Selling Boston & the Burbs by Jeffrey Chubb

You don’t need 20% down in order to buy a home. This is a lie. It’s an old fable. The 3.5% down is the gold standard for the minimum down payment. There are programs out there where you may be able to qualify for a loan with a 3% down payment. If you are Veteran there are programs that allow you to qualify a loan with 0% down. The lower down payment can effect a person’s Private Mortgage Insurance premium. Home buyers are able to get gifts or pull from their 401k for their down payments as well. https://www.boston2.com/blog/how-much-down-payment-do-i-need/ Jeffrey Chubb | Chubb Homes Team | 617-480-2600 | Jeff@Boston2.com | www.Boston2.com | Brokered by eXp Realty

Waiving the home inspection is something that a home buyer can do that will ultimately make their offer a lot more competitive... It does however come with risks. Know what you are doing when you waive the home inspection. Many times we will see people waive inspections for new or newer construction or even houses that have been recently renovated. Another idea is to have an inspector view the property with you BEFORE you submit an offer on a property. It wouldn't be a full inspection, but they could walk through and look for major issues (foundation issues!). If they are not writing a report, many inspectors will do this for a discounted price. You can still do a home inspection after an offer has gotten accepted. If you do a home inspection for informational purposes only and found something major and decided to walk away, then damages would be limited at the total amount of deposits that you have put down at that point in the transaction. The risk can a lot of times be worth the reward on this one as this will make an offer a LOT more competitive! https://www.boston2.com/blog/how-can-i-make-my-offer-more-competitive-the-buying-power-checklist/ Jeffrey Chubb | Chubb Homes Team | 617-480-2600 | Jeff@Boston2.com | www.Boston2.com | Brokered by eXp Realty

Yes, you can still buy a house if you have declared bankruptcy. The length of time as to when you can buy a house after bankruptcy depends on what was discharged in the bankruptcy. Jason and Jeffrey sit down to discuss these topics: - How Long After Bankruptcy Can I Buy A House? - Does Declaring Bankruptcy Wipe Out My Credit? - Need 2 Years Post Bankruptcy & What Else to Buy a House? - What Does a Bankruptcy Do to my Interest Rate? https://www.boston2.com/blog/can-you-buy-a-house-after-bankruptcy/ Jeffrey Chubb | Chubb Homes Team | 617-480-2600 | Jeff@Boston2.com | www.Boston2.com | Brokered by eXp Realty

Know that all deposits are negotiable. Many will say that the required deposit is 5% and this is not true. If you are putting 3% down or 0% for a VA loan, then most likely a buyer wouldn’t have 5% to put in deposits. Another example is a home buyer who is selling their house and utilizing the equity in their current home for the next purchase. They may not have the large lump sum available. Seller’s like to see 5% of the purchase price in deposits, but again this is not a requirement. This is negotiable. Other questions Jeff & Jason sit down to discuss are: - How/When Do the Deposits Work? - Can I Get My Deposit Back? - Can I Give Cash as A Deposit? And check out our other YouTube video on the Seasoning of Funds (REALLY important when using cash as a down payment)! https://www.boston2.com/blog/what-happens-to-the-deposit-when-buying-a-house/ Jeffrey Chubb | Chubb Homes Team | 617-480-2600 | Jeff@Boston2.com | www.Boston2.com | Brokered by eXp Realty

Rate isn’t everything when you are shopping for a home loan. Rate is a massive factor, but it isn’t everything. Things that a buyer should consider when shopping for a loan are Rate, Closing Costs, Working with Someone Local (or really in the same time zone) and the Reputation of the lender. Things to consider when shopping for a loan? - Rate - Closing Costs - Working with Someone Local - Reputation of Lender Interest rate is not everything. https://www.boston2.com/blog/what-to-look-for-when-choosing-a-home-loan/ Jeffrey Chubb | Chubb Homes Team | 617-480-2600 | Jeff@Boston2.com | www.Boston2.com | Brokered by eXp Realty

