Real Estate Agents Roles:

	Buyer's Agent	Seller's Agent	Disclosed Dual Agent	Transaction Agent
Who does an agent represents in a transaction?	Buyer	Seller	Buyer and Seller	Neither
Who pays agent's commission or fee?	seller (in most cases) or buyer	seller	seller	buyer and seller negotiate
Agent's typical responsibilities	Select and show suitable properties; present offer; negotiate terms on behalf of buyer; assist with escrow requirements	Market home under terms of listing contract; negotiate terms on behalf of seller; assist with escrow requirements	Market home for seller; qualify and show home to potential buyers; negotiate terms on behalf of buyer and seller; assist with escrow requirements	Manage the transaction, communicating information between the parties to assist them in arriving at a mutually acceptable agreement and in closing the transaction.

Buying Information
As a buyer it is a good idea to get pre-qualified before you ever contact any Real Estate agent. Many sellers will not accept offers without a pre-qualification and some sellers require a buyer to be pre-approved prior to submitting and offer. Getting pre-qualified is relatively easy most banks and Mortgage Brokers can pre-qualify you over the phone and many also offer the ability to get pre-qualified on the internet. Pre-qualification does not commit you to using the lender that you pre-qualify with.

Getting a pre-qualified makes you a more serious buyer in the eyes of a seller. Becoming pre-approved shows even more commitment to your buying decision and makes closing a little easier because you already know what lender you are using once you get pre-approved.

Listed below are some lending institutions that allow you to prequalify on the internet or over the phone:

NJ Lenders Corp. - Susan Lake 973-890-0005 x 183

	Common Mortgage Mistakes
	MSN's Home Financing Center
	Homestore's Home Financing Center
	Yahoo's Home Financing Center

	You should get pre-approved for a mortgage amount of the asking price even if you plan on offering less than the asking price (Contact any of the lenders listed above) Most sellers require a pre-approval letter with the offer or sales contract.
	Identify the attorney that you will use for attorney review & closing
	Your Real Estate agent will prepare an offer sheet or sales agreement/contract for you (the buyer) to sign for submission to the seller as an official offer. Along with the offer letter or sales contract you would give a deposit in the form a personal check made out to Liberty Realty Trust (this amount varies depending on the transaction), that goes towards your down payment if the offer is accepted. If the offer is decline you can counter offer verbally or we would just fax you a new offer letter to sign and return and begin the process again or decline to make a counter offer and continue looking. (At this point the deposit is not turned over to the Sellers attorney, you can back out at any time, without reason, and no financial penalty will be applied prior to the offer being accepted.)
	Attorney review begins when your offer is accepted by the seller/owner. Attorney review is generally 3 business days (During this period the seller may continue to show the condo and entertain offers from other buyers until attorney review has completed.)
	Begin speaking with your lender about getting the actual mortgage commitment.
	At the end of attorney review your deposit is sent to the sellers attorney. At this point you are obligated to go continue with the sale provided there has been no mis-representation by the seller or real estate agents. Basically if something isn't as it was agreed to in the sales agreement then you can back out without financial penalty otherwise you are obligated to continue. Have your attorney address any and all issues with the sellers attorney at this point so that nothing comes up later in the process as a surprise.
	Within 10 days of the end of attorney review you should have your inspection done.
	Determine what needs to be repaired and buy whom (your attorney should have gone through this with the sellers attorney during attorney review).
	Should have a mortgage commitment at this point. (Appraisal and Title search should be done already at this stage).
	Perform a final walk through a day or two before closing.
	Remainder of desposit due at closing.

	Taxes (Taxes that the current owner may have paid in advance you would be paying him at closing and you may also be paying 3 months taxes in advance for your escrow account)
	Home Inspection
	Attorney (possible the lender's attorney and your attorney)
	Credit Report
	Flood Certification
	Loan Fees (Origination Fees, Loan Application, Mortgage Fee, Loan Points, Courier Fees)
	Recording Fee
	Insurance for your escrow account (generally 3 months worth, most condo owners don't have to pay insurance because the building has insurance, that comes from you maintenance fee)
	Interest due until the end of the month (if your closing is on the Dec 15th you would pay interest for 16 days, This is why it makes sense to close as close to the end of the month as possible.)
	Title Search
	CO(Certificate of Occupancy)/Green Card
	Any Pre-Paid Fuel or Water for the month (i.e. Oil tanks that may be filled or quaterly water bill)

Selling Information
When you enter into a listing agreement with a Real Estate company, the company will most likely take on one of three possible roles; either a Seller's Agent, Disclosed Dual Agent or a Transaction Agent.

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Renting Information
As a person looking to rent an apartment you should be aware of a few things that will make your apartment search easier:

	Know your Credit Score
	Know your Maximum Renting Price (factor in utilities)
	Have a good idea of what type of apartment you are looking for