Town of Amherst Flooding Information

Please use the resource below to access flood zone information for the Town of Amherst, NY:

Town of Amherst Annual Flood Letter - http://www.amherst.ny.us/pdf/building/flood/crs_letter.pdf

Town of Amherst Flood Zone Map - http://www.amherst.ny.us/pdf/building/flood/firm_index.jpg

Town of Amherst Flood Info - http://www.amherst.ny.us/govt/govt_dept.asp?dept_id=dept_04&div_id=div_04&menu_id=menu_09

Town of Amherst Request for Flood Information - http://www.amherst.ny.us/pdf/building/forms/fi_determination.pdf

FHA Loan Starting Point

Here is some information to get you started below. Remember, when you go to purchase a home as a first time home buyer you can get seller concessions, which means the seller will give you a credit for buying their home up to 6%of the purchase price.

Example if you purchase a home for $100,000 you can get a mortgage for $106,000 with a $6,000 credit for you to use towards closing costs and down payment for a FHA Loan (a government backed loan) which is 3.5% of the purchase price ($3500). This would leave you with your no out of pocket expense for a down payment and $2500 towards the closing costs on your new home.


Some links to help get started with the home buying process:

FHA (Federal Housing Authority) Loan Buyer Overview:
http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/housing/sfh/fharesourcectr

List of FHA Lenders – I like M and T Bank because they are local and efficient, along with HSBC Bank
http://www.hud.gov/ll/code/llslcrit.cfm

Typical Home Buying Cycle - What are the steps in purchasing a home in New York State:
http://lovallorealestate.blogspot.com/2011/10/typical-home-buying-process-infographic.html

Housing Grants Available:
http://lovallorealestate.blogspot.com/2011_06_01_archive.html

Buyer Agency – why you need someone to represent you as a buyer:
http://lovallorealestate.blogspot.com/2010/07/buyer-agency-why-you-need-it.html

Typical Home Buying Process Infographic

Click the image for a full size infographic on the Home Buying Process in New York State.

Housing Grants Available

Downpayment and Closing Cost Assistance
There are programs available through local community development offices. You must apply to each program through the office of its provider.

*Table sources from http://www.belmonthousingwny.org/content/pages/down-payment-closing-cost-assistance

Williamsville Relocation Temporary Housing

Temporary Housing for relocation to Western New York can be a tough road to navigate, due the limited availablity rental options available (as you must compete with all the local university students). Yet, there are several quality options available to you as I describe them below:

1. You can also search http://www.2findyourapartment.com/ for some more information on the rentals in the area. A good portion of our temporary housing for our relocation clients as the search for permanent is housing is booked through

2. You can view http://www.luxuryaptswny.com/index.html and the following communities are located in Amherst: Windsong Place, Autumn Creek and Renaissance.
We have referral accounts setup with each of the communities’ setup, so if you decide to lease we can provide you with a referral code that will discount your first month rent. Best of luck on your relocation!

Scan the qr code below for my profile information.

Utility Contacts for Buyers

Utility Contact Information

Cable:

Time Warner
(866) 668-6044


Gas/Electric:

National Fuel
(716) 686-6123

(800) 365-3234 (Outside WNY

National Grid
(800) 365-3234

National Grid Coverage Map- http://www.nationalgridus.com/niagaramohawk/about_us/serviceterr_map_a.asp?county=Erie

New York State Electric & Gas (“NYSEG”)
(800) 572-1111 (Press “2” then “1”)

NYSEG Coverage MAP- http://www.nyseg.com/MediaLibrary/2/5/Content%20Management/NYSEG/YourHome/PDFs%20and%20Docs/NYSEG%20Service%20Area%20Map.pdf


Telephone:

Verizon
(716) 890-7100 (Press “2”)

Water - Erie County Water Authority:

Erie County Water Authority (716) 849-8444
Amherst
Cheektowaga
Clarence
Depew
Depew, Village of
Hamburg
Lackawanna
Lancaster, Town of
Lancaster, Village of
Marilla
Newstead
Orchard Park, Town of
Tonawanda
West Seneca


Water - Other Erie County Municipalities:
Angola
(716) 549-1126
Blasdell
(716) 822-1921
Buffalo, City of
(716) 847-1079
East Aurora
(716) 652-6057
Elma, Town of
(716) 674-8855
Evans, Town of
(716) 549-5751
Grand Island, Town of
(716) 773-9663
Kenmore, Village of
(716) 873-5700
Orchard Park, Village of
(716) 662-9327
Tonawanda, Town of
(716) 871-8843
Williamsville, Village of
(716) 632-5009

Water - Niagara County Municipalities:


Each town and village has its own water department. Contact applicable municipality (see blue pages in telephone directory).

Buyer Agency - Why you need it?

We are constantly fielding calls from prospective buyers with regards to questions about our properties we have listed. Most buyers are very open with regards to communication, and are going about the home search process alone. Very few buyers understand they need and advantage of having a licensed agent represent them as a buyer's agent. Buyer agency is defined as a principal-agent relationship in which the broker is the agent for a buyer, with fiduciary responsibilities to the buyer. What does that mean? It means that a buyer's agent is tied to the buyer, and all of your loyalties are to the buyer. (nothing to do with seller's agent) So why do so many buyers go out and purchase homes without a buyer's agent?


Buyer agency is a relatively new concept for the real estate world. In the past, agents were Seller's Agents, working for the person who signed a contract employing them to sell real estate. Over time that arrangement resulted in too many misunderstandings. A buyer working with a Seller's Agent often regarded that person as his agent, and felt free to make confidential statements, not understanding they would be passed on to the seller.

As a result, New York State require us to explain agency status to the buyer. In addittion, most seller's agree to pay a buyer's agency fee as it is an established part of their MLS Listing Agreement. Therefore, it comes at no cost to the buyer.

In today's real estate world, you'll find agents who work as Seller's Agents and Buyer's Agents, and in some areas you'll see Dual Agents and Designated Agents. Here's a simplified recap of those terms.


Seller's Agent
Your duty is to obtain the best deal for the seller. You are allowed to give the buyer only material facts about the property.

Buyer's Agent
Your duty is to obtain the best deal for the buyer. You may pass on any and all information you obtain about the seller or the property.

Dual Agent
You must be loyal to both parties. Dual agency occurs when a real estate agency owns a listing, and an agent from the office, working as a buyer's representative, shows that listing.
Dual Agency must be disclosed and agreed-to in writing by both parties, since it's sometimes difficult to focus on the needs of one client versus the other.

Designated Agent
Very similar to Dual Agency. The broker-in-charge designates two agents to work a transaction, one for the seller, one for the buyer.