How can I Make My Offer More Competitive? Putting More Money Down then loan requires. This competitive advantage is a little more complicated than others, but can be a big competitive advantage when trying to get an offer accepted in a competitive situation. First, it is important to know that the amount that you put down on the offer for your mortgage contingency is not the amount that you are required to put down. What this amount means is if you can get the loan at that amount down, then you must proceed. Let’s say that I can put 10% down on a house, but I want to put 5% down. Maybe me putting 10% down would require a gift from my parents or having to pull money out of my 401k. So, can I put 10% down on my offer if I really want to put 5% down? Yes, this would mean if I was not able to get the loan putting the 5% down, but could putting 10% then I would have to move forward with the loan otherwise I could lose my deposit. I can’t stress enough that if you do this, you need to be prepared to have to come up with the additional funds. As down payments go, 5% looks better than 3% and 7% looks better than 5. The more the better, but don’t put an amount that you could not fulfill. The Buyer Power Checklist breaks down an offer buying power into three different categories. A buyer's offer will either be in the 'Low', 'Average' or 'High' Buying Power category. https://www.boston2.com/blog/how-can-i-make-my-offer-more-competitive-the-buying-power-checklist/ Jeffrey Chubb | Chubb Homes Team | 617-480-2600 | Jeff@Boston2.com | www.Boston2.com | Brokered by eXp Realty

How can I Make My Offer More Competitive? A Social Connection to the Seller. This one is left up to a little bit of luck, but can be a HUGE competitive advantage to getting your offer accepted. How can you figure out if you have a connection or not? Today with all the social media, it has made it easier and easier to find out if there is a connection. Ask your agent to pull up who the owner is. You will want to take that owner(s) name and put them in your Linkedin/Facebook profiles. When you find their profile, many times it will have a mutual acquaintances section. Reach out to your friend to see how friendly they are with the seller. If they are, this could be HUGE. The Buyer Power Checklist breaks down an offer buying power into three different categories. A buyer's offer will either be in the 'Low', 'Average' or 'High' Buying Power category. https://www.boston2.com/blog/how-can-i-make-my-offer-more-competitive-the-buying-power-checklist/ Jeffrey Chubb | Chubb Homes Team | 617-480-2600 | Jeff@Boston2.com | www.Boston2.com | Brokered by eXp Realty

How can I Make My Offer More Competitive? Showing a proof of deposit and proof of a down payment. This one is one of the simpler ways to help give your offer a bigger competitive advantage. A buyer most likely already has the funds for the deposit and down payment in an account. Simply showing a statement with these funds will help give the seller some piece of mind about the strength of the buyer. When providing bank statements, be sure to cross out any personal information like the account numbers. The Buyer Power Checklist breaks down an offer buying power into three different categories. A buyer's offer will either be in the 'Low', 'Average' or 'High' Buying Power category. https://www.boston2.com/blog/how-can-i-make-my-offer-more-competitive-the-buying-power-checklist/ Jeffrey Chubb | Chubb Homes Team | 617-480-2600 | Jeff@Boston2.com | www.Boston2.com | Brokered by eXp Realty

How can I Make My Offer More Competitive? A buyer increasing their deposit can help make their offer standout and make it more competitive. The larger the deposit, the bigger the signal to the seller that the buyer is committed in getting to the closing table. This helps ensure that the buyer will perform as they have a larger amount of money holding their feet to the fire. It has become standard practice in Massachusetts for a deposit to be 5% of the purchase price. This is however 100% negotiable. If you are a buyer putting 3% down, then obviously you will not be putting down 5% or more in deposits! The Buyer Power Checklist breaks down an offer buying power into three different categories. A buyer's offer will either be in the 'Low', 'Average' or 'High' Buying Power category. https://www.boston2.com/blog/how-can-i-make-my-offer-more-competitive-the-buying-power-checklist/ Jeffrey Chubb | Chubb Homes Team | 617-480-2600 | Jeff@Boston2.com | www.Boston2.com | Brokered by eXp Realty

We have gotten many questions about our marketing program where we will sell a house for a $1 commission. It’s a program that bucks the traditional norms of how homeowners sell their house. Here are some common questions we receive as well as the answers. - How Much Do You Pay? - How Does the Program Work? - How Can You Do That? Has it Been Done Before? - How Do You (the Agent) Get Paid? - Are You A Discount Broker? - Do You Do Any Marketing on Our House? - Are You a Brand New Agent? - What Are the Restrictions to the Program? - Can I See a Copy of the Listing Agreement? - What is the Next Step? If you are thinking about selling your house and have additional questions then we invite you to reach out. We are an open book and love what we do. We look forward to hearing from you! https://www.boston2.com/sellers/sell-your-house-for-1/

