If you are planning to get a loan I always recommend the first step in your process be meeting with a lender for a pre-approval. This will get you a solid idea of your budget and ensure you are setting up a search with your monthly payment goal in mind. This also allows you to quickly demonstrate to a seller that you are qualified to make a purchase. Your lender can be a deal-maker or a deal-breaker, and I can connect you with wonderful local experts who have delivered excellent services for my clients in the past. 

During this meeting we will discuss your wants and needs, cover the process in-depth, and get you set up on a search! This is when all the fun begins, I think!

I will set up private showings for us to view homes that you are interested in. I always recommend seeing more homes rather than less to ensure that you are really nailing down what is a priority for you before making a decision! This is where the process can range significantly -- some folks look for one weekend and find "the one" and some clients look for years, it depends on your specific requirements and the pace you want to go at!

One you find a home you'd like to move forward on we will submit an offer to the sellers via the Contract to Buy and Sell Real Estate form. The seller can either accept, reject, or counter this offer -- and once both parties come to an agreement you are under contract!

The contract will outline how much time you have to deposit your Earnest Money, which is your up-front deposit. This is your "good faith" deposit that you intend to move forward with the purchase, but you would get this money back if you terminate based on an outlined deadline in the contract. 

This is your period of time to do any/all due dilligence regarding the state of the home. The majority of inspections include some combination of a home inspection, sewer scope, radon test, structural evaluation, and/or roof inspection. If you find something wrong with the house (you likely will!), this is the time to ask the seller to fix the issue, credit you an amount to address the issue after closing, reduce the purchase price, or terminate the contract. 

If you are purchasing the property with a loan, your lender will most likely require an appraisal to verify the value of the home. If the appraisal comes back at or above purchase price, with no other conditions, no further action will be needed. 

During the transaction period your lender will likely require a lot of documentation be provided. In order to keep the process moving, please get them the documents in a timely manner. 

A final walk-through of the property gives us a final chance before closing to ensure that the status of the property has not changed. We will make sure that all items the contract outlined would be staying in the home are still there, and all other items are removed. We will also check to make sure new damage has not occurred to the home. 

Once all the conditions of the contract have been satisfied, the closing is held. At the closing, the closing documents are signed, payment is exchanged, and usually, the buyer receives the keys to their new home at the closing table unless other arrangements have been made for the seller to rent the property back from the buyer for a set period of time.

Our relationship doesn't end at closing! I love to stay in touch with my clients to hear about renovations made, check in on how things are going, and to be a resource for contractor recommendations, current market insights, and home valuation.