SEARCH and ANALYZE.

For new buyers, we will have an initial intake meeting, where we discuss your needs, our process, and the market.

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We set up all new buyers on ZenList, a third-party app & website that feeds all listings from the MLS. It is a portal that allows us to look at the same properties in the same place, save and request tours, add notes (comments), delete bad fits, and adjust parameters over time.

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As part of the initial search process, most of our buyers who are seeking financing find it helpful to get a pre-approval with a local lender.

We prefer to see every house our clients see, when they see it. This means we keep a close eye on new listings (as well as combing through unsold, lingering inventory). We set up tours, generally on the weekends (when many new-to-market properties start to show), and these will be a mix of Open Houses and private showings.

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Mid-week, our admins will send a ‘weekend availability’ email, which is not to schedule any specific slot, but to get a general sense of your availability in the coming days. So, let us know about any vacations, religious observances, birthday parties, etc., so we can put you in a slot that works best for you. Generally, we will have morning, mid-day, and afternoon slots on each of Saturday and Sunday.

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When we see properties, we pay close attention to its situation vis a vis neighboring properties & the general streetscape, We look at the home with a critical eye toward both its natural limitations (ceiling heights, zoning considerations, street adjacency), systems and general condition, and opportunities for adding value (layout and cosmetic changes),

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For properties you are considering offering on, we will perform a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA), wherein we compare against recent, nearby sales of similar properties, and make adjustments for qualitative and quantitative aspects. This gives an average of adjusted values (i.e., the ‘value’), with a range, +/- 2.5%, and on the outside margins, +/-5.0%, which is an indication of where a property “should” sell, and is an anchor for not exceeding what a bank will reasonably appraise the value at.

MAKE AN OFFER.

In Massachusetts, there is a two-step contract process. First comes the Offer to Purchase (2-3 pages, written by your real estate agent), and within several days, the Purchase & Sale Agreement (P&S; 15-20 pages, written by your Buyer’s Attorney).

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We use the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR) standard offer form for all our offers. We include an Additional Terms sheet for our buyers, with terms like Subject to a mutually-agreeable Purchase & Sale Agreement and Property to be delivered vacant & broom clean, and custom terms as applicable — these may include things like allowing Use & Occupancy, wherein a seller may stay past closing for up to 2 months, and condo doc/condo financials review.

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Typically, your Offer will expire sometime within 24 hours. If it’s the first week on market and the property is priced in anticipation of multiple offers, there will often be an offer deadline: a time at which the seller plans to review all the offers they receive at once. If there are multiple competitive offers, many sellers will opt for a “best & final” round, in which all prospective buyers have a chance to improve their offers; sometimes, we will get more guidance at this stage, but the amount of information that a seller’s agent is willing to share varies.

ACCEPTED OFFER.

Once you have an accepted offer, you’ll need to make a binder deposit to ‘bind’ your offer, into (typically) the seller’s real estate broker’s escrow account. This money will be held and applied to your closing. It is not ‘pay-to-play’ and it will be refunded if you back out based on one of your contingencies. This deposit is typically between $1,000 and $10,000; the lower end if we are maintaining a full inspection contingency with no aggregate threshold, and the higher end if we are presenting as more of a ‘sure thing.’

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Since Covid, most brokerages have moved to DepositLink, which is a secure, direct online escrow payment platform (some brokerages have corollary systems). The days of paper checks are mostly behind us, but in a case where paper checks will be used, you will send us a photo of a check made out to the escrow holder, with the account numbers physically covered up for the photo, and we would collect and deliver that check only if your offer is accepted.

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With an accepted offer, now will be the time to hire a Buyer’s Attorney to represent you in the transaction. If you are purchasing with a mortgage loan, this attorney will typically act as the Closing (Bank’s) Attorney as well. Your lawyer will review the listing, any and all deeds and public record documents, and negotiate the Purchase & Sale Agreement with the Seller’s Attorney.

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If you are purchasing in a condominium association, or into a scenario that has unusual financial or deed arrangements, we will include a contingency that your lawyer will review and approve docs & financials prior to P&S.

HOME INSPECTION.

As of October 15, 2025, sellers may no longer condition the acceptance of an offer upon a waived home inspection contingency. Buyers will always have some period of inspection contingency prior to P&S. They may choose one of two options for their contingency, allowing them to back out either in their sole discretion or only if the estimated aggregate cost of repairs exceeds a certain $ amount. Your offer will include a Last Day to Inspect and the ability to back out (either in your sole discretion, or with an aggregate) by 5:00 PM on the following day. Your inspection contingency will expire sometime prior to your Purchase & Sale date.

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Since the implementation of the new home inspection rule, we are seeing many buyers complete pre-offer inspections. Even if you conduct a pre-offer inspection, your Offer will still be required to have some period in which you have the opportunity to conduct an inspection prior to P&S. Buyers are also writing very short inspection contingencies with very high aggregate thresholds. The shorter your inspection window, and the higher your aggregate threshold, the more attractive your offer will be to a seller (i.e., the less likely you are to back out).