How can I Make My Offer More Competitive? Being flexible and closing on a seller’s preferred closing dates is one of the easiest and most effective ways that a buyer can make their offer more competitive. This will be a little more difficult for buyers that have a need for a specific closing date. If you are in a lease, then reach out to your landlord to see if there is some flexibility in extending your lease. If you are selling one house to move into another, then make sure that the contract you accept on your house offers you some flexibility. Many times, this flexibility is in what is called a ‘Suitable Housing Clause’. While very inconvenient, you can also look into short term housing to bridge any gap between when you need to be out of your current house and the seller’s preferred closing date. The company ‘Pods” offers a great solution to this scenario in how to handle your personal belongings. The Buyer Power Checklist breaks down an offer buying power into three different categories. A buyer's offer will either be in the 'Low', 'Average' or 'High' Buying Power category. https://www.boston2.com/blog/how-can-i-make-my-offer-more-competitive-the-buying-power-checklist/ Jeffrey Chubb | Chubb Homes Team | 617-480-2600 | Jeff@Boston2.com | www.Boston2.com | Brokered by eXp Realty

How Much Does it Cost to Buy a Home? Know Your Closing Costs. What are the costs to expect from going under agreement to signing the closing paperwork and having keys in your hand? Costs that you will want to factor into your budget are the Home Inspection, Application Fee, Title Insurance, Home Owners Insurance, Attorney Fees/Recording Fees and Buying Down the Rate – Paying “Points” As a rule of thumb, a home buyer can estimate that closing costs are going to run about 1% of the purchase price of a property. Can You Wrap These Closing Costs into Your Mortgage? No! But there are some other options. https://www.boston2.com/blog/how-much-does-it-cost-to-buy-a-home-know-your-closing-costs/ Jeffrey Chubb | Chubb Homes Team | 617-480-2600 | Jeff@Boston2.com | www.Boston2.com

Jeff & Jason sit down to discuss PMI and everything that someone needs to know about Private Mortgage Insurance. You asked. We answered the following questions: - What does PMI Stand For? - When is PMI Used? - What is PMI? - Why is it Important to Know About PMI? - How Do You Pay For PMI? - How Much is PMI Insurance? Is PMI Tax Deductible? These are must knows if you are a potential home buyer and are putting down less than 20%. https://www.boston2.com/blog/what-is-pmi-on-a-mortgage-everything-you-need-to-know/ Jeffrey Chubb | Chubb Homes Team | 617-480-2600 | Jeff@Boston2.com | www.Boston2.com

How to get rid of Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) Private Mortgage Insurance is required in most cases when getting a loan if you do not put more than 20% down on a home loan (i.e. have a 20% equity position in a property). It is an insurance premium that is provided by a 3rd party for the bank which covers the loss up to that 20%. This insurance premium is what motivates a bank to lend and at the low rates to a borrower with less than 20% down. There are three ways to remove PMI. You can either provide a new appraisal to the bank to show the new value, wait until you have paid down 78% from the original appraised value. Or refinance the property which really only makes sense if interest rates have not increased. At 78% of that original appraised value, a bank should automatically roll off the Mortgage Insurance Premium. Should. You will want to call them to verify if this is the case. If you think the market has appreciated to give you that 20%, then the first thing you should do is call your Realtor to verify the market comps. Your Realtor can do this at no cost and this way you will have actual comps to provide to an appraiser. Recap of the steps to removing your Private Mortgage Insurance 1. Call your Real Estate Agent to verify your property value 2. Call your mortgage banker to see if interest rates have improved and if a refinance might be better than just removing the PMI 3. Call your bank and verify the process of getting new appraisal 4. Get a new appraisal done on the property 5. Submit new appraisal to your bank https://www.boston2.com/blog/how-to-get-rid-of-pmi-private-mortgage-insurance/ Jeffrey Chubb | Chubb Homes Team | 617-480-2600 | Jeff@Boston2.com | www.Boston2.com

