Pre-approval
The first step for any buyer that isn’t lucky enough to be able to buy a home cash is to get pre-qualified for a home loan. You may already have a loan officer you are working with or know but we also have a network of qualified loan officers committed to obtaining you the best rates with highest standard of service. The lender will review your financial situation and determine the purchase price you are qualified for based upon your income, debt, employment history, credit score etc. They will also go over the different loan programs available to you along with down payment amounts and other fees. Once the loan program that is right for you has been chosen your lender will issue you a conditional pre-approval letter. This letter will be included with any offers you submit on a home.
Home Search
Location,location, location is something you’ve heard time and time again in regard to real estate and there’s a reason for that, location is important, important, important. Both for quality of life and investment.
The location of your home matters on a multitude of levels. It will determine the school your children may go to, your commute to work, where you eat and shop, the list goes on and on.
These factors play into what you are willing to pay for a home and what it will be worth when it’s time for you to sell. So, location matters.
All of our clients are provided a personalized homes search catering to their specific needs and wants.
You will receive a daily email with all the latest homes available within your search criteria along with direct emails with homes we think you’ll love.
You can like, favorite and trash the homes you receive to optimize your search and unlike Zillow and Redfin, every home that shows active on your search is actually active. Thats because the MLS (Multiple Listings Service) is the prime source of home listings.
Viewings
A picture is worth a thousand words and in real estate a picture is trying to get that home a thousand viewings.
While searching for a home you will see lots of pictures. Pictures on listings have one purpose and one purpose only, to entice you to come view that listing.
Sometimes the pictures match or exceed the actual condition of the home and others…not so much. Regardless, the best way to assess a home is in person.
Driving through the neighborhood, does pride of ownership show amongst the neighbors? Arriving to the home, does the design and neighborhood have appeal? Our job isn’t to try and make you like a house or “sell” you on it.
You’re the one who is going to live there and make the payments, we want to aid you in assessing the overall quality of the house both from an investment stand point and a practical day-to-day living one.
We walk into every home with our clients not just as a Realtor but as an investor, home inspector, parent and owner.
Is there a place to hang your tv that is practical to the room’s layout? How outdated or updated is the kitchen, bathrooms? Are there any wall or ceiling patches? How old is the water heater, furnace, AC? How’s the yard for kids? Whats the simplest improvements you can make for maximum return?
Showings are not a high pressure ordeal, we’re not trying to sell anything. We have honest and professional discussions with all of our clients about each home. We want to find you a home that you will love and will make you money!
Making Offers
Offers are your interest to purchase a property materialized into a written contract.
The contract will put forth with your proposed terms of purchase which include conditions, designations and amounts. How much you’re offering, who will pay for what, how long the escrow period will be etc.
We tailor every offer to our client’s specific needs along with deriving price from the latest comparable data of the neighborhood so we make sure you submit the most competitive offer without overpaying.
We will submit every offer immediately with an explanation of your terms and conditions.
The seller may respond with a counter offer and thats okay, we will strive to negotiate the best deal on your behalf.
What is Underwriting?
Underwriting is the process of the lender to assess risk.
All of your financial documents are reviewed. W2’s, tax returns, pay stubs, credit report, home appraisal, etc. They look at your DTI(Debt to Income Ratio), verify borrower income, and much more.
Your credit history is heavily investigated for any potential red flags. If you have a late payment or a collection account the underwriter will require additional information.
Based on the lender guidelines, the underwriter may require a letter of explanation for any negative accounts, or require you to pay off certain collection accounts before you get a clear to close.
Credit is one of the more common reasons an underwriter kicks back a mortgage application. You will receive a conditional approval from the underwriter with a list of items they wish to investigate further.
The sooner you provide the lender with these items, the sooner they can be cleared and your loan docs can be ready. It is also best at this time to refrain from any major purchases as it will affect your credit.
No new vehicles or lines of credit etc. Most escrows are only 30 days so holding off on these purchases will make the process much smoother.
Inspection Period
Inspection periods are very important to your transaction.
You will have a specified amount of time to perform your due diligence, this includes inspections. Usually you will conduct a general home inspection, this will take a few hours to complete.
We highly suggest you come at the end of the inspection to walk the findings with the inspector face to face but if for some reason you cant make it you will receive a detailed report of their findings.
The inspector will investigate the general functions of the home and their overall status. The home inspector will not cut into walls, remove fixtures or alter the home in anyway. Their main concern is finding any safety or costly issues with the home. They will mark anything else they find, it’s an inspector’s job to find all they can.
The appraisal is an inspection that is very important if you are financing your purchase. The appraisal will determine the value of the home so you can obtain financing to purchase it.
Most homes are appraised using the same formula we use to derive the offering price, so it’s very rare that listings miss the mark and come up short on value.
The pest inspection report will be performed by a licensed pest control company. They will be looking for any compromised material which doesn’t just include termite damage but may be dry rot or pigeons and so on.
There are many more inspections you can perform but these are the main 3 that will typically be performed.
Contingencies
Contingency periods are laid out in the purchase contract and are safeguards to protect buyers and sellers from losing deposits or being penalized for failing to meet their contractual obligations because of unknown results.
These contingencies usually include designated inspection periods, appraisal, loans being secured or the buyer selling their own home to purchase the property. Contingencies can go beyond those but the actual contingency and period must be agreed upon by both parties.
If one of the parties fail to satisfy their contingency in the designated timeframe they will have to request an extension of the contingency or can be forced to move forward without that contingency being satisfied under threat of a cancelled contract.
After each of these contingencies have been satisfied the party will remove their contingency.
If all contingencies are removed and a party cancels at no fault of the other, damages or loss of deposits may result.
It is important that contingencies are satisfied in a timely manner for a smooth transaction.
Funding & Recording
If the buyer is financing the purchase of your property they will have gone through the underwriting process and hopefully secured full approval for their loan.
Their lending institution will transfer these purchase funds to escrow thus “Funding” the transaction.
A cash buyer will work the same way just without the underwriting and loan process in the end all that matters is the money reaches escrow.
Escrow will review and prepare disbursement of the funds to the appropriate recipients.
At this time title will also be be notified the transaction has been funded and the county records will be recorded to reflect the transaction coming into fruition and completing the purchase of the property.
Keys
Now we’re finally to the good part, the keys!
This is our absolute favorite part of any transaction, getting to meet our clients at their property and hand them the keys to their new home.
Appraisal
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