Prior to looking at homes for sale, our Team will schedule a “Pre-Purchase Consultation". While this Consultation can occur in person or over the phone, it’s a critical component of the home buying process as it will be the foundation for the days or weeks that follow."

During your Consultation, we’ll use a “Pre-Purchase Questionnaire” to gather information such as:

1.) Your name
2.) Your current address
3.) Current contact information, such as email and phone numbers
4.) Your timeline to purchase, such as 30, 60, 90 days, or longer. (Your timeline will determine whether short sales or other distress sale properties will be an option for you to purchase)
5.) Your current living situation (renting, own a home you need to sell first, etc.)
6.) The type of property you are interested in purchasing (townhome, condo, single family home)
7.) Where you’d like to move to (cities and/or neighborhoods of interest are helpful)
8.) “Must-have” features of the home (bedrooms, bathrooms, # of garages, pool, school district, square footage minimum, etc)
9.) “Like-to-Have” features of the home (open kitchen, fenced lot, fireplace, etc)
10.) Do you have your mortgage financing in place?
11.) If so, who your lender is, the type of loan you are approved for and whether you’ll need the seller's assistance with closing costs.

If you do not have a lender, we are happy to refer you to our preferred lender, Mike Smalley, at Waterstone Mortgage.

Once we know what you are looking for, where you’d like to live and how much you can afford, we will search the local MLS (multiple listing services) data base for you and will set up an automated email request so that all properties that meet the criteria you’ve given will be emailed to both of us as soon as they are listed for sale.
This is one of the most exciting aspects of the buying process as you get a chance to “virtually” tour the homes if there are multiple photos, a virtual tour and marketing remarks that share the selling features of the property.

Once there are a handful of homes that you have identified as being properties of interest, if possible, we suggest that you drive-by before scheduling an in person showing so that you can determine whether you like the neighborhood and/or that there are no other objections to owning the home. This step will eliminate less desirable properties such as homes in close proximity to commercial areas, backing up to a highly traveled road and having large power lines on the property.

After you’ve determined which properties you want to personally tour, you can then call, email or text us and we will schedule in-person showings for you!

Touring homes in person can be both entertaining and educational at the same time.

Sometimes, the inside of the home is just as appealing as the outside…and sometimes, it’s not even close to what you thought it would be. Seeing homes in person with one of our Showing Specialists will help you to identify what you like and what you don’t like so that when you find “your” house, we’ll know it and so will you!

Once you’ve identified the home you’d like to write an offer on, we’ll provide you with market research including comparable sales and local trends. We’ll advise you on how the offer should be structured to make it “appealing” to the Seller while ensuring that you’re getting the best price with the best terms.

And then…the negotiations begin. We will work with the Seller’s agent to help both you and the Seller come to an agreement so that each of your needs are met. In addition to price, some of the negotiable items are: Seller paid closing costs, appliances and other personal property to convey, desired closing date, request for a home warranty to be paid by the Seller, points paid for an interest rate buy-down and more!

As your advocate, we will work diligently to secure the best “deal” for you at all times!

Once you and the Seller come to terms (with our help, of course!), there is still much to be done. Below is just a brief list of those items that we’ll help you to either coordinate or take care of on your behalf at your request:

• Provide your lender with a copy of the executed sales contract
• Provide you with a list of reputable Inspectors. Should you wish to have home & termite inspections (we highly suggest that you do!), we’ll help you coordinate those and we’ll provide representation at the inspection in the event you cannot be present
• Negotiate repairs to be made with the Seller’s Agent (as per contract, if applicable)
• Coordinate with the Seller’s title company to order the survey
• Coordinate the appraisal ordering with your lender
• Provide you with a list of Homeowner’s Insurance companies
• Coordinate a re-inspection of repaired items (as per contract, if applicable)
• Coordinate the final walk-through the day before or the day of closing
• Coordinate with the title company the closing date & time

The days approaching closing will likely be some of the most stressful, yet highly anticipated days of your life (kind of like a wedding!). We will be in continual contact with you, your lender and the title company. Our role is to make sure that your closing package is sent from your lender, the title company has prepared the HUD-1 (Settlement statement, which shows how much money you’ll need to bring to closing with you) and that the closing date and time have been confirmed with all parties.

If you will be attending closing locally, so will we! At closing, you’ll likely sign more than a hundred sheets of paper…but, when it’s all done, we’ll congratulate you for being a new homeowner and of course, we’ll thank you for allowing us make Your Home Our Priority!