How much do Realtors charge is a question that we receive a lot. It's important to know that no real estate agent can talk about what is an average commission. We are not going to do that here, but we are going to go over our fee structure and the different types of marketing programs we offer. We will also breakdown how the fee is distributed from being split between the Buyers and Seller's broker as well as the agents that you hire to work for you. https://www.boston2.com/sellers/how-much-do-real-estate-agents-cost/ Jeffrey Chubb | Chubb Homes Team | 617-480-2600 | Jeff@Boston2.com | www.Boston2.com

What Should a First Time Home Buyer Know? Buying a home, especially for the first time can be a stressful ordeal. The goal of these educational videos is so that people can learn more about Real Estate and therefore the process be less stressful and more enjoyable! As a first time home buyer, there are some things that you should know. You need to know about what the 'Big 3" are as they are essential in being able to purchase a home. Must know and must considerate aspects of being a First Time Home Buyer are: down payment, credit score, know your budget and closing costs, know your timeline & the average closing time, there is no magic money fairy but a lot of programs to help 1st time home buyers and don't be scared to start the process. https://www.boston2.com/blog/what-should-a-first-time-home-buyer-know/ Jeffrey Chubb | Chubb Homes Team | 617-480-2600 | Jeff@Boston2.com | www.Boston2.com

How Much Does it Cost to Sell a House? We get this question a lot. So here we take the time to breakdown how much it costs to sell a house in Massachusetts. Each state is different, but many of the expenses will be approximately the same. In order to figure out the Net Sale Proceeds of your house, these are the expenses to consider. The loan payoff, real estate commissions, stamp tax (transfer tax), condo packet (if App), title V (if App), home warranty, attorney fees, closing cost credits, smoke inspection fee and other misc fees. Breaking down and subtracting out these expenses will provide you with a good estimate on how much it will cost to sell your home. These expenses do vary by state, so if you are not in Massachusetts then it would be our pleasure to connect you with a trusted local agent who can help answer all of your questions. https://www.boston2.com/blog/how-much-does-it-cost-to-sell-a-house/ Jeffrey Chubb | Chubb Homes Team | 617-480-2600 | Jeff@Boston2.com | www.Boston2.com

Meet Jeffrey Chubb, the Team Leader of the Chubb Homes Team which is Brokered by eXp Realty. Jeffrey is a real estate agent who works with both buyers and sellers in Eastern Massachusetts. He has a unique background having graduated from Babson College and having worked on Wall Street Trading Mortgage Securities. He believes that his job is to educate his clients. An educated client is an empowered client that can make better and more informed decisions for them and their family. Jeffrey has two beautiful girls and knows that his wife is "his rock" and who manages to hold everything dear in his life together. Jeffrey's "Me" time consists of him being on the water. He loves spending time on his boat fishing, pulling lobster traps and hanging out with family and friends. That is Jeffrey. But most important, he wants to find out about you. What is your story. What is important to you and what are your lifelong goals. https://www.boston2.com/about/ Jeffrey Chubb | Chubb Homes Team | 617-480-2600 | Jeff@Boston2.com | www.Boston2.com

How can I Make My Offer More Competitive? Being a buyer and assuming the duties of the city smoke inspection is a very creative way in making your offer more competitive in this crazy competitive market! It’s a creative way (creative means not many other people do it!) to make your offer stands out… And it is something that a buyer can do for relatively short money. In order to sell a house in the state of Massachusetts, the city fire company must come out and inspect the smoke detectors in the property to ensure they are of code. The inspection itself depends on the municipality and costs somewhere in the range of $30 to $50. The inspection itself is not the tough part. It can just be annoying! We work with a company that will do the inspection and guarantee that the inspection will pass. While not difficult, the inspection process is one of the most annoying steps in the transaction… Especially for the real estate agent! The Buyer Power Checklist breaks down an offer buying power into three different categories. A buyer's offer will either be in the 'Low', 'Average' or 'High' Buying Power category. https://www.boston2.com/blog/how-can-i-make-my-offer-more-competitive-the-buying-power-checklist/ Jeffrey Chubb | Chubb Homes Team | 617-480-2600 | Jeff@Boston2.com | www.Boston2.com | Brokered by eXp Realty

