Whether you’re just passing through or planning to purchase a piece of Weston real estate you will have a sense of the small community feel that permeates the town.  It is a town of just over 10,000 residents and one of its defining features is its zoning restriction that all properties must sit on no less than 2-acres of land.

Weston is a community that is considered to be one of the most affluent in Connecticut and also throughout the United States.  Residents of Weston have the highest median income of any community in Fairfield County at a median income of $219,868.  So if you are looking for a small town with plenty of space to stretch out and build your dream home, Weston may be the place for you.

Weston boasts the rating as the 6th best town in Connecticut with median home values over $325,000 according to Connecticut magazine who published their list based on community engagement, crime, education and culture/leisure.   Nationally the town of Weston is known as an incredibly safe community as it was ranked the 6th safest community in the entire United States by SafeWise.

You won’t have to drive too far to get into the city though, as this rural Connecticut town sits just 50 miles away from New York City and while it is the only community in Fairfield County without a train station to take you into the city, you can stop in any one of the neighboring communities to take the train in, if that is your preferred mode of transportation.  If you need to hop on a plane to travel you will be just 1 hour away from New York’s Laguardia Airport and just under an hour and a half to JFK by car.

What the community lacks in size it more than makes up for in amenities as Weston is home to many parks and beautiful nature reserves.  There are a number of wonderful dining and entertainment options in Weston as well as within a short drive from the center of town.

The town of Weston is home to a Blue Ribbon public school system that serves students from grades Kindergarten through 12.

To read more on the Weston CT real estate market you can visit our comprehensive guide to the community here.

When you’re thinking about buying a piece of Westport CT real estate, you may assume that the property you’re looking is owned by the person who claims to own it, but that may not always be true.  In fact, there are times and circumstances where the owner of the property is not involved in the listing at all and you could be going down a path that will leave you heartbroken when you find out the true property owner does not want to sell the home.   While this is not a typical situation, it does happen and you will want to protect yourself from any unforeseen situations arising, like the one described above.

Enter, a title search.

When you find the perfect home and begin the process of buying it, one thing that will be done is a title search.  The title search is just that, it is a lookup of public records to insure that the property does match the public portrait of it that is being presented by the seller.  A title search is generally conducted by an abstractor who will dig through public records and pull together all of the information that is publicly available on the property to get a clear picture of the property and its history.  Some of the things an abstractor will be looking for include;

1.) A list of all the documents that are associated with the parcel of land in chronological order.

2.) Information on the current and previous owners of the property.

3.) Details of surveys of the property that have been done in the past.

4.) Easements that cross the property will be detailed.

5.) A description of any wills or lawsuits that involve the property.

The abstract of the property will also flag any issues that may arise for you after purchasing the property if there are financial issues for the property owner that include things like liens on the house, outstanding property taxes or details of any easements on the property.  These are all incredible important pieces of information to have before you finally decide to purchase the parcel of land from the current owner.

Depending on the history and complexity of the parcel of land, a title search can take quite a while to complete, but typically in a relatively straight forward title search the process should take between 1-2 weeks.

When you get to the point of being ready for a title search on your piece of Westport, CT real estate I will be by your side to answer any questions that you might have on the process or the details of the search.  It can be an uneasy thing to wait for a title search to come back, but with experts by your side you can be confident in the results of the search and the future of your ownership of the property.

If you’re thinking about purchasing a piece of Westport CT real estate you will likely be presented with a purchase agreement.  A purchase agreement is entered into by the buyer and seller of a property and it outlines a set of parameters for the sale.  Let’s say, for instance, that there is an additional refrigerator in the garage that you want the seller to leave behind when you purchase the home, this is something that could be added to the purchase agreement.

While the details of each purchase agreement can vary, the structure and basics of an agreement are generally the same.  It is important, before you decide to make an offer on a home that you know what you may want included in a purchase agreement so it can be presented to the seller in a complete manner.  As your REALTOR® this is something I can help you to get right so you have a smooth purchase of your home.

As we sit down together to write out a purchase agreement we will want to include the following items;

1.)   The most common items included on a purchase agreement include things that you might consider the “logistics” of the purchase.  The logistics would include things like the buyers and sellers names and contact information.  This is the easy part of the purchase agreement and should present very few challenges to the buying process.

2.) A detailed outline of the property that is being sold.  This would include things like the address of the property, description of the location and any additional details that may be important to describe the property.

3.) The agreed upon purchase price.

4.) Representations and warranties.  These are statements of facts that the seller will make about the condition of the property being sold.

5.) Details about the financing that will be used to pay for the property.  Will the buyer be paying cash or taking out a mortgage?  This section will detail the particulars of how the property is going to be purchased.

6.) Excluded or Included property with the home.  As mentioned above, this an opportunity for the seller or buyer to spell out what she/he expects to be left behind once the sale is made.  For instance, is there a TV on the wall that will stay, that would be spelled out in this section.

7.) Closing Date.  The purchase agreement will list the agreed upon closing date for the sale of the property.

8.) Contingencies.  If there are things that need to be done to the property before the closing date which may include, but are not limited to, simple repairs around the house, carpet cleaning, etc.

No matter where you decide to purchase your piece of Westport, CT real estate you will need a purchase agreement.  When we work together I will make sure that this is a very smooth process with no surprises for you along the way.  Certainly if there are any questions along the way, I am happy to answer them so you feel absolutely comfortable with what you’re agreeing to.