How much home can you afford? We have tools for you.

• Online Loan Amortization Calculator
• Loan Amortization Spreadsheet for Excel. The Excel version includes a function to add in a number to account for extra payments you may want to make annually. Don't have Excel? Download the Excel Viewer.

Deciding What Kind of Home You Need
If you'd like a structured way to figure out what you're looking in in a home, please try out our Home Finding Needs Worksheet.

Negotiating
There are literally hundreds of points that you can negotiate in a real estate transaction, and it is important to feel confident about negotiating with potential sellers, or there may be a danger that a seller will talk you into agreeing to terms in a contract that are not in your best interest.

There are many potential points that can protect and enhance your purchase, including financing and home inspection contingencies. Most purchase contracts, even if they are standard documents, contain boilerplate language that may not fit your situation and may in fact be unfavorable to you. Your Coldwell Banker Legacy Real Estate agents will explain the language, so that you can make an educated decision in order to make the best possible purchase decision.

Contingencies
There are two types of contingencies found in most transactions-a financing contingency, which makes the purchase conditional on the buyers' ability to obtain a loan from a lender, and an inspection contingency, which allows the buyers to have professionals inspect the property to determine potential property issues prior to entering a binding contract to purchase. You could forfeit your Earnest Money deposit under certain circumstances, such as by terminating a purchase without legal reasons provided for in the contract.

In order to protect your position, your Coldwell Banker Legacy Real Estate sales associates see that the purchase contract contains provisions which protect your purchase interests, including a clear and marketable title, having the seller agree to maintain the property in its present condition until closing and making any agreed-upon repairs to the property.

Furnishings
Deciding what stays with the property is a negotiable item. If sellers want to take fixed items out of a house, they must specify so in the sales agreement. Appliances that are not built in such as washer, dryer, refrigerator, portable dishwasher, portable microwave, and freestanding stove are not automatically included in the real property, just as anything is else not permanently attached to the property.

Earnest Money Deposit
This is a deposit paid by the prospective buyer of real property as evidence of the good faith intention to complete the transaction. The amount can vary, depending on the value of the property, and it serves as a source of payment of damages to the seller if the buyer defaults. The amount of earnest money may also play into the negotiation strategy your Coldwell Banker Legacy Real Estate agent employs. Once the offer is mutually accepted, the earnest money is held in trust by either the listing agent firm or the selling agent firm and is credited toward the buyer's purchase price at closing. If closing fails to occur, the defaulting party may lose any claim they have to the earnest money deposit.

Preparing to move in
Moving can be stressful, here are some things you may not have considered.

First, you should know that by this point you NEED TO ALREADY HAVE HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE!

You have purchased your new home, now the real fun and excitement begins. Packing your boxes is not all that you will need to do. As a full service Realtor®, I will be glad to help you find local services and answer any questions you may have about moving into your new home. Use this list to help make your moving experience a pleasurable one.

Utilities
Begin new services, transfer existing services, discontinue old services

• Electricity
• Natural gas
• Water
• Sewer
• Garbage
• Telephone
• Cable
• Internet

Change your address

• Post office
• Newspaper subscriptions
• Magazine subscriptions
• Banks
• Credit cards
• Associations
• Friends and Family
• Visit USPS.com for help with all this!

Secure moving and storage

• Purchase boxes and packing material
• Hire moving company/ Rent a truck
• Rent storage unit

New home improvements

• Wallpaper
• Paint
• Carpeting
• Remodeling

Add new amenities

• Appliances
• Furniture
• Decorations