How can I Make My Offer More Competitive? It’s true, when it comes to buying a home… Cash is king! Being able to write an offer that is cash is a very big competitive advantage. To a seller, a cash offer takes a lot of the risk out of the transaction. It in most cases removes the appraisal risk as well as the possibility as to whether the buyer will be able to perform and close on time. In many situations a seller might even be willing to take an offer price a little less that is all cash then a competing offer with a mortgage contingency. Nothing is 100% guaranteed, but this is as close as someone is able to get in the real estate world. The Buyer Power Checklist breaks down an offer buying power into three different categories. A buyer's offer will either be in the 'Low', 'Average' or 'High' Buying Power category. https://www.boston2.com/blog/how-can-i-make-my-offer-more-competitive-the-buying-power-checklist/ Jeffrey Chubb | Chubb Homes Team | 617-480-2600 | Jeff@Boston2.com | www.Boston2.com | Brokered by eXp Realty

How can I Make My Offer More Competitive? Writing an offer with a Seller Concession will drastically reduce how competitive an offer is. In a competitive situation, if you are wanting a seller concession like closing cost assistance, asking for it in the initial offer phase is most likely not the place to do it. The most common seller concession is asking for assistance with closing costs. Closing cost assistance is amazing. Essentially it allows you to finance some of the closing costs. And with interest rates so low, it is a great deal for a buyer. While they are amazing for a buyer, they do signal it as a weakness to a seller. This is why you do not want to ask for them in the initial offer phase. That is if you are looking to win the offer! The best time to ask for closing cost assistance is after the home inspection. The way to do this is ask to inflate the price and for the seller to give you the difference back. The difference to the seller is very little on a net perspective. So, make sure to offer to make up that difference to the seller! The risk to the seller is that the property may not appraise for that higher amount. Most likely the sellers will require language that would reduce the price if the property does not appraise for the new inflated price. There are many tips on how to finesse a seller concession into an agreement in a competitive market. It’s important to know the risks of both strategies which is why you will want to talk to your Real Estate Agent in more detail as each situation is different. The Buyer Power Checklist breaks down an offers buying power into three different categories. A buyer's offer will either be in the 'Low', 'Average' or 'High' Buying Power category. https://www.boston2.com/blog/how-can-i-make-my-offer-more-competitive-the-buying-power-checklist/ Jeffrey Chubb | Chubb Homes Team | 617-480-2600 | Jeff@Boston2.com | www.Boston2.com | Brokered by eXp Realty

How can I Make My Offer More Competitive? By shortening the contingency time periods, it mitigates some of the risk of the sellers. This thereby make your offer more attractive. In an offer there are a couple areas where a buyer can shorten their timeline. The inspection and mortgage contingencies are the two biggest areas that a buyer can adjust. Other parts of the contract that can be shortened is the Purchase & Sale Agreement timeframe as well as closing. For the home inspection contingency, a buyer is generally given about a week to perform. The faster this is done, the more attractive it is to a seller as they will have a definitive answer quicker on whether the transaction is going to move forward. If you reduce this timeline, a great idea is to actually schedule the inspection before your offer has even been accepted and let the seller know about the inspection date! Worst case scenario if they choose another offer is that you cancel the inspection. The Mortgage Contingency is THE most important contingency in the contract. This is the one that protects the buyer’s deposit and the one that generally extends the longest throughout the transaction. Talk with your mortgage banker to see if this is a timeline that you can shorten. A great way to do this is getting a pre-commitment vs. a pre-approval. While shortening the closing date can be attractive to some sellers, it won’t be to others. The best thing to do here is ask what is the sellers preferred closing date. Then, whatever the seller says… Make it happen! The Buyer Power Checklist breaks down an offer buying power into three different categories. A buyer's offer will either be in the 'Low', 'Average' or 'High' Buying Power category. https://www.boston2.com/blog/how-can-i-make-my-offer-more-competitive-the-buying-power-checklist/ Jeffrey Chubb | Chubb Homes Team | 617-480-2600 | Jeff@Boston2.com | www.Boston2.com | Brokered by eXp Realty

