First Time Buyers Guide

Buying your first home can be an exciting and also somewhat daunting experience.  Finding the right Realtor to help guide you along the process is an important first step. The agents at Ski Home Realty are experienced, qualified and ready to work for you.

Below are some key points the Ski Home Team suggests you think about as you begin your journey to home ownership.

Search Parameters

When contacting your Ski Home Realty Realtor to set up property showings, it is good to have a list of important criteria to help narrow the search to properties that might interest you.  It helps to begin by making a list of search parameters that are important to you (and your family) in the home that you intend to purchase. 

A good starting point is to define:

• Price range (getting a preapproval letter from a bank or local mortgage broker is helpful to determine what you can afford)
• Location (ie. town, neighborhood, development)
• Size (minimum and maximum number of bedrooms & bathrooms)
• Condition (new, updated, fixer-upper, etc.)
• Any additional criteria ie: garage, acreage, views etc. that are important to you.

Showings

Your Realtor can send you email listings to consider. Take a good look at the pictures, note taxes, and association fees (if any), and ask your Realtor any questions that you might have as you examine each listing.  It's a good idea to limit the amount of homes you see on any given day to 4-6 at a maximum. If you see too many at one time, it is easy to get overwhelmed and hard to remember the details of any particular property. You might want to jot down notes, and if the Realtor gives permission to take some photos to help you remember each house. 

Making an Offer

Once you've found the home that's right for you, the next step is making an offer.  Some offers are made verbally initially, and some in writing with a contract deposit.  In today's market, there may be some room to negotiate from the listing price.  When presenting an offer, it's important to list the contingencies that will be part of any written contract.  We strongly recommend a Home Inspection of the property is done by a qualified Home Inspector.  Often, a financing contingency will also be included in an offer to purchase.  When purchasing a condominium or townhome or a property managed by an association, you'll also have a Common Interest Addendum, which requires disclosure of all things related to common property managed by the association.  A recent update is that all Vermont real estate transactions must include a flood disclosure, whether or not the property is in a flood zone.  Discuss with your Realtor a reasonable timeframe to complete the purchase process, which may take up to 60 days if financing is involved.  You'll need to have a local (VT) attorney for the closing, and some purchasers ask their attorneys to review the purchase and sale contract before the written offer is made to the sellers.

Purchasers pay a Vermont Transfer Tax on the sale price of the real estate.  Visit the Vermont Department of Taxes for up-to-date information.  https://tax.vermont.gov/prs/property/property-transfer-tax. Your closing attorney will be able to calculate the tax on your behalf.  

 Visit the Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) to learn about first-time homebuyer programs.  https://vhfa.org/