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We will help to arrange and schedule your home inspection. In Massachusetts, home inspections are visual. They will encompass foundation to roof; electrical, plumbing, and HVAC; windows; basic safety; and basic code like doorstops and trip hazards. Inspectors can’t tell you how to fix something, or how much it will cost to fix something; they can only recommend items that should get further evaluation or attention.

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If there is any living area, or area that will be regularly used, that’s below grade, we always recommend our clients conduct a radon test, either at inspection or once they own the home. Radon is a colorless, odorless radioactive gas that emanates from granite and other geology, that’s been linked to lung cancer. It is fairly simple to remediate (a fan system that runs constantly and sucks air from underneath a basement floor), but if you plan to spend any significant time in a basement, you should remediate if radon exceeds 4.0 PCi/L, per the EPA. It will often take several days (or longer) to get radon test results back, but the cost to put in a radon remediation system usually doesn’t exceed $1,500-2,000.

PURCHASE & SALE.

Prior to reaching Purchase & Sale (P&S), you will complete and satisfy your inspection contingency and if applicable, your condo doc contingency. You’ll execute P&S typically within 3-7 days of an executed offer, with P&S on the faster side in more competitive scenarios.

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At Purchase & Sale, you will make the balance of a 5% deposit into escrow (5% of the purchase price, minus whatever you deposited as a ‘binder’ at the time of accepted offer). Like the Offer, the P&S will typically be signed via DocuSign. Traditionally, buyers sign P&S and deliver deposit (usually with DepositLink, just like with the binder at time of Offer), then sellers countersign, at which point you’ll have a fully-executed Purchase & Sale Agreement.

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Your Purchase & Sale might include a Mortgage Contingency, which gives you the ability to back out due to the inability to obtain a mortgage loan despite your best efforts (appraisal shortfall, losing a job, etc.). This term is written into your Offer, and carried over to P&S. In some cases, particularly in competitive scenarios, you might waive the contingency but still obtain a mortgage. This communicates your level of confidence in the ability to get a loan, considering both your creditworthiness, and willingness to proceed should there be an appraisal shortfall.

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In order to preserve your mortgage contingency, if applicable, you must apply for your loan within 1 business day after P&S. This usually means formally completing the Fannie Mae 1003, and locking your interest rate. The mortgage contingency date typically runs a couple of weeks after P&S, and a couple of weeks ahead of closing. You will need to obtain a commitment letter from your bank by the mortgage contingency date in order to safely waive your mortgage contingency; this means that a bank is agreeing to lend to you, on the subject property, pending a few final conditions. (Loan Commitment, which will have several remaining conditions and will be issued a couple of weeks before Closing, will be followed by a Clear to Close, with very few remaining conditions, right before closing day).

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If you are paying in cash, you can close quickly (as quickly as two weeks post-P&S, to allow enough time for your Buyer’s Attorney to complete a title search).

TRANSACTION and CLOSING.

If you are obtaining a loan, your main task after P&S will be mortgage-related. Most P&S Agreements will allow for several visits prior to closing for contractors and measurements. This is normally ~3 visit allowance, for visits to last 30-45 minutes each, and prefer to have as much notice as possible (at least 48 hours).

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Ahead of closing, you’ll need to start utilities to be in your name effective the day of closing, including electric, gas (if applicable), oil/propane delivery (if applicable), internet, well & septic service (if applicable); municipal water/sewer will typically transfer automatically (i.e., it runs with the property).

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We will schedule a “final walk-through” of the property on the morning of, or afternoon before, closing. We will walk through the property together, and make sure its condition is as expected, and that nothing is left behind that shouldn’t be, and nothing is missing that shouldn’t be.

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You’ll typically close at your Buyer’s Attorney’s office. Within a few hours after closing, in most circumstances, the sale will “go on record”; i.e., the deed will be filed at the relevant Registry, and you will be the official owner.

Documents You Should Know —

  • Real Estate Transfer Lead Paint Notification. Required by Massachusetts law for all properties built before 1978. When applicable, sellers will provide this form when listing a property for sale, and buyers will sign to acknowledge receiving this form. Buyers will have the opportunity to conduct, or waive, a lead paint inspection. Lead Paint disclosure is also required for landlords/tenants, when applicable.

  • Home Inspectors Consumer Fact Sheet. In this document, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts notifies buyers about the home inspection process. As of October 15, 2025, sellers may no longer accept an offer contingent upon a waiver, partial waiver, or implied waiver of a buyer’s opportunity to conduct a professional home inspection.

  • Septic Systems and Title 5. A Title 5 Certificate will be required for all sales and most transfers of properties which have a septic system. This is not applicable for any property not on a septic system.