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Introduction
Buying
Long Beach homes and Huntington Beach real estate is unique; aren’t all
homes for sale in Long Beach area unique? You bet they are! More about that
later. Lets talk about the Long Beach home buying process. Lets begin with the
fact you don’t need to use a lawyer to acquire your Long Beach Real Estate, if
you did it would cost you a lot more. However you are encouraged at anytime to
seek a Real Estate Attorneys advise, but here in the Western U.S we use a
process known as Escrow.
As you narrow down your choices of
homes for sale in Long Beach, Redondo Beach, and Huntington Beach area
and have decided you want to make your first offer, you will start hearing
about the”open”and “close” of
escrow. We will elaborate more on that subject later, but one misconception is
that there is a meeting at the end of the purchase, on the contraire the buyer
and seller, rarely cross paths during the real estate transaction.
A very important point to make now during this tale end of a ”sellers”
market, is the importance of having your financing in place before you begin
looking for a home for sale in Long Beach.
Real Estate Agents
Through out the City of Long Beach, Huntington Beach, and
Redondo Beach real estate and the State of California any person offering to
sell or lease Long Beach real estate for a commission must have an active Real
Estate license. The two licenses issued by the D.R.E (Department of Real
Estate) are Sales Person, and Broker. Sales Persons and Brokers who belong to
the N.A.R (National Association of Realtors) can call themselves a Realtor. To
expand a little further with this the commission for a sale, or lease of
property, can only be received through the broker. A broker can work with other
brokers and they usually have a status of “ Broker Associate”. This in a
nutshell is agents work for the broker of record who assumes the supervision,
and is responsible for all the sales agents and there transactions.
Agency
Under a bill that became effective January 1, 1988, listing and selling agents
are required to provide both buyers and sellers with specific written and oral
disclosures. The categories include sub, duel, and buyer’s agency.
What were working towards is a relationship between the agent and usually a
seller, which is known as the principal. The principal by oral, and often times
a written contract known as a Buyer Broker agreement, gives the agent the
authority to act on the principals behalf owing them the utmost loyalty,
confidentiality, care and diligence, and most importantly a fiduciary
responsibility.
The right Community and Homes
for sale
When the thought dawns on you, maybe I’d like to, or should look into
purchasing a home in Long Beach. Your first inclination might be to jump in
your car, or maybe have a Realtor drive you around looking at homes for sale in
Long Beach. Lets put on the brakes here, and not put the cart before the horse.
There are many things to be discussed, and a competent Real Estate agent will
conduct an efficient evaluation, of course what your looking for in a home,
community, and area are important, but good agents have the tools to get you
financially prepared, the person selling the home will want to know this also.
You’ve probably heard the terms pre-qualified, and pre-approved, with homes in
Long Beach selling at the brisk pace as they have, its important to be
pre-approved. Pre-approval comes from the institution who is actually putting
up the money, this shows the most strength to the seller. Finding the right
home in one of the many communities in Long Beach can be done in all price
ranges, if you take care in the beginning to talk to a Real Estate agent,
listen to them as they should be listening to you, and together you will create
the straightest line between thinking about it and making your first offer.
Making an Offer to Purchase in Long Beach
This is the point where your Realtor has to really stay on their
toes. When you have finally found the right Long Beach home your real estate
agent will submit an offer, on your behalf, in writing. The actual offer is
written on a form provided by the California Association of Realtors, and is
the preferred form used by Long Beach Real Estate agents. Basically, the form
is a contact giving the details of the agreement including the property
description, the price offered, the financing terms, the duration of the offer,
the buyer’s right to inspect the property, which party will be responsible to
pay certain fees, the length of the escrow period, etc. Your Realtor will help
you determine a fair price to offer based on a list of recently sold homes in
Long beach that are comparable to the one you would like to purchase. Along
with your written offer a deposit should be given in the amount of 1-3% of the
offered price. The deposit is called earnest money and shows your good faith,
not to mention serious, intention to purchase the property. Your real estate
agent will then present your offer to the sellers and their agent.
The Counter-Offer
In Long Beach real estate transactions the buyer’s offer will
most likely be countered by the seller. Simply put - the seller can make a
counter offer based on the price and the terms, and like the original offer the
counter-offer will be in writing. The buyer can accept the counter-offer or
counter the counter-offer. The offers can go back and forth until something is
agreed upon or until either the buyer or seller is no longer interested. It is
not unusual for Long Beach properties for sale to have more than one offer, so
if you really want a certain Long Beach property make an offer with a
reasonable price and with reasonable terms.
Transaction
As you can see there are many parts in the process when buying
and selling homes in Long Beach. Usually, Long Beach real estate transactions
do not require the assistance of an attorney. But if you have legal or tax
related questions you should consult your attorney or tax consultant. While the
above information is summarized from sources deemed reliable, it is not
guaranteed to apply to all Los Angeles County real estate transactions, since
other conditions may apply, and each real estate transaction has its own unique
conditions. If you have further questions or would like more information on how
Mike Pugh and GAMER & Associates can help you buy or sell a home in Long
Beach or Orange County, please call or e-mail:
Opening
Escrow For Long Beach Real Estate
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