Real Estate in Barrington & The Northwest Suburbs: Barrington IL Real Estate - Your Barrington Illinois Buyers Agent Writes Your Offer To Purchase - Page One

If you are Buying Barrington IL Real Estate - as your Barrington Illinois Buyers Agent I will be writing your offer. Let's start with Page one.

If you missed my introduction read it here: Buying Barrington Illinois Real Estate - Is Your Barrington IL Realtor Fully Explaining The Purchase Contract

• Paragraph 1 shown below is where we will write your name/s. If we do not know the sellers name we commonly put OOR which is Owner of Record.
• Paragraph 2 is the property information. We enter the lot size, the address including county and PIN - Property Identification Number. If the property has assigned parking this will also be entered i.e. if buying a condo it may have an assigned parking space number. The real estate is not just the address. It includes the land below and the sky above, anything fixed to the house, and any improvements which means the building, patio, swimming pool, deck, lights, electric supply, driveway, lot and so on.

Line 4 refers to Dual Agency. By now your Barrington Buyers Agent should have explained 2 things to you. The first is designated agent, meaning they are an agent working on behalf of their brokerage, and second Dual Agency. Dual agency is where an agent works for both the seller of the property and the buyer of the property. Dual agency is not where one agent sells your current home and helps you buy another. More about Dual agency and Barrington IL Real Estate transactions later.

Moving on paragraph 3 deals with fixtures and personal property. What is the difference. Think of it this way - fixtures are attached to the house - personal property is free standing. Personal property usually goes with the seller and fixtures stay with the home. However there are some differences and some items of personal property are expected to stay. This part of the contract will make sure you get what you want with no surprises later. Sometimes the seller will make it known they are taking a certain fixture - perhaps a family heirloom.

Your Barrington Buyers Agent is going to check off everything that you want or that has been stated as being sold with the property. Kitchen appliances stay because they are fixtures - everyone expects the fridge but it is often free standing and could disappear. Some things here may seem silly - like carpets and planted vegetation - can you imagine closing on your home opening the door and finding all the carpets  have disappeared - after the shock of realizing every bush and tree has been taken away.

There is space here for items being included or not included - remember the family heirloom - perhaps it is a crystal chandelier - this is where we will show the seller is going to keep it. If you want the play-set in the back yard - this is where we'll write that down.

Lastly if the seller is offering a Home Warranty - we want to make sure you get it so there is space for that too. If you want a warranty but the seller is not offering one or will not pay for one - don't worry - you can buy one after you close, they are not that expensive and may save you thousands in repair bills. Prices start at $400 - more for extras or larger Barrington IL Real Estate Homes.

Finally on page one we get down to the money. Paragraph 4 deals with the amount you want to pay for the property and how much earnest money you want to put down. As your Barrington Buyers Agent I will show you what comparable homes have sold for and discuss with you a strategy for getting the house at a fair price. We'll enter a starting amount in the blank. Think of earnest money as a deposit. It goes towards your purchase - we'll enter the amount here and how it is going to be paid. Earnest money amounts vary but remember the seller may not like what you are offering and ask for more. It is negotiable just like the price. Show your commitment by offering a good solid amount and consider increasing it once we have done the home inspection. It might just beat out a competing offer!

This page needs your initials at the bottom and the residential real estate you want to buy in Barrington Illinois will be written here and on every page.

Thanks for reading this weeks episode - Your Barrington Buyers Agent will return soon for page two. In the meantime if you have not started it's time to decorate your Christmas Tree.