Buying Real Estate in NYC?
We believe people have the right to complete transparency, seasoned insight and undivided loyalty during the home buying process.
We’ve seen too many cases of inexperienced buyers’ agents who don’t bother to inform their buyers of extra closing costs for new developments or to confirm inclusions or exclusions when confirming an offer.
Having a novice real estate agent guide you through the complex New York City home buying process is a recipe for disaster. Don’t make the mistake of choosing to work with a friend because you owe them a favor, or because it’s free for buyers to have an agent.
We’ve seen too many cases of inexperienced buyers’ agents who don’t bother to inform their buyers of extra closing costs for new developments or to confirm inclusions or exclusions when confirming an offer.
Having a novice real estate agent guide you through the complex New York City home buying process is a recipe for disaster. Don’t make the mistake of choosing to work with a friend because you owe them a favor, or because it’s free for buyers to have an agent.
What we do:
1. Discuss your property search criteria and identify suitable homes
As a member of REBNY with access to the city’s largest database of property inventory, Mont Sky is able to offer its clients full access to virtually every available listing in NYC. Furthermore, as a member of HGAR, Mont Sky is able to offer its clients access to inventory in Westchester, Bronx, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Dutchess, Ulster, Rockland or Sullivan Counties through the HGMLS.
You can rely on Mont Sky to give you full exposure to NYC’s home inventory without any of the traditional conflicts of interest that plague our competitors, such as discouraging you from looking at listings which don’t offer a high enough buyers’ agent commission.
During your initial complimentary consultation with a Mont Sky agent, we will discuss your specific property goals, location and budget as well as any special instructions you may have surrounding the search. Thereafter, you can be promised a productive, ongoing dialogue with your agent as we identify and show you suitable properties in New York City.
At Mont Sky, our aim is not to satisfy our customers. Our aim is to amaze our customers.
2. Conduct market research to prepare and submit a competitive offer
After we’ve identified your target property, your Mont Sky agent will conduct a thorough market analysis to determine a bidding strategy which is both competitive and in line with your expectations as a buyer. Your agent will also reach out to the listing agent to acquire intelligence on the seller’s expectations, previous offers received as well as any other relevant information which can be used to make your bid more competitive.
Additional strategies used by your buyer’s agent will include a comparable transaction analysis. This research allows us to compare your target property against similar units which are either on the market, recently sold, or currently under contract in the same neighborhood.
Your buyer’s agent will also analyze the current macroeconomic environment, including current interest rate conditions, regional economic data and unemployment figures, mortgage applications and home starts data, as well as the current regional volume of home sales to refine your bidding strategy in the context of the actual strength of the underlying economy and real estate market.
3. Negotiate and secure the acceptance of your offer by the seller
Once your offer has been submitted to the listing agent, there will likely be period of negotiation where the buying and selling parties will engage in deliberations to discuss the specifics of the deal including purchase price and other considerations (financing package, contingencies, etc.). In all likelihood your offer won’t be the only one on the table. In the event that there are multiple competitive offer packages including your own, the listing agent may open up a second round bidding process. Each party will be encouraged to submit a finalized offer package.
Throughout this process, Mont Sky will ensure that you remain consistently in front of the seller and listing agent to maximize your chances of success and acceptance of your offer. Once you receive the news of an acceptance, the listing agent will usually begin coordination for the closing process by circulating a deal term sheet for both the buyer and seller and their attorneys. We will manage this process for you so that you may eliminate undue stress and anxiety during this emotional process.
4. Have your attorney conduct due diligence before signing a purchase contract
Once a deal sheet has been circulated, the seller’s attorney will send a draft purchase contract to the buyer’s attorney for review. At this point, your attorney will be taking a lead in the transactionand will negotiate the contract on your behalf while simultaneously conducting comprehensive legal and financial due diligence of the target property. This means that while your real estate lawyer continues to negotiate the specifics of the contract with the seller’s counsel, he or she will also perform comprehensive due diligence on the legal and financial history of the building and particular unit you are purchasing. Due diligence will include a review of the building’s financial statements, operating budget, board minutes and original offering plan.
As soon as the negotiation and diligence is complete, it will be time for you to sign the contract for your NYC home purchase. The standard market practice is for you to deposit 10% of the purchase price into escrow (usually held by seller’s attorney) at the time of signing. If you are financing, this will be the time for you to submit the contract to you mortgage banker in order to finalize the process of securing your home loan.
5. Finalize purchase application and receive board approval
Once your contract is fully executed, your Mont Sky buyer’s agent will guide you through the purchase application that will need to be submitted to the board of the co-op or condo building you are purchasing a unit in. While the process is much more challenging for co-ops, it’s important that you treat either application as professionally as possible when buying an apartment in NYC. We will ensure that your application represents your candidacy in the best possible light.
If you’re buying a co-op apartment in NYC, we’ll guide you through the co-op board interview process to make sure you pass with flying colors. Once you’ve been approved by the board and a closing date has been scheduled by your lawyer, you and your Mont Sky buyer’s agent will perform a final walk-through and inspection of the unit. This is an opportunity for you to identify any issues which have arisen since the contract was signed and an important step when buying a house in NYC. We will help you inspect things such as the fixtures and utilities to make sure that they are all in working order.
6. Close your NYC home purchase
After you’ve been approved by the co-op’s board or after the condo board has waived its right of first refusal, you will be clear to close if you are purchasing all cash. If you are purchasing with financing, you should have received your loan commitment letter by now, in which case you’ll simply need to wait for an official “clear to close” from your lender before the lawyers can schedule a closing date.
The closing is typically held at the seller’s attorney’s office or at the managing agent’s office for co-op apartment purchases. The closing can last several hours, typically because the bank’s attorney is late. The lawyers representing the buyers, sellers and lenders will attend the closing, along with a closing coordinator whose job it is to keep everyone on track. At closing, your attorney will present you with the requisite list of documents for you to review and sign. After signing the documents and receiving confirmation from your bank that the loan has been funded, your home purchase will officially be closed. When the meeting is finished, you’ll officially be a home owner will be handed the keys to your new apartment!
