Here are the tools and areas you should explore while working on your home purchase. Review Available Loan Assistance Programs ! Review the type of loan programs that you may qualify for if you are lower income, if you are a first time home buyer, a teacher, fire fighter, police officer, etc. Use Online Calculators ! Use our online calculators to determine your debt to loan ability to buy and approximate loan limit. Prequalify With A Lender ! Prequalify with a lender verbally. Prequalifying for a loan means you discuss your basic economic situation (debts, income, credit) with a loan broker or agent and are informally told what you can afford to buy based on your supplied information and your credit check. Review any loan program you come across (see our list at the bottom of the page, under the Loans / Mortgages section) that you may qualify for with the lender at the time of your interview. To have a loan "prequalified" does not mean you are "preapproved". Loan approval comes after you actually document your information and have it submitted to various lenders and they review and check the information and then approve you for the loan. Get preapproved before you start the house hunt. Have the preapproval letter to submit with any offer you make to show your credibility and qualifications on making the purchase. If you don’t have a lender you would like to work with, compare programs with local credit unions, savings and loan and banks such as Union Bank, Wells Fargo, Washington Mutual, or lenders that you come across advertising better rates, or ask the real estate agent we refer to you to for a good referral. All the calculators on this site have lenders representing them that would like to compete for your business. Compare all of these sources. Be prepared to spend a little time to shop for the best mortgage loan for your situation. Important: Request each mortgage offeror to put their offer in writing. Make a chart for yourself and compare all the offered interest rates, loan costs and required points you will have to pay against each other and narrow down and select the best loan package. Get Loan PreApproval ! Get loan preapproval (actually fill out forms and submit them to a lender). Work with a lender to find out how much of a loan you can comfortably afford and what is the best type of loan for your situation. Once you are approved, the lender supplies you with a loan preapproval commitment letter. This commitment letter outlines the terms and conditions under which this lender is willing to make you a loan. The approval letter is a powerful tool to use when submitting an offer on a home. It shows you can buy the house, that you are already approved. When other offers are submitted to the seller, the ones who have preapproval are much more credible and carry much more weight than the unapproved buyers. Determine Your Housing Requirements ! Determine your housing requirements: price range you qualify for, what type of home do you need, size, location, special features, school district desired, etc. Always keep in mind reselling the home in the future and the features that will matter most when you do. Determine Which Area You Desire ! Decide which geographical area you would like to target for home ownership. Get a feel for pricing in this area, current interest rates, and other key information to help you determine the best time to buy (and put your present home on the market). Try to find out what the future projected plans are for the desired neighborhood, what is the renter to owner ratio, any planned local school expansion (ask other neighborhood families what they think about the quality of the schools), any projected development, locations of nearby freeways and major roads. Get out and talk to the neighbors, small area business owners (ask if their businesses are thriving), and governmental agencies: planning commission and zoning board. Additions may be negative for property values or very positive. Calculate Costs of Home Ownership ! Calculate all costs and determine if you can afford the type of home you and your family desire to own. Use the calculators on this website to assist you. Fill-Out Agent Referral Form Request ! Fill out our "Agent Referral Form for a referral for a qualified and experienced agent that will actually maximize your home purchase. Remember, it doesn’t cost a buyer anything to use a real estate agent and may cost you lost money if you don’t use one. When you decide to work with an agent, show your appreciation to them by being loyal and considerate of their time. The agent will call you and make an appointment to meet with you. You will discuss and analyze with the agent the following: • Current market conditions (whether it is a seller’s or buyer’s market) • Provide you on school information for the various neighborhoods you are considering • Your property needs and desires • Basic real estate information such as their agency relationship to you, and local real estate practices • Lender sources if you haven’t been preapproved yet • A search of the MLS for properties that may be in your price range • Comparable market data to support the asking prices of like properties in the same neighborhoods you are considering. You may be asked to sign a buyer’s contract with the agent. They ask you to do this to insure that you will be loyal and continue to work with them. This insures their time (and money expended) for their continuing services in helping you find a home will not be wasted. I’m sure you like to get a paycheck for the work you do, so do they. There are costs involved for an agent to work with a client: their time (they expect to get paid at the close of escrow if they spend time and money working with you, gasoline and wear and tear on their cars hauling your around to show you homes, their time spent researching and looking up and providing information, etc.). This contract insures you will not unfairly use another agent at the last minute to make a quick sale and help you buy a home. Get List of Available Homes On Market ! Interview and discuss your housing needs with agent and get list of possible homes to fit your budget. Review available housing listings, drive by the homes and take virtual tours online. View the possible choices are various times during the day, paying close attention to the neighborhood and traffic patterns. Narrow down possible housing matches. Look At Homes With Your Agent ! Make an appointment with agent to visibly view the few possible homes that match your criteria. (It will wear you out and confuse yourself to look at very many home on the same day. Narrow it down to the ones you would actually consider buying. Take notes and use our checklist, while you carefully review each home. Chart out each home’s amenities (preferably, while your agent is driving you around) and before you get to the next home and get them all mixed up. Do not forget to note the negative points how much and what labor and materials are required to bring the home up to your specifications. Make An Offer ! When you narrow down the selection and are comfortable