Find YouR Perfect Home

It is important to work with a Realtor who is not only committed to working with you, but who is also dedicated to finding you the RIGHT home. They will guide you through the property search-consider their knowledge, experience, and expertise.

Responsibilities – Educating you about the buyer agency and professional responsibilities, including complete disclosure, loyalty, confidentiality, and accountability.

Understanding Your Requirements – Taking the time to understand the priority of your requirements – location, property type, size, local amenities etc. even if it changes.

Researching the Market – Providing sophisticated market analysis that helps you with your home search by previewing homes and keeping you up-to-date with new homes as the come on the market.

Viewing & Assessing Homes – Viewing homes and providing a comparative analysis. Referring you to expert home inspectors that will provide more of an in-depth analysis and advice.

Consultation & Negotiation – Presenting consultation with written offers, with all terms approved by you. Negotiating the best possible price and terms for you and taking care of all the documentation details.

Service Providers – Helping you explore your financing options by referring excellent mortgage professionals so you can make the best possible mortgage decision. Assisting you in finding any home-related services needed.

Closing – Keeping you fully informed about all activities that lead to the transaction.

Build Your Green File 

A green file contains all of your important financial documents, which you will need to secure financing for your property. The green file should include the following:

Recent pay stubs, bank accounts, financial statements, investments, credit cards, auto loans, tax returns for two years, copies of leases for investment properties, 401k statements, life insurance, stocks, bonds, and mutual account information.

Check Your Credit Rating

Your credit score will have a huge impact on what type of property you can buy and at what price. It is recommended to check your credit rating with an experienced lender to determine what you can afford. The lender will research your credit ratings from three major credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and Transunion. We will be happy to recommend a trusted lender.

Determine What You Can Afford and Where

Buying and financing a home are closely related, so it is important to review your current financial situation to understand how much you can afford.

One of the key components that determines the start of all searches is location. Why does location matter so much? Because you can’t move a home.

No matter your prior experience, circumstances, or reason for buying, it is always in your best interest to be pre-approved for a loan before starting to search for a home. Getting pre-approved by a lender will give you an official verdict on your home buying budget.

When you’re pre-approved, you will receive a pre-approval letter. Not only does it let you know how much you can borrow, but it can come in handy when submitting an offer. A pre-approval letter shows a seller you’re serious about buying their home. 

Now for the fun part…..Home Shopping!

It’s time to find the right property for you. No home is perfect, so don’t let the minor flaws influence you. Think long-term. Which home best suits the activities and needs of your household now and in the years ahead? Don’t buy more than you need or can comfortably afford.

When you have found the right home, it is time to prepare and draft an offer of purchase. This offer protects and represents your interests, while remaining legally binding on final acceptance. Your offer should be based on a comparative market analysis (CMA) completed by your agent. There are many components to an offer and your real estate professional will explain the entire process so that you are comfortable with the steps involved.

  Inspections provide an opportunity for a buyer to learn more about the condition of the property and identify any major issues with a home prior to closing.

Home Inspection

A home inspection is a professional third-party opinion of the home’s condition. Completing a home inspection is one of the best ways to ensure the home you’re buying doesn’t have any major underlying issues.

Pest Inspection

A pest inspection is conducted by a professional third-party that completes a visual pest and termite inspection of all accessible and available areas of a property to determine the presence of active termites, termite damage, or infestation (dry rot).

Roof Inspection

A roof inspection will determine the integrity of a roof, how long it may last, and when it will need to be replaced.

After you receive the official inspection reports, you will have time to discuss the findings with your agent and decide how you want to respond to the seller. If major issues are found, you can reopen negotiations by requesting:

     1) Seller complete requested repairs prior to closing

     2) Seller provide you with a credit so you can fix it on your own after closing

     3) Reduce the purchase price

Your lender will hire the appraiser, so there is not much for you to do. Your only responsibility is to pay for the appraisal, which is an up-front financial obligation. After the appraisal is complete, you and your agent will receive copies of the appraisal report, so you can see the appraised fair market value and check out the comps that were used in the calculations.

After all the contingencies have been removed, it becomes the responsibility of the legal and financial institutions to prepare all the necessary paperwork. Should there be any issues, your real estate professional will contact you.

Credit and Employment Check: Your lender will check your credit and employment status one more time. Now is not the time to make any purchases or change employment.

Closing Statement: Escrow prepares the buyer’s estimated closing statement, which lists all of the costs and credits associated with the purchase of a home showing the buyer their total costs to close the transaction and showing the seller their net profit (or loss).

Signing Day: Your lender will draft closing documents and email them to escrow. Escrow will prepare the documents and schedule a date and time for you to sign with a notary at your preferred location.

Final Walk-Through: You and your real estate professional will complete a final walk-through to confirm the home is in the same condition as date of acceptance and to ensure all agreed-upon repairs have been completed (if applicable).

Closing Day: Closing marks the end of your home buying process! On closing day, your lender will review the funding package to ensure all funding conditions have been met then fund the loan. When escrow receives the wire, they “release” the deed of trust (the mortgage) and the grant deed to record at the County Recorder’s Office. “Recording” means that you are on public record as the “owner of the house.” Now you can receive the keys to your new home!

Moving into a new home is an exciting time but it can also be stressful, even if you are hiring professionals.

Hire a moving company. Book early if you are moving at the end or beginning of the month.

Time to start packing! Begin with items in your home you do not use regularly. Pack room by room.

Make sure the boxes are clearly labeled and easy to identify which room the box is going in for your new home. Label boxes as fragile, as needed.

Be present when the truck is being loaded just in case your movers have questions.

Change your address – post office, banks, cable, utility company etc.

Schedule cleaners for the new home.