Purchasing Residential Real Estate

Purchasing Residential Real Estate is a series of short e-books designed to educate consumers on the process of purchasing a home. The purchase of a home is very often the biggest, one-time investment many of us will make in our lifetimes. The objective of this series is to provide a basic understanding of the home purchasing process from the home buyer’s perspective. This first installment, The Parties and The Contract, focuses on introducing potential home buyers to the players that they will meet and interact with while purchasing a home, and reviews the most important terms and conditions of a typical residential real estate purchase agreement. After reading this short work, home buyers will better understand the roles of the various professionals involved in the purchase transaction, and be familiar with the basic terms of the purchase agreement they will be asked to sign in order to obtain their dream house. Likening the residential real estate purchasing process to a complex ballroom dance, the first part of this book introduces the home buyer to the dancers they will interact with when they enter this specialized ballroom. These “dancers” include real estate agents, title agents, lawyers and home inspectors, and a discussion of each of their roles is included. After introducing home buyers to the various professionals they will meet and interact with when purchasing a home, home buyers are next introduced to the basic contractual terms that they will likely encounter in the residential real estate purchase agreement. Being familiar with and understanding these basic terms will help home buyers be smarter consumers, and make the overall purchasing process smoother. A glossary of common real estate terms is included at the end of the book.