making a home buying decision, discuss details with your agent regarding what to include in an offer to purchase. Make sure the agent does some research on the comparables of the neighborhood and also knows the background and details of why the seller is selling (usually uncovered by calling the selling agent and simply asking for this information). What is the seller’s motivation? How soon do they need to move, what are their settlement requirements? Digest all the information and research; then make an offer, give an earnest money deposit, and sign a purchase contract on the home selected for you and your family. Note: A buyer’s agent fiduciary duty to you as a buyer is to get you the lowest possible price and the best possible terms. The seller usually pays for this service for you. What to expect from your agent when making an offer to purchase on your behalf: ! You should expect the agent to obtain the best possible price and terms for you when presenting your offer. Price is negotiable. Depending on the market conditions, you may want to start lower and then negotiate higher. If it is a strong seller’s market with low inventory on the market, with potentially other offers on the table, you may be rejected immediately and completely lose out with a low ball offer. You have wasted your chance, may have insulted the seller and someone else may be right behind you with a better offer and better terms. ! To give an explanation of the Offer to Purchase Forms and the procedure to present an offer to a seller. ! To state what is to be included with the purchase: appliances, home owner’s warranty, window treatments, satellite dish, etc. ! Financial details and conditions: deposit amount, any interest to be paid and details regarding home mortgage financing. Conditions are usually included regarding the offer is contingent that you are able to obtain financing or the home passes with a favorable home inspection. ! The closing date. This is when everything is finalized and you get to take possession of the home - usually 30 - 60 days in the future. • Offer expiration date and time. If the offer isn’t accepted, when it becomes null and void. • A review of what happens during the escrow period. All conditions of your offer must be met during the escrow or closing period. The title is searched, taxes and any liens will be checked and compared against any personal property in the contract. ! A discussion of after sale activities and your responsibilities to make a final closing happen. ! Information on offer negotiations and how they usually work: You will most likely receive a counter offer (the seller makes changes and returns it to you to accept, reject or make changes), and then have to revise it and resubmit it to the seller before you receive a firm commitment on the deal. Counter offers may be made on closing dates, items to be included or on price. Make sure before you get caught up in making the offer and subsequent negotiations exactly what you are willing to spend. Don’t get in over your head. ! The agent will be requesting an earnest money deposit to submit with the offer. The deposit is usually 5% to 10% of the purchase price. This money shows you are serious and will go toward the purchase price of the home on the closing date. If your offer is unaccepted, the deposit will be returned. If you cancel an accepted deposit, you may lose the deposit. Make sure the offer allows you a refund of your deposit if you are unable to obtain a mortgage to buy the home or if the home inspection reveals that the home has unforseen expensive problems that the owner will not provide for and you are unwilling to pick up the tab and pay to have fixed. Have Inspections Done ! Have professional inspections done. The purchase contract allows you to have professional inspections of the property done and covers you in the event the inspections are unfavorable. Ask your agent what inspections he or she suggests for the geographic area. Select Your Mortgage ! Finalize which mortgage is the right one for your circumstances. Fill out the required loan closing documents, loan agreement, and submit all requested paperwork and verifications. Review Disclosures ! The agent will give you copies of the filled out disclosure forms filled out by the seller for your review. ! The agent will follow up on all contingencies and stay abreast of all needed requirements to make the closing date. Final Walk-Through ! Have the walk through a day or two before closing and have the seller show you how to operate the appliances and major systems for the home. Take notes. Closing ! Close the loan or loan settlement. You will be making your final down payment, any additional loan fees, and finish signing all documents to finalize the home purchase. Copyright © 2004 Linda Ramsay, Retrader.com
Our Home Buying Services!
 We take the buying process as seriously as our buyers do, therefore we offer nothing but the highest quality of service to our clients. When you decide to purchase your home, make sure you hire someone whom you can trust and someone who wants to earn your business. Buying your home is one of the most important purchases you will make, so make sure you have the right agent who can provide you with the experience and the service you deserve.
When you understand current market conditions, you are better able to position yourself as a Seller. It helps to know if you are in a Seller's, Buyer's or Balanced market when setting your asking price. In a Buyer's market there is a lot more competition and Buyers have plenty of choices and room to negotiate, forcing you to be very competitive when setting your price. Here are some of the steps I will take to find your perfect home: Determine Your Wants and Needs
This is the single most important step. By asking you a series of questions I will establish what you are looking for. My goal is to not waste your time by looking at properties that are not in your price range or homes that don't meet you needs. Throughout the buying process I will maintain your confidentiality and represent your best interests. Help You Get Pre-Qualified
 This step will show you how much you can afford. This is accomplished by speaking with your financial institution and establishing what monthly payments you will be comfortable with. We Will Help You Find A Great Home, At A Fair Price! Home Shopping
We will use every available method to locate a property that matches your search parameters. This will include properties listed with our office, offered through other real estate companies, as well as unlisted properties. We will disclose all known facts about the property that are likely to affect your decision. When we find the home that meets your criteria, I will assist you in writing an offer and act as a liason between you and the seller. We will help you find the best home on the market for you and your family, investigate the seller's situation before writing an offer, help negotiate the best deal, and then make an offer that is in your best interests. Agent Referral Form
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