HOME BUYING 101
BUYER INTRODUCTION MEETING
- MEET AND GREET
- Office visit, FaceTime, coffee, juice bar
- MORTGAGE/LENDING REVIEW
- Credit score, debt-to-income ratio, down payment
- ESTABLISH GOALS AND SET EXPECTATIONS
- Time frame, budget, personal must-haves
- CREATE HOME SEARCH CRITERIA
- One has over 1,000 search fields to select from
HOME RESEARCH
- EACH TOUR DAY REVIEWS ONE TO SIX PROPERTIES
- AVERAGE TOUR DAY IS ONE TO THREE HOURS
SECOND SHOWINGS
- RECEIVE ANSWERS TO ANY OUTSTANDING QUESTIONS FROM INITIAL TOUR
- FULL BUILDING TOUR (AMENITIES, GARAGE, STORAGE, ETC.)
- DISCUSS YOUR FURNITURE, LAYOUT, AND OTHER IMPORTANT ITEMS ON-SITE
REVIEW COMPARABLE MARKET ANALYSIS (CMA)
- CMA IS THE NEIGHBORHOOD MEAN SELLING PRICE
- FINAL CONTRACT PRICE IS TYPICALLY CMA PLUS OR MINUS HOW MUCH THE HOME FITS YOUR SEARCH CRITERIA
MAKING AN OFFER
DETERMINE NEGOTIATION STRATEGY
- BASED ON CURRENT MARKET CONDITIONS, NUMBER OF DAYS LISTED, HOW MUCH THE HOME FITS YOUR SEARCH CRITERIA, AND HOW MANY OFFERS HAVE BEEN RECEIVED
- REVIEW ANY DEAL-SPECIFIC INTANGIBLES PERTAINING TO THE BUYER
NEGOTIATIONS
- THE PROCESS CAN TAKE ANYWHERE FROM HOURS TO MONTHS. IT’S ALL RELATIVE TO MARKET CONDITIONS AND INDIVIDUAL CLIENT GOALS
CONTRACT ACCEPETED
- INITIAL EARNEST MONEY DUE ($1,000-25,000)
CONTRACT CONTINGENCIES
HOME INSPECTION
- TYPICAL COST RANGE IS $350-1,200
- AVERAGE ON-SITE HOME INSPECTION TAKES TWO TO FIVE HOURS
ATTORNEY REVIEW PERIOD
- MAJORITY OF ATTORNEY REVIEWS ARE EXTENDED AT LEAST ONCE
- REVIEW ADDITIONAL INFORMATION RECEIVED AFTER INITIAL EARNEST MONEY IS TURNED IN
MORTGAGE CONTINGENCY
- TURN IN ALL REQUESTED FORMS TO YOUR MORTGAGE BROKER (FOR EXAMPLE, TAX RETURNS)
- A HOME APPRAISAL WILL BE ORDERED
- UNDERWRITING DEPARTMENT WILL REVIEW YOUR FILE
NEXT STEPS
BALANCE OF EARNEST MONEY DUE
- TWO BUSINESS DAYS AFTER ATTORNEY REVIEW COMPLETION
CONTINUED WORK WITH YOUR LENDER
- BE READY FOR SEVERAL ROUNDS OF DOCUMENT SUBMITTAL AS YOU WORK TOWARD YOUR CLEAR-TO-CLOSE
OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION
- IF NECESSARY COMPLETE ANY CONDOMINIUM MOVE-IN PACKETS OR RESERVE ELEVATOR TIME
- CHANGE OVER UTILITIES
- UPDATE YOUR MAILING ADDRESS
DAY OF CLOSING
FINAL WALK-THROUGH
- DAY OF CLOSING PRIOR TO HEADING TO TITLE COMPANY
- THIS STEP TAKES APPROXIMATELY THIRTY MINUTES
PRE-CLOSING TEAM HUDDLE
- DISCUSS ANY LAST-MINUTE CHANGES OR DEVELOPMENTS
- STRATEGIZE BEST APPROACH COLLECTIVELY IN PRIVATE SETTING
CLOSING AT TITLE COMPANY
- SELLER'S ATTORNEY SELECTS TITLE COMPANY
- CLOSING TIME RANGES FROM NINETY MINUTES TO FOUR HOURS