Locating a home that’s perfect for you can be quite a challenge, especially with all the homes available in the area. As an expert in Glen Ellyn and DuPage County real estate, I follow all the properties available for sale. In many instances, I know of homes that are not yet entered in the Multiple Listing Service.

Purchasing your first home is a big deal. Of course, it’s also a little scary. You’ll want an experienced REALTOR® looking out for your highest interests, and you’ll probably need some expert advice along the way. As a veteran in Glen Ellyn real estate, I’m able and ready to aid you in purchasing your first house.

Not everyone with a real estate license is equally qualified to help you find your first home. My dedication to my clients is what sets me apart. Here’s what you can expect when you use Berkshire Hathaway.

· From locating the best home among all the properties in Glen Ellyn, to providing guidance on closing costs, I’ll lead you through every stage of the home-buying process.

· I’ll help you establish your wish list of features and amenities that you want in your home, your community, and your school district.

· The financial elements of purchasing a home can be overwhelming. I’ll walk you through the many mortgages and home buying plans at hand.

· You can count on me to closely watch all the brand-new listings, and make sure you see all the houses that seem like a good fit.

· Basically, I will do everything in my power to make sure your home buying process is stress-free.

For most people, purchasing a home can be stressful. With some planning ahead of time, it’s not very complex. So you understand exactly what to expect, Pattie likes to provide her buyers with an outline of the whole deal. Below are her nine steps to purchasing a home.

When you’re ready to get started, just contact Pattie here or send her an e-mail. She is  glad to answer any questions you have about this information.

Step 1 – Get ready to buy

There are plenty of things you should do prior to commencing your home search. When you start your search, you’ll probably want to create a list of items you want, get a feeling for what school districts and neighborhoods you’d like to live in, and begin planning around your budget. Keeping your mortgage payment less than 30 percent of your monthly income is a good guideline to adhere to.

Step 2 – Talk to a real estate agent

This is where Pattie Murray comes in. Pattie would be more than happy to plan a time to meet with you and talk about why you want to buy a home and get an idea of your plans for the future. You’ll discuss everything from neighborhoods, school districts in Glen Ellyn and surrounding areas, the mortgage and housing industries, to any other economic factors that may potentially affect your buying decision today or in the future.

She will also assist you with getting started on your loan. There are some great mortgage professionals that she partners with, so you can rest assured that you’re in great hands. Mortgage professionals will assist you with deciding which type of loan is best for you and help you get approved.

Step 3 – Begin looking

Following our first meeting, Pattie will begin finding houses on the market that are great for you. Pattie can preview many of the homes and remove the bad ones, and then she’ll book appointments to tour the houses whenever it’s most convenient for you.

When you tour houses, she will call attention to positive features and bad ones. She will even ask you to point out what things you like and don’t like. It’s common for buyers to change their list of must-haves as they tour homes and some features become far more substantial than others. If that’s the situation, Pattie will look through all the listings once again and narrow it down to the home you’ve been wishing for.

Step 4 – Get a grasp of the market

An agent’s awareness of the Glen Ellyn home market is a crucial agent in your house search. Rest assured, Pattie is VERY familiar with all the neighborhoods and schools, and she will alert you to what neighborhoods are “hot” and demand immediate action and the ones that are “cold” and allow for more examination.

As you view houses, Pattie let you know when the seller’s list price has room for bargaining and also when she believes the home is “priced to sell.” Any real estate agent in Glen Ellyn will convince you they truly know the housing market, but be on guard, and make sure you ask plenty of questions. If it doesn’t seem like they know everything, just call Pattie at 630-842-6063 or e-mail her at [email protected] and she will be glad to answer any questions you have. Her understanding of the market will help you stay a step above the rest through the entire process.

Step 5 – Find your dream home

Pattie is sure she will find the home of your dreams in the Glen Ellyn area. When that happens, she will carefully create your real estate purchase offer. The offer will be tailored exactly to your needs, including many contingencies, such as getting financing, carrying out the home inspection, and a clear title.

Upon turning in your purchase offer, you’ll want to present “earnest money.” This is a cash deposit given to a home seller to secure an offer to purchase the property, and it’s most often applied to the closing costs. If the seller accepts the offer, you should close on the home within 30 to 60 days after. This allows plenty of time for your mortgage financing.

Step 6 – Negotiate

A lot of deals don’t close on the first offer – it’s extremely common to receive a counter offer. Don’t let it discourage you. Pattie will talk with you about whether or not to agree to the counter offer, propose your own counter offer, or decline the seller’s offer and go on.

How aggressively we negotiate the contract depends on market conditions. In addition, we’ll work within your financing constraints. And when it’s all said and done, we’ll formulate a contract that works well for you.

Step 7 – Get financing

After the contract is complete, you’ll begin working with your lender to close the loan. If you’ve been pre-approved, it shouldn’t be a long process at all. However, you’ll need to stay in close contact with your mortgage lender. And Pattie will handle all the property information your lender will need to close the loan.

