When purchasing a single-family, multi-family home, or condominium you MUST account for your closing costs in addition to your down-payment plus reserves. In addition to your down payment, a buyer should be ready to pay an additional f 2-5% of the purchase price. These closing costs include but are not limited to title insurance, mortgage recording tax, pre-purchased points, property tax escrow, mortgage origination fee, and attorney fee. For an approximate estimate of your closing costs, you can request a closing cost estimate. Additionally, lenders will require a borrower to have at least six (6) months of monthly mortgage payments in your account as reserves. Some lenders require twelve (12) months.

If you are financing a property, lenders typically require twenty (20%) of the purchase price as a down payment total, not including your closing costs. Meaning in most cases lenders will finance eighty percent (80%) of the purchase price. Some lenders may finance more depending on if the borrower qualifies.

Although they may look the same, co-ops, or cooperatives, and condos vary in whether the resident owns the property. In a co-op, the building is owned by a non-profit organization and residents buy shares of the company in exchange for a proprietary lease. In a condo, the unit is available for traditional purchase, giving buyers more freedom by owning the actual property.

Closing on a real estate transaction typically lasts between 30-60 days. The closing period begins when the seller accepts an offer from a buyer, and ends at the signing of all documents and agreements at the closing table. Having a real estate attorney makes this process much smoother and more efficient.

In New York State, it is required by most banks to be represented by an attorney in your real estate transactions, whether buying or selling. It’s also important to note that a good real estate attorney is another line of defense in handling real estate transactions, which carry a certain amount of risk, to protect your interests.

There are definite perks to both cash deals and mortgage loans. A cash deal may be more attractive to the seller which can often lead to a discount for the buyer. Cash also forgoes many of the steps of obtaining a loan. Mortgage loans do end up costing the buyer more in the long run due to interest but a mortgage protects the buyer from overextending.