How can I Make My Offer More Competitive? A Home Sale Contingency can be a big negative when trying to get an offer accepted in a competitive situation. Removing a home sale contingency is extremely risky if you haven’t done your due diligence and are not feeling 100% confident in being able to go through with the sale. If you are a first-time home buyer then you can check this box off! You have a built-in competitive advantage. If you have a house to sell, then you do have some options. The first option is to talk with your mortgage banker and see if it is possible to buy your next home without selling your current home. If that is the case, then removing the home sale contingency is far less risky. Other options are speaking to your mortgage banker and finding a friend or relative who may be able to co-sign on the next house which would allow you to carry both properties. The second option is very risky. That is removing the home sale contingency with your house being under agreement or not even on the market. Very risky. Even if the house is under agreement and you have rock star buyers, there is still risk. What if the buyers on your house lose their job and can’t qualify for a mortgage? This is an option to talk in a lot of depth with your mortgage banker as well as your real estate agent. It’s important to know all of your risks and understand that you can lose your entire deposit if you are not able to perform. Each situation is different, but it is hard to recommend this option when you can’t perform if the house doesn’t sell. After weighing the risks, if writing an offer with no Home Contingency is right for you, then this and using some other items on the Chubb Homes Team Buying Power Checklist will help make your offer more competitive. The Buyer Power Checklist breaks down an offers buying power into three different categories. A buyer's offer will either be in the 'Low', 'Average' or 'High' Buying Power category. https://www.boston2.com/blog/how-can-i-make-my-offer-more-competitive-the-buying-power-checklist/ Jeffrey Chubb | Chubb Homes Team | 617-480-2600 | Jeff@Boston2.com | www.Boston2.com | Brokered by eXp Realty

How can I Make My Offer More Competitive? Offering the seller free occupancy through a rent back is a great option for home buyers who have a little flexibility as to when they need to be in the house. A home buyer who is renting a home before has a distinct advantage on offering this competitive advantage. A buyer should always ask a seller what their preferred closing date is. An idea is to offer them to close a couple days before they intend to close on their next house and rent them the house back at $1 for a short period of time. How does it help? Well it makes the process a little less stressful for a seller. By closing a couple days before it guarantees that everything will stick to their timeline and that their closing will be seamless. If you are financing, the agreement with the bank does say that you will be living in the property within 60 days after closing. So this does even allow you as a buyer to give the buyers an even more extended period of time for their move. There may be an end to your generosity when you eventually will have to make your first mortgage payment. You will want to talk to your mortgage banker or real estate agent as to when that first payment will be. The Buyer Power Checklist breaks down an offers buying power into three different categories. A buyer's offer will either be in the 'Low', 'Average' or 'High' Buying Power category. https://www.boston2.com/blog/how-can-i-make-my-offer-more-competitive-the-buying-power-checklist/

How can I Make My Offer More Competitive? Appraisal Gap Coverage is a great option for home buyers who have a little extra money to use just in case or someone who is willing to play with some numbers on a spreadsheet (when applicable). The Appraisal Gap Coverage option is a good mix between making a seller happy and limiting a buyers exposure to a bad appraisal. This is especially an amazing option when you are not actually bringing additional funds to closing, but moving money around on a spreadsheet. This and using some other items on the the Chubb Homes Team Buying Power Checklist will help make your offer more competitive. For a seller, waiting for the appraisal is one of the more stressful parts of the transaction. Will the appraiser see the value in the property and agree with the agreed upon price? Because if the property doesn't appraise, then it can ruin the deal in late hours of the transaction. Many times the seller has packed and there are severe hardship to put the house on the market. This is why offer Appraisal Gap Coverage can help subside some of this seller anxiety. And relieving some seller anxiety may ultimately be the reason why a seller picks your offer in a competitive situation. In this episode, Jeffrey and Jason talk about the what Appraisal Gap Coverage is and the option of using it. They also talk about the risk involved. The Buyer Power Checklist breaks down an offers buying power into three different categories. A buyer's offer will either be in the 'Low', 'Average' or 'High' Buying Power category. https://www.boston2.com/blog/how-can-i-make-my-offer-more-competitive-the-buying-power-checklist/