyers about the current state of the market, providing specific examples, and determine if these expectations are realistic. Sometimes they are, sometimes they are not.  We do not reach this conclusion for our clients.  Instead, we educate you by going out in the field, letting you absorb what is currently being offered in the market, and making price comparisons between these properties and properties that have recently sold.  It is of utmost importance to us that you are an educated buyer, because educated buyers can make informed decisions.

How long does this process take?  That depends entirely on you and the urgency that you place upon your buying decision.  We have buyers who arrive on a Friday and are ready to make an offer on Sunday.  Conversely, many of us have buyers with whom we have been working for several months and in some cases, years.  The illustrative point here is that we do not drive the speed of the process, you do!  And we are happy to work within your time frame.

Once you have identified a home you want to buy, it's time to draft an Offer To Purchase.  This is a one-page document that identifies the property, what you are willing to pay for the property, your time frame, and is usually accompanied by one or more pages of contingency-related addendums.  These addendums usually relate to mortgage clauses, home inspections, septic system conformance, and other caveats designed to protect your potential interest in the property and your real interest in your deposit funds.  Speaking of deposit funds, you will be required to write a check (or "consideration") to accompany your offer, in order to bind the contract and to show the seller that you are not making a frivolous offer.  The amount of this check is typically $1,000 to $5,000.  This check will be held or deposited by the seller's broker, who will either put the deposit towards your purchase of the property, or they will return the funds to you should the sale not come together, presuming you are still legally entitled to the funds.  To view a sample Offer to Purchase and related contingency pages, click here. 

Once the offer has been submitted to the seller's broker, several things can happen; the seller can accept your offer and contingencies as you proposed; the seller can reject your offer without further comment (or they can simply let the offer expire by not responding within the time your offer contract accorded them); the seller can counter-offer with different terms, which could be requesting a higher price and/or and alteration of your contingencies.  In any case, unless the seller accepts your terms outright, you need to be prepared to enter a negotiation with the seller.  Your Chatham Village Realty agent will be indispensable in this negotiation, and will use their experience to assist you and guide you through this process. 

Once an agreement is reached between buyer and seller on price and contingencies, we must begin to satisfy the contingencies outlined in your offer.  If you are financing your purchase, you will need to apply for financing for that specific home.  There are also home, pest and other inspections that will likely be done to protect your future interest in the home.  While you are satisfying your contingencies, the seller must also satisfy any contingencies that they have agreed to, such as a successful inspection of their septic system.  Over the course of two or three weeks, as these contingencies are being satisfied, the seller's attorney will be drafting a Purchase and Sale Agreement.  This legal document is a more comprehensive agreement between the buyer and seller that goes into greater detail than the Offer to Purchase.  The "P & S", as it is known, provides for issues such as how the property is to be insured until the property is sold, how the title will be transferred, how property taxes will be allocated, how the interest on the deposit will be handled, and several other important legal considerations.  Upon your signing the P & S, additional deposit money of five to ten percent of the purchase price will be remitted to the seller's broker to be put towards the purchase price of the property.  For a blank, sample Purchase and Sale agreement, click here.

Once the Purchase and Sale agreement has been signed by both parties, we are then in a position to move on to the "closing", or the conveyance of the property from the seller to the buyer.  During this time frame, you will need to establish insurance coverage for your new home and contact utility companies to notify them that you will be taking ownership of the property.  Your Chatham Village Realty agent will be able to help you along with these processes as well.

When the date of your closing arrives, your agent will accompany you on a "walk-through" of the property you are buying to verify it is in the condition that was promised.  Following the walk-through, you, your attorney and your agent will meet the seller, the seller's attorney and the seller's agent at one of the attorneys' offices or at the Barnstable County Registry of Deeds.  If you are buying the property without financing, the process will be rather quick.  Your attorney will review the financial documentation with you, you will provide a bank check for the funds still due the seller, and the seller completes the deed transfer to you, making you the new owner of the property.  If you are financing the property through a mortgage, you will go through most of the aforementioned steps, but you will also complete the paperwork that accompanies a mortgage, which is a bit more time-consuming.  In any event, once the closing is completed, funds have exchanged hands, and you have keys to the property and a title deed in your possession, you are now the proud owner of a Cape Cod home!

While this can be a lengthy process from start to finish, it is our goal to make the process as fun, exciting, and easy for you as possible!  We love our piece of heaven here on earth, and we look forward to helping you find yours as well!