Even an experienced Home buyer may be unfamiliar with theparticular procedures generally followed when purchasing RealEstate in Massachusetts. This brief outline may help prepare yousomewhat for our unique "two step" procedure and someof the financial requirements associated with it.

TWO-DOCUMENT PROCEDURE
When you locate a home you want to own, you are generally askedto endorse two documents.
First, you will be asked to negotiate an Offer to Purchase. Yoursignature and the Seller's signature on the agreement allows timefor the Buyer to complete pre-purchase arrangements, (i.e.building and pest inspections, among others). An earnest moneydeposit (usually $1,000 to $5,000) accompanies the Offer toPurchase.

The second document is known as the PURCHASE and SALE AGREEMENT.This instrument details the obligations of the parties and isusually endorsed a few days after the Offer to Purchase. Pleasebe advised that an attorney is of great benefit and assistance toyou when drafting and reviewing the Purchase and Sale Agreement.Your signature and approval of the document along with a secondearnest money deposit binds the agreement between you and theSeller. (The total deposit held in an escrow account at thisjuncture often represents 10% of the purchase price.)

CONTINGENCIES OF THE PURCHASE

Your Offer to Purchase specified the price you agree to pay forthe property and the date you plan to close (pass papers). Youmay also have specified YOUR RIGHT TO HAVE THE PROPERTY INSPECTEDfor a number of conditions including structural, pest latent orother defects that allow for revoking of the Offer to Purchase inwriting within a specified period.

Another common condition of your purchase may be a MortgageContingency. This contingency specifies the amount of money youintend to borrow, the dead line by which you must makeapplication for the loan; the deadline by which a bank can beexpected to issue a commitment. The Mortgage Contingency appearson both the Offer to Purchase and the Purchase and SaleAgreement.

THE CLOSING OR PASSING

A. The passing takes place at a location convenient to allparties (generally the mortgaging bank, the County Registry ofDeeds, or an attorney's office).

B. The buyer brings a certified check for the balance of thetotal down payment on the house. The deposit check will be usedtoward the down payment.

C. The buyer is also responsible for certain closing costs i.e.advance payments on taxes, payment for oil left in tank, legalfees, etc. These charges can usually be covered by personal checkat the time of closing. You should verify this with theconveyance attorney prior to the closing date.