Buying in Boston,
start to keys.

We sit down, in person or on the phone, and figure out what you're actually trying to buy and whether we're a good fit to do it together.

Before addresses and open houses: what are you solving for? Commute, space, parking, a building with an elevator, a yard for the dog, a timeline driven by a lease ending. We rank the trade-offs you're willing to make and the ones you aren't, because every home in your budget will ask you to give something up.

This is also where I explain how buyer representation works. Before we tour homes together, you'll sign a written buyer representation agreement. It says what I do for you, how long we're working together, and exactly how I'm paid, so nothing about money is a surprise later. Massachusetts also requires me to hand you a short disclosure explaining the different kinds of agent relationships; it's a form, not a commitment.

A lender checks your income, savings, debts, and credit, then gives you a letter saying how much they're prepared to lend you.

Pre-approval does two jobs. It tells you your real budget, including what the monthly payment looks like once taxes, insurance, and condo fees are added. And it tells sellers you can actually buy their home. In a competitive Boston market, an offer without a pre-approval letter rarely gets taken seriously.

Expect the lender to ask for pay stubs, W-2s or tax returns, bank statements, and permission to pull your credit. A pre-qualification (a quick estimate from what you tell them) is not the same thing; sellers want the pre-approval, where the lender has actually looked at your documents.

I'll point you to local lenders who know the housing stock here, condo associations, multi-families, and 140-year-old rowhouses included. An out-of-state call center that has never underwritten a Boston condo is how deals fall apart in week five.

We look at homes, online and in person, until you find one that fits what you need at a price that makes sense.

We build a short list from what actually fits, not everything on the market. I'll set you up with a search that sends new listings the moment they hit the market, and we'll tour the ones worth your time.

My job here is judgment. I'll tell you when a listing is priced to start a bidding war, when a condo building has a big repair bill coming, when a 'charming' description is hiding a small kitchen, and what similar homes actually sold for. Send me everything that catches your eye, even the long shots.

When you find the one, we put your price and terms in writing. If the seller signs it, you have a deal, and in Massachusetts that signed offer is a binding contract.

An offer covers more than price: how much you'll deposit, your closing date, how you're paying, and your contingencies, which are the conditions that let you walk away with your deposit (usually the inspection and your financing). Which contingencies you keep, and how you set the dates, is often how offers win without simply paying more.

If several buyers want the same home, the listing agent may set a deadline for offers. We'll talk through the competition honestly: what it likely takes to win, and the number at which you should be comfortable walking away. Then I submit it and negotiate for you.

Because a signed offer already binds both sides here, don't sign one casually. Your contingencies are your exits; I'll explain each one before you commit.

A professional inspector you hire goes through the home top to bottom so you know exactly what you're buying, before you're fully committed.

This usually happens within about a week of your accepted offer. A good inspector spends two to three hours on the roof, structure, heating and cooling, plumbing, electrical, and signs of water. Come along and ask everything; it's the best education you'll get about the house.

Then we decide what to do with what they found. Most findings are just information: the normal wear of an older home. Bigger ones can become a repair request or a price credit, and if something serious turns up, the inspection contingency lets you walk away with your deposit. I'll help you tell old-house normal from a real problem.

Optional tests are worth discussing too: radon, pests, and, for homes built before 1978, lead paint. Massachusetts requires sellers of older homes to give you a lead-paint notice, and you have the right to a lead inspection within about ten days.

About two weeks after your offer, the attorneys turn the short offer into the full contract, called the Purchase & Sale Agreement, and you add to your deposit.

The Purchase & Sale (everyone says 'P&S') is the long, detailed version of the deal: the exact closing date, what stays with the house, what happens if something goes wrong, and the deadline for your mortgage. Your attorney reviews and negotiates it on your behalf, and this is where they earn their fee.

For a condo, this is also when your attorney reviews the association's documents: the budget, the rules, the insurance, and whether the building is saving enough for future repairs. It matters as much as the inspection.

Once you sign, the balance of your deposit is due, bringing it to around five percent of the price in total.

Your lender checks everything one more time, has the home appraised, and gives final approval for your loan.

This stretch is mostly waiting, and your job is pleasantly boring: answer document requests quickly and keep your finances exactly as they are. Don't open new credit cards, finance furniture, change jobs, or move large sums without asking your lender first. Any of those can delay or derail the loan.

The lender orders an appraisal to make sure the home is worth what you're paying. If it comes in low, there are options: renegotiate the price, cover the difference, or use the financing contingency. It's a solvable problem, and we plan for it in advance.

Meanwhile, your attorney checks the title, meaning they confirm the seller actually owns the home and that there are no old debts or claims attached to it, and arranges title insurance.

You check the home one last time, sign the loan papers with the attorney, the deed is recorded, and the keys are yours.

At least three business days before closing, your lender sends a Closing Disclosure: the final loan terms and the exact amount you need to bring. Your attorney gives you wiring instructions for that amount.

Within a day or so of closing, we walk through the home to confirm it's in the condition the contract promised, that agreed repairs are done, and that the seller has moved out. The seller is also responsible for a smoke and carbon-monoxide certificate from the local fire department; we confirm it exists.

At closing you sign the loan documents, usually at the attorney's office, in about an hour. The deed then records at the Registry of Deeds, usually the same day, and once it records, the keys are yours.