As a buyer, you receive the knowledge and expertise of a real estate agent for FREE!  My fees are paid by the seller or builder of the home you purchase.  In return, this will save you time and money. 

Congratulations on your decision to purchase a new home. Your first step toward buying your new home will be to analyze your needs. By analyzing your needs you will be able to get a clear picture of exactly what you want your new home to look like and how it should function for you. 

Analyze your needs

Pre-approval vs. Pre-qualification

Now that you have your list of features you want in your new home, you are ready to start looking!

You are going to need to know what price range. There are two ways to go about this. 

• pre-qualified or 

• pre-approved. 

Either way you will need to contact a mortgage company. 

Go to my   to investigate rates and companies. There are some key differences between pre-qualification and pre-approval for a loan that you need to be aware of.  

Loan pre-qualification is a simple process. The pre-qualified amount is based solely on the information you provide. The information given during the pre-qualification process is not thoroughly investigated and therefore may be unreliable. Where a pre-approved buyer is actually approved for a loan of a certain amount, a pre-qualified buyer is only told that they may be approved for a certain amount.

Loan pre-approval is a much more involved process. Being pre-approved lets the seller know that you have gone through an extensive financial background check and there should be no unexpected obstacles to buying the home. You can see how being pre-approved would be more attractive to a seller than just being pre-qualified.

Neighborhood Information

You will want to consider things such as drive time to and from work, what amenities are offered (swimming pool, tennis courts, park, etc.), and, if you have children who are attending school or soon will be, what school district you will be in and how close the schools are.

Home Search

There are a few ways to go about doing this. 

• Publications highlighting available real estate in the area,

• Neighborhood Associations, 

• Chamber of Commerce, 

• Internet,

• Drive through neighborhoods that you feel would meet your needs. 

When you find some homes that you like, I can arrange for you to walk through the property at your convenience.  If you prefer, I can for you. Having access to the latest technology in Real Estate search programs, I can save you time and money. 

Making an Offer

Now that you have found the home you would like to purchase, it's time to make an offer. Taking into account the recent sales of homes in that neighborhood which are similar in size, quality, conveniences, and amenities, together, we will determine a fair price for the home.

The written contract should protect the best interests of all parties involved and should be comprehensive in nature. Once it is accepted by the seller, it may be too late to make any changes, so we will review the offer thoroughly before submitting it. The contract, though not limited to this list, will include the following:

• A legal description of the property

• The offering price

• The down payment

• Financing arrangements

• A list of fees and who will pay them

• Amount of the deposit

• Inspection rights and possible repair allowances

• The method of conveying the title and who will handle the closing

• A list of appliances and furnishings which will stay with the home

• The settlement date

• Any relevant contingencies

If you have any questions or concerns, they need to be addressed right away. Remember, the legalities of this phase are very important.

Negotiating

Once your offer is made there may need to be some negotiating before your offer is accepted. Keep in mind that almost everything is negotiable when you are buying a home. Some of the things that you may have to negotiate on are:

• The price

• Financing

• Closing costs

• Repairs that need to be done

• Appliances and fixtures

• Landscaping

• Painting

• Occupancy time frame, and more

The key to successful negotiating is to make both you, the buyer, and the seller happy. 

Escrow

After your offer has been accepted, I will open an "Escrow Account", an account with a third party who is authorized to act as an escrow agent and coordinate the closing activities.  This may be an attorney, a title company, a trust company an escrow company or an escrow department of a lending institution.

Working with your lender, you will need a formal appraisal.  You may also need a survey, property inspection, a foundation inspection, and/or an environmental inspection completed  to make sure that the property is up to the standards set forth in your written agreement.  Having these procedures done in a timely and professional manner is a must. I will investigate each vendor to make sure that they are reputable and have a clean operational history.  I will also make sure that the vendors have access to the property to perform their procedures and oversee the execution of those procedures on your behalf. 

Homeowner's insurance is another very important item that will need to be taken care of at this point. If you do not have insurance coverage on the home, the closing cannot proceed.

As the closing date draws near I will be in close contact with the escrow company and your lender to ensure all  necessary documents are being prepared. At this point, I will tell you what form of payment you will need for any unpaid fees. 

Closing

Closing is when ownership of the home is legally transferred from the seller to the buyer. Closing procedures are usually held at the title company's office or lawyer's office. Your closing officer coordinates the document signing and the collection and disbursement of funds.  Each party involved should bring the necessary documentation and be prepared to pay any related fees (closing costs). 

Sellers sometimes pay for a portion or all of the closing costs, depending on contract negotiations.  Any such concessions should be acknowledged in writing. Most lenders will allow a credit from the seller to the buyer for the non-recurring closing costs. However, they usually won't allow a credit that reduces the amount of the buyer's down payment or any of the buyer's recurring costs, such as expenses for fire insurance premiums, Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI), or property taxes.

CONGRATULATIONS on the purchase of your new home!