Step 8 – Close the deal

Your lender will send you a Good Faith Estimate (GFE) outlining your closing costs within three days of taking your loan application. This estimate is based on the loan amount. RESPA requirements dictate that it has to include all closing costs and fall within a tight range of accuracy, and Pattie will examine the estimate and let you know if it all looks permissible.

Then it’s time to close on your home. This will likely occur at a title company or escrow office and will probably be a smooth and calm event.

Step 9 – Move in

Congratulations! Now you can move into your new home. Enjoy it. And if you need anything, make sure you contact Pattie at pmurray@bhhschicago.com

Securing financing is just one part of a home purchase. Pattie is seasoned at assisting new buyers in every buying scenario, just call!

Applying for a home loan

When buying a home, the loan application is stressful for most people, but it doesn’t have to be. Having tried and true relationships with several mortgage lenders in the area has helped Pattie learn a lot of the things that can make the loan application process very easy.

1 – Make a list of questions about your loan program

Make sure you have a list of questions if you do not totally grasp the pros and cons of the different loan programs. At times, it can be a challenge to know the differences between both fixed and adjustable-rate mortgages. What are the advantages and disadvantages of different loan types? One of Pattie’s trusted lenders or associates can assist you in understanding differences between all types, based on your specific budget needs and the current market trends.

2 – Decide when to lock

By locking in an interest rate, the lender is keeping to the mortgage interest rates for the loan – commonly at the time the loan application is submitted. By floating the rate, you can lock the rate at any time between the loan application day and issuance of closing documents. Those who prefer to float think that the interest rates will fall in the near future.

3 – Have your paperwork ready!

Acquiring a loan requires lots of paperwork, so you should take some time to get your documents together. Many lenders offer a secure digital environment to exchange information.  Gather your latest bank statements, paycheck stubs, and income tax returns and have them easily available.

Seller Financing

As the seller, you have the option of financing the buyer’s purchase with the equity you have in the property. You can finance part or the entire mortgage for the buyer. Before setting-up a private mortgage, it is wise to consult with your attorney.

Carrying Back a Second Mortgage

In the case of “carrying back a second mortgage”, the seller loans the buyer part of the seller’s equity. In this scenario, the buyer would finance the majority of the loan with a traditional mortgage lender and finance the remaining amount with the seller. Typically the buyer would pay a slightly higher interest rate on the loan financed by the seller.

Financial Issues

The Purchase Price

The seller and buyer’s mutually agreed upon purchase price for the property. As the seller, you should know up-front that the buyer would like you to finance the deal. Knowing that you will be financing the deal may affect your willingness to make adjustments to the sales price.

The Down Payment

The size of the down payment may affect the buyer’s commitment to honoring the mortgage contract. The larger the down payment the buyer invests, the stronger his/her motivation to protect the investment. In addition to making the monthly payments, the buyer’s commitment to the investment would include a willingness to maintain and upgrade the property, as well as make tax and insurance payments.

The Interest Rate

At a minimum, the interest rate you charge should match current interest rates traditional mortgage lenders are offering for loans of the same term. You may want to charge an additional percentage point as compensation for the work involved with servicing the loan.

The Buyer’s Credit & Income

You’ll want to review the buyer’s credit history to determine the buyer’s willingness to pay his/her debts. A credit report will give you a better understanding of the buyer’s financial history. Red flags would include late payments and loan defaults. If a buyer has a less than commendable credit history, you may decide not to finance the loan or you may require a larger down payment. In addition to the buyer’s credit history, you’ll want to review the buyer’s income sources. Is the buyer’s salary sufficient to make the monthly payments? Does the buyer have additional income sources that could be accessed if the buyer lost his/her job?

Amortization

The amortization period is the length during which the loan is repaid. The longer the amortization, the longer you are at risk that the buyer will default on the loan.

Balloon Payment

A common practice is to have the full amount of the loan due on a certain date, usually in 5 to 10 years. As the lender, this gives you a profitable short-term investment with the provision that your principal investment will be recouped in just 5 to 10 years.

The buyer is usually in a better position to secure traditional financing after 5 to 10 years. Both the buyer’s equity in the property and record of timely mortgage payments can help the buyer secure a loan to cover the balloon payment.

Escrow for Tax and Insurance

Lenders typically require borrowers to pay 1/12 of their annual taxes and insurance costs as an escrow payment due with each mortgage payment. Then, the lender makes the borrower’s annual tax and insurance payment. While this adds time and hassle to the seller-financer, it also protects you from the unfortunate situation of having a buyer make his/her mortgage payments but not tax and/or insurance payments.

Lender’s Title Insurance

A smart investment is a lender’s title insurance policy. The policy protects your lien on the property from being defeated by a prior lien or other interest in the property, which, if exercised, would wipe out your security. Things that can affect your rights as the seller-financer include marriage, divorce, death, forgery, a judgment for money damages, a failure to pay state or federal taxes, and more. Be sure to include the cost for your lender’s title insurance as one of the buyer’s closing costs.

