The Home Buying Process

Home Buyer’s Journal

Buying a home can be a stressful experience, especially if it’s your first time. My job is to make it easier for you and guide you every step of the way. To help you track your Home Buying process, I’ve created a custom journal just for you!

It’s a place to keep EVERYTHING! From homes that you have interest in, to your own design thoughts & ideas.  It’s great for first-time buyers and experienced veterans. I even added a section to track all the details of your financing, including a long list of items that you’ll need to get to your lender.  If I didn’t have a background in mortgage financing, I would’ve been completely lost as a first-time home buyer! This is just one of the many ways I put my experience to work for you.

Home Search Evaluation Form

Before we go out looking at homes for the first time, I will meet with you to explain the buying process and identify your needs in a new home. I will also talk to you about the lending process, the importance of getting pre-approved and how to go about doing so. I have mortgage brokers and lenders I can refer you to if you need a lending solution.

Here is a form that you can fill out before meeting with me or we can fill out together:

-Download the Buyer Questionnaire (pdf) –

Loan Pre-Approval

In this market with limited inventory and multiple buyers competing for the same property, you need to be ready to show the seller that you are a very serious buyer and have all your ducks in a row when it comes to financing. While a pre-qualification is merely an informal estimate of your income, assets and present debt to estimate the approximate price range you should be looking in for your new home, a pre-approval means the lender is prepared to offer you a loan up to a certain amount based on your credit, employment, and income and has determined what loan program is the best fit for you.

Shopping for Homes – The Search

I will comb through all my resources to find homes matching your needs. It’s ok to continue to look for homes online, too. When either of us finds one that warrants a live look, we can view it together. Along the way I will be educating you on the area – topics such as history of the area, points of interest, as well as information about septic systems and wells. Once we find the home that might be “the one,” we will review the particulars – what it is listed for, what the market value is for the home and what the market is doing in that area. This will give you the information you need as we craft our offer strategy.

Making an Offer

Together we will consider what it takes to write an offer that gets the seller’s attention, especially when competing with other buyers for the same home. Together we will go over:

  • Purchase Price
  • Escalation Form
  • Inspection Forms
  • Contingencies – “Contingencies” are provisions in the contract which specify the terms in which the contract would be voided if certain events do or do not occur. The most common contingencies include:
    • Financing – would null the contract if the buyer cannot obtain a loan.
    • Inspection – would null the contract if the buyer does not feel he or she can handle the inspection results when major repairs are needed or the buyer and seller cannot meet eye to eye regarding what will be fixed before the property changes hands and how.
    • Sale of the buyer’s current home – would nullify the contract if the buyer cannot sell their current home by closing as the buyer would not be able to finance two properties at once.

If moving is on the calendar for you this year, please contact me as soon as possible so we can strategically plan your timing so you don’t pay more than you have to.

Negotiation

During the negotiations, I will keep you in the loop on every development—even the small things! Experience usually goes hand in hand with confidence. Confidence in a transaction means knowing what it will take to be the top offer in a multiple offer situation or knowing when to push on your behalf if something doesn’t go as planned with an inspection or appraisal. My strong negotiation skills can potentially save you thousands.

Pending to Close

After your offer is accepted, I will give you a “Pending to Close” calendar with the estimated time frame for each event as we move towards closing. I will also be in contact every few days to help you stay calm and confident through the process.