What are the steps to purchasing real estate?
Hi, I'm David Barker and I work with my mother, Barbara Barker in the world of real estate (we're both Realtors®). One of the most common misconceptions that we come across in ANY market is the process of purchasing real estate. We've both been in the business for a while and we've heard of and seen a thing or two and one of the most common questions we have is, "What is the process to buying a house?". The answer is a lengthy one, but simple. I'll do my best to break it down for my readers because I try my best to keep everyone as educated as I can when it comes to purchasing a home.
TL;DR.
• Find Your Realtor & Get Prequalified (or Provide Proof of Funds if Purchasing Cash)
• Establish Your Search Criteria
• Searching For your Home
• Make An Offer
• Offer Is Accepted
• Open Escrow
• Appraisal
• Close the Transaction
1. First thing's first... Find me and GET PRE-QUALIFIED! (or tell me that you're buying cash)
If you're reading this, welcome! We are the Barbara Barker Team and we're here to ensure that you know what to expect when making the leap to purchasing a home! This is an exciting process and we'd love to walk you through it! We have a few trusted Loan Officers and mortgage originators. The reality is that most people who are making the leap to buy a property here in Arizona, or anywhere for that matter, is that we Real Estate Agents and Clients need to be on the same page. There is not one real estate agent that I know of that will send a respectable offer, then intentionally fail to attach a proof of funds or a letter of pre-qualification to the contract. It's pretentious to assume that any seller is going to take our offer seriously if we don't attach these document(s) to the offer.
I hate to sound stingy but it's the reality of the business. Imagine that you're going to your local convenience store and you try to purchase the last can of soda. How would the cashier react if you didn't even have your wallet but you insisted that you can pay for the soda AND there's a line of people with cash in hand or a credit card who also want to buy that last can of soda. It the cashier going to take your word for it? Probably not. Point is, a letter of prequalification or a proof of funds tells me how much house you can buy!
Side Note: If you plan on purchasing a new build house, the builder may offer one or a few buyer's incentives when you finance your new home with them!
2. Secondly, tell me what you're looking for in a home and why you're thinking about moving.
I need to know the approximate square footage of the property, how many bedrooms, how many bathrooms, where in town you want to live and whether or not you're seeking a single family home, townhouse, condo/apartment, new build, etc.; I need to know that you own an RV or need an RV gate, I need to know that you want a pool, I need to know if you plan on running a business out of your home, I need to know your feelings about an HOA (Homeowners Association), I need to know if you plan on using your new home as an AirBnB.
I also need to know what you're willing to compromise, too, as it will broaden the search and help me help you find a home. We're probably going to be really good friends by the time the transaction is over because I need to know a lot about your life! It's how I pre-screen and research listings before I send them out to you.
Tons of agents and I have had a decent chunk of clients who come to us with the expectation that we can read their minds! I know that it's my job to narrow down the client's options based on their needs and motivations but when a client doesn't tell me anything, it puts me in a position where I need to 'impede on their privacy' just to figure out what they want in a house. If the client doesn't pretty much paint me a picture of what they're looking for in a house, I need to do it for them... and sometimes, I'm wrong about some of the details and it makes the searching process longer.
To put this in perspective, we all know the classic issue, "what do you want to eat tonight?" We all know that this person needs to eat but when I try to scout out what options may work for them and they keep telling me, "no" to everything I inquire about, it would be wrong of me to haphazardly take them to a restaurant that might not be anywhere near what they were thinking of!
3. Third, the house hunting begins.
Some of my clients love house hunting. It gives them the opportunity to really envision themselves in a new home. Some other clients find this part the most stressful part; typically these clients are questioning whether or not they really want to move or just entertaining some wishful thinking. As an agent, I'm there to walk them through the process of home-buying. I tell them that it's normal to feel stressed out during the hunting period but not to fret, only worry about whether or not they can realistically see themselves and their family living in this house. Most people know as soon as they walk through the front door if they like the house or not.
4. Fourth, make an offer.
Once my client finds a house that they like, we move on to making an offer. There's not much they have to do for that, I fill out the contract, send them the wire fraud disclosure, worry about addendums & amendment, ect. and submit their paperwork. I'll communicate with the listing agent