223 Indiana Avenue , Providence, RI 02905


Congratulations Michael! Your offer has been accepted and we are heading into the next phase of the home buying process for 223 Indiana Av. We will be here to guide you through the next steps of the home-buying process-- we will work hard to help you to understand each step & we will address any of your fears & stress. The following information will serve as an outline of the next steps of this home-buying adventure! Rest assured that we will be with you each step of the way.


DotLoop & Folio

We’ve uploaded several documents into a DotLoop portal, you'll periodically receive an email with a link to a document that needs to be signed. DotLoop is approved as a platform for electronic signatures on legal documents. It will store all of our copies electronically--you can also download any of the documents as a pdf file at any time if you prefer your own digital files or printed copies for your review. We hope that you’ll find DotLoop very easy & convenient to use as there will be a number of documents you’ll need to sign over the next 60 days. 

We also utilize a pretty cool app called 'Folio' that creates a useful timeline with important dates, contact resources, & reminders. This is another useful tool that we use to keep us on track--deadlines & dates are very important! Neither require any signups or subscription on your part.

We are here to help!
Please remember that we are always available to chat so feel free to ask any questions that may arise--reach us by email, phone, or text.


Step One: Sign all documents & submit your deposit check(s): YOU'VE ALREADY DONE THIS!

One of the great things about buying real estate in RI is that all of the forms are standardized so all RI real estate agents are accustomed to working from the same docs--as are the real estate attorneys.

Here are the forms you will be signing:
1. Purchase & Sales Agreement: the contract
This is the RI Association of Realtors approved legal contract for the sale of property. All of the terms of this agreement were stipulated in the offer that we presented to the seller, the P&S is the binding contract signed by buyer(s) & seller(s) & goes into much more depth. We will go over this document in person.

If you’d like to see a written explanation of each part of the P&S click on this link (a multifamily contract has a few additions to the contract that we'll go over): Understanding the P&S

 2. Seller Sales Disclosures Form 
This five page document is required for every real estate transaction; it is filled out by the seller(s) prior to a property being listed & is available for review prior to a P&S being signed. This document must be filled out by property owners to the best of their knowledge--don’t be surprised if there’s not a lot of info on this document.

3. Lead Disclosure Form
This document is required for every real estate transaction in RI; sellers must check 'known' or 'unknown' depending upon whether or not they've had the property tested.

4. Mandatory Relationship Disclosure Form
This discloses the type of business relationship & subsequent responsibilities between agent(s), buyer(s), & seller(s). We represent you as your “Designated Client Representatives.”


Send Executed P&S to Lender & Closing Attorney, Schedule Inspections

Once all buyers & sellers have signed the contract we’re onto the next steps. Your mortgage lender will need a copy of the signed contract & a copy of the escrow check(s). We will make sure that these documents are emailed to your lender.  The lender does not need the Sales Disclosures Forms. The next steps are to find a real estate attorney (we can help) & schedule your home inspection (we can help with that, too).

1. Email the fully executed contract to your lender (I will do this on your behalf & copy you in the email)
You have been preapproved for your loan but that is just a preliminary approval. Your lender will now request a lot of documents (and probably more after that….and then more….and more ad nauseam); signatures, past tax returns, check stubs, etc. If you are self employed please anticipate this process to be especially trying but hang in there, get everything your lender's team requests turned in quickly & call us if you need help understanding what’s happening. Hopefully you have chosen a lender to work with who you feel you can call at anytime to clear up any confusion.

2. Schedule a Home Inspection
As per the P&S: the buyer has 10 business days to have any inspections at all (a general Home Inspection includes a visual inspection of all major structural & mechanical elements of the house, a separate provider would have to be scheduled for a lead test, a separate provider for a water test, etc). Here is an example of the report.

This is Important==> the buyer can back out of the contract for any reason based upon any findings resulting from an inspection without explanation to the seller. Again, you have 10 business days to contact the seller regarding any inspection findings. Day 1 begins on the date of the last signature on the P&S--weekends & holidays are not counted.

Here is a list of Home Inspectors that we can confidently refer to you & here are some thoughts about what to expect:
  • Expect the price of a Structural/Mechanical Inspection to be in the range of $450-$700 depending upon the square footage of the property.
  • This may very well be the best money you could possibly spend so please do not skimp on this or downplay its importance!
  • Expect that the inspection will take 2-3 hours depending upon the size & condition of the home. I will be with you at the home inspection.
  • If you are buying a property that has a cesspool, septic system, and/or a well you NEED to have these inspected by a specialist, NOT the general inspector. We will talk about this in depth!

3. You will need a real estate attorney to perform the following services:
  • Review the executed contract & any subsequent addendums (additions to the contract) that we may need
  • Research the deed & ensure that the title & deed are without errors or liens, outstanding taxes, or any other problems that would call into question the legal transfer of title of ownership to you
  • Secure the title insurance as required by your mortgage company
  • Coordinate the closing documents---the mountains of paperwork that is necessary for you to sign at the closing in order to transfer ownership of the property to you
  • Most closing attorney fees amount to $1200-$1500 & are part of your Closing Costs (and here's a more in-depth overivew of closing costs)
​
Recommended closing attorney:
Hugh Barry
hughbarry@cs.com
400 Reservoir Avenue, Suite 1A Providence, RI 02907
(401) 467-0500 

4. Homeowners insurance quotes
Once the inspection is complete & you are satisfied with the outcome the lender will order an appraisal of the home. While this happens you should begin reaching out to home owners insurance providers. We recommend that you get two or three quotes. Here are some insurance brokers we recommend: Insurance Providers 


What Happens Next….

We don’t really move into the next phase until the home inspections are complete & we decide to continue to move forward with this property. Once any repair requests or price changes have been negotiated & signed, we'll let your lender know that we’ve finalized any changes to the contract & she/he will order the appraisal of the property. Your loan will then move into the final stages & the underwriter will review all of the final documents. The appraisal takes about a week to get turned into the lender once the appraiser has been to the property.

I. The Mortgage Commitment Letter
We will be waiting on the lender to submit the Mortgage Commitment letter by the stated deadline on the P&S. This is a very important deadline & we will stay in contact with the lender to make sure if more time is needed we file the appropriate extension.  This deadline will be listed on your folio timeline.

2. Clear To Close
Once the commitment letter is issued there are a few additional steps the loan processor takes before she/he sends us the coveted “Clear to close” email. Once we receive this email we remain cautiously optimistic. The closing will be scheduled & the closing documents will be emailed to you--finally you will discover the exact sum that you will need to secure from your bank.  We will also schedule the final walk through of the  property.

3. Final walk through
We will schedule this to occur the day before the closing or about an hour before the closing--whatever works best for you. The walk through is quick & should only take about 15-20 minutes, it serves to make sure that there are no unexpected surprises before the property is officially yours (leaks, leftover items, missing appliances, etc).

4. The Closing
You will sign a large stack of papers & you will leave with the keys to your new home!
What to bring:
  • Valid driver's license or passport
  • A certified bank check in the final amount as determined by your closing attorney (you may not get this final number until the day before--that is not uncommon). Do not bring a personal check for this amount, it will not be accepted.

Final Thoughts….

We want to thank you again, Michael, for choosing to work with us. We're incredibly grateful that we get to help people like you to find the home of your dreams. Our commitment to you is that we're in it for the long haul-- we'll be staying in touch with you & we will always be available to help you long after you’re handed the keys to this lovely home!

Best regards,
Jess + Kristin