Closing the Sale

Both buyer and seller will be responsible for paying the usual closing costs. You will also want the buyer to pay all the costs associated with setting up the mortgage financing. This would include the cost of having your attorney create the mortgage note.

In today’s increasingly automated society, it should come as no surprise that when you apply for a mortgage, your ability to pay can be reduced to a single number. All the years you’ve been paying your mortgage, car payments, and credit card bills can be analyzed, sliced, diced, spindled and mutilated into a single indicator of whether you’re likely to meet your future obligations.

All three of the major credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) use a slightly different system to arrive at a score. The best known is called the FICO score, based on a model developed by Fair Isaac and Company (hence the name) and used by Experian. Equifax’s model is called BEACON, while TransUnion uses EMPIRICA. While each of the models considers a range of data available in your credit report, the primary factors are:

Credit History – How long have you had credit?
Payment History – Do you pay your bills on time?
Credit Card Balances – How much do you owe on how many accounts?
Credit Inquiries – How many times have you had your credit checked?

Each of these, and other items, are assigned a value and a weight. The results are added up and distilled into a single number. FICO scores range from 300 to 850, with higher being better. Typical home buyers likely find their scores falling between 600 and 850.

FICO scores are used for more than just determining whether or not you qualify for a mortgage. Higher scores indicate you are a better credit risk, and thus may qualify for a better mortgage rate.

What can you do about your FICO score? Unfortunately, not much. Since the score is based on a lifetime of credit history, it is difficult to make a significant change in the number with quick fixes. The most important thing is to know your FICO score and to ensure that your credit history is correct. Conveniently, Fair Isaac has created a web site (www.myFICO.com) that let’s you do just that. For a reasonable fee, you can quickly get your FICO score from all three reporting agencies, along with your credit report. Also available is some helpful information and tools that help you analyze what actions might have the greatest impact on your FICO score. Each of the credit services offers similar services on their web sites: www.equifax.com, www.experian.com, and www.transunion.com.

Armed with this information, you will be a more informed consumer and better positioned to obtain the most favorable mortgage available to you.

You’ve come to the right place!

The Suburban Chicago area is growing by leaps and bounds! With so many fabulous towns to choose from, you need a seasoned agent to help you make the best real estate decisions. You’ve come to the right place. Pattie is the local expert in ALL Suburban areas and she’s ready to put her experience to work for you. If you haven’t chosen a REALTOR® yet, make sure your candidates can answer these tough questions:

What are the hottest growing areas in the Suburbs? If it’s an investment property you’re after, which areas are the most promising for rentals and flips? What are the benefits and pitfalls of buying preconstruction? What urban development projects might affect the value of Suburban real estate? Which areas of the Suburbs are ripe with affordable gems?

You’ve come to the right place to find your dream home in the Chicago Suburbs! Whether you’re looking for an estate, an executive home, a luxury condo, a retirement villa, a historic home, a downtown loft, or anything else in the greater Chicago area, Pattie can help you!

Pattie’s service area includes:

DuPage County Real Estate
Kane County Real Estate
Will County Real Estate
Lake County Real Estate
Cook County Real Estate
Kendall County Real Estate
DeKalb County Real Estate

Whether you are buying or selling a home, you should have a professional home inspection performed.

A home inspection will look at the systems that make up the building such as:

• Structural elements, foundation, framing etc
• Plumbing systems
• Roofing
• Electrical systems
• Cosmetic condition, paint, siding etc

If you are buying a home, you need to know exactly what you are getting. A home inspection, performed by a professional home inspector, will reveal any hidden problems with the home so that they may be addressed BEFORE the deal is closed. You should require an inspection at the time you make a formal offer. Make sure the contract has an inspection contingency. Then, hire your own inspector and pay close attention to the inspection report. If you aren’t comfortable with what he finds, you have options. You can request the seller rectify deficiencies that you find unacceptable, request a credit so that you can attend to the repairs yourself after closing, or if the condition is just so unacceptable and you cannot come to a mutual agreement with the seller, you can cancel the contract and receive your earnest money back. 

Earnest money shows you’re serious. Typically when an offer to purchase a house is made, you, as the buyer, will also pay an “earnest money” deposit.  This deposit shows the seller that you’re serious about the offer to purchase the property.

The amount of earnest money deposit varies based on the type of property being purchased and local market conditions.  As your real estate professional, I’ll help you determine the appropriate amount to pay as an earnest money deposit.

The sales contract will dictate who holds the earnest money.  Usually the seller’s real estate agent will deposit the earnest money in a trust or escrow account until closing.   At closing, the earnest money is applied to the purchase price.

In the event the sale doesn’t close, the sales agreement generally spells out the conditions under which you would forfeit the earnest money.  Generally if the seller meets all the terms of the contract, the seller will keep the earnest money.  If the seller does not meet the terms of the contract, you, as the buyer, may receive a total or partial refund of the earnest money.