Buyer Info

Buyer Tips

Spalding, Mellon & Munster provides the following information to assure you have a positive purchasing experience.

When you find a property you like, have your realtor run "comps" on recent sales in the area to compare prices, sizes, and features of your prospective home with others. Be aware that the raw data may not provide an accurate comparison. Sometimes the sold price of a property includes other terms and conditions - money for a new roof, etc. If that's the case with a property you are using as a basis for price comparison, the information may not be accurate, and the property you like may be overpriced. Be sure you are comparing apples to apples, not apples to oranges.

Investigate, before purchase, the original use of the land and/or property. More than one buyer has run into trouble because of items not readily apparent.

If you're purchasing residential property, and the exact school your child attends is important to you, verify that the address of your proposed home is within the boundaries for that school. Don't assume anything. School boundaries are sometimes drawn according to factors other than geography. 

The property you want to buy is a "For Sale By Owner". Be very careful before jumping into a purchase without a real estate agent to guide you and manage the transaction to closing. There are many, many pitfalls that can cause a FSBO deal to fall apart. The property may be overpriced and consequently not appraise for the mortgage you want. Various inspections may not be completed in a timely fashion without an agent to oversee the timeline. You may not receive full disclosure of past problems with the property - leaky basements, buried oil tanks, etc. Consider asking your real estate agent to find out whether the sellers will "cooperate" (pay your agent a commission) to handle the details of the sale and thus insure that everything possible is done to make the sale go through seamlessly.