HomePath Property - First Time Offer Advice

[Milan Obradovic]

Hello BP,

I am interested in a property that I found on Homepath. My plan is to put an offer on the property once  if it makes it to the investor availability after 20 days. Since this is my first time dealing with Homepath, I have a few questions.

1. Should I hire a title company to do a title search before making an offer or only if the offer is accepted and put that as a contingency?

2. I have the cash to buy the property at asking price, but I was thinking about taking a mortgage since I am looking to fix it a re-sell it and would prefer not to tie up that much capital into the property.

3. Should I make an offer through my real-estate agent or go directly through the listing agent?

4. Do you have any standard contingencies you would put with the offer when dealing with Homepath?

Thank you so much for any help!