Your Path to Owning a Home in the North Country

Get Your Money Ready

Before you tour your first home, line up your numbers.

Your down payment, your closing costs, and your reserves are three different buckets — and lenders expect to see all three. Plan to have your down payment in cash (gifts allowed with a paper trail), 2%–4% of the purchase price for closing costs, and ideally 2–3 months of housing payments in reserve.

Pull your credit reports for free at annualcreditreport.com. Anything below a 620 will narrow your loan options; 680+ unlocks better rates. Dispute errors before you talk to a lender — corrections take 30–60 days.

• Pay stubs (most recent 30 days)
• W-2s and federal tax returns (last 2 years)
• Bank statements (last 2 months, every page)
• Photo ID and Social Security card
• Proof of any other income (child support, rental, military)

Sign a Buyer-Broker Agreement

Required before you tour homes — and a chance to set expectations.

Effective August 17, 2024, the National Association of REALTORS® settlement requires that buyers sign a written buyer-broker agreement before touring a home with a REALTOR®. The agreement spells out the services your agent will provide and the compensation you agree to pay.

Compensation is fully negotiable; it is not set by law and is not standardized between brokerages. You can negotiate a flat fee, an hourly rate, a percentage, or any combination. You can also limit the agreement to a single property, a date range, or a geographic area.

• What services the agent will provide
• Compensation amount, source, and timing
• Term length (we recommend starting short)
• Whether the agreement is exclusive or non-exclusive
• Geographic and property-type scope

Define What You Actually Need

Separate your must-haves from your nice-to-haves before you tour.

Before you fall in love with photos online, write down two short lists: hard requirements and wishes. Bedrooms, garage, school district, and commute usually belong on the first list. Granite counters and shiplap belong on the second.

Think 3 to 5 years out. The best fit is the home you will still want when life shifts — a baby, a remote-work change, an aging parent moving in, a job promotion that doubles your commute.

• Bedrooms / bathrooms — minimum non-negotiable count
• Lot size and setback — privacy, garden, snow storage
• Heating system — oil, propane, wood, pellet, or heat pump
• Internet — verify provider and actual speed at the exact address
• Commute and school district — drive both at your real hours
• Well & septic vs. municipal water & sewer
• Garage / outbuilding requirements

Tour Smart

Showings are your only chance to feel the house.

Your agent will pull every active listing matching your criteria and set up showings in efficient batches — usually three to five homes per outing. Plan 30–45 minutes per home; bring a notebook and a phone for photos.

Look past the staging. Open every closet, run every faucet, flush every toilet, lift every rug corner. Note the age of the roof, furnace, and water heater on the property's seller disclosure.

• Inspect basement floor and walls for water staining or efflorescence.
• Look at neighboring properties — they affect your resale.
• Step into the yard and listen for road noise, dogs, train lines.
• Drive past the house at night and on a weekend morning.
• Confirm cell service at the address — rural dead zones are real.

Make a Strong Offer

Price is one term — terms matter as much as dollars.

Your agent will pull recent comparable sales (comps), explain the seller's likely motivation, and recommend a price and terms. A clean offer is not always the highest one — terms matter.

Standard contingencies in New York: financing, inspection, appraisal, and (sometimes) sale of your current home. Each is a door you can walk back through if something unexpected appears.

• Earnest money: typically $1,000–$5,000 in our market, held in attorney escrow.
• Inspection window: usually 7–10 business days after binding contract.
• Possession: "at closing" is standard; rent-back is negotiable.
• Personal-property inclusions: spell out appliances, sheds, generators, fuel in tanks.

Inspections, Appraisal & Underwriting

The middle 30 days, where most deals live or die.

Once your attorney delivers a fully-executed contract, the clock starts. Schedule the inspection within 24 hours of binding so you have room to negotiate repairs if needed.

Your lender orders the appraisal next. If the home appraises at or above the contract price, underwriting moves to final approval. If it appraises low, you and the seller renegotiate or you can walk under your appraisal contingency.

Negotiating Repairs

Inspection findings are leverage — use them surgically.

Your inspector will produce a 30–60 page report. Sort the findings into three buckets: safety/structural (electrical hazards, foundation movement, active leaks, failing septic), major systems (furnace, water heater, roof at end of life), and cosmetic/maintenance (peeling paint, dated fixtures).

Ask the seller to remediate or credit only the first two buckets. Cosmetic items are part of buying an older home — pad them into your move-in budget instead. Sellers in our market are usually pragmatic when requests are reasonable.

Insurance, Title & Final Walkthrough

The last two weeks before keys.

Lock your homeowner's insurance policy at least 14 days before closing — your lender needs the binder to fund the loan. Check the specific property against current FEMA flood maps and ask your insurance professional about coverage.

Your attorney orders the title search and obtains owner's and lender's title insurance. The owner's policy is a one-time premium that protects you for as long as you own the home — buy it; it is small money for big peace of mind.

The final walkthrough happens within 24 hours of closing. Confirm the home is in the agreed-on condition, all included personal property is present, and any negotiated repairs have been completed.

Closing Day

The 90 minutes that turn the house into your home.

Closing in New York happens at the buyer's attorney's office or via mail-away. You will sign the mortgage note, the deed transfer, and the closing disclosure. Bring photo ID and a wire-transfer or cashier's check for your balance of cash to close (your attorney will tell you the exact figure 24 hours ahead).

Plan for 60–90 minutes at the table. You walk out with the keys.

After Closing

Five things to do in the first 30 days.

• File the STAR property-tax exemption (basic or enhanced) on your new home.
• Update your address with USPS, DMV, employer, banks, and insurance carriers.
• Change every exterior lock and rekey or replace garage codes.
• Locate and label your main water shutoff, gas shutoff, and electrical panel.
• Schedule your first furnace service (especially if previous service is undocumented).

Common North Country Buyer Pitfalls

What our buyers tell us they wish they had known.

• Underestimating winter heating costs — ask for 12 months of utility bills, not the last bill.
• Skipping the septic inspection on a rural property because the seller says "it works fine."
• Forgetting the well-water test — bacteria and arsenic both occur in our region.
• Ignoring the FEMA flood-zone status for waterfront and creek-side properties.
• Buying a camp listed as a year-round home — verify the certificate of occupancy.
• Assuming high-speed internet is available — verify the provider and the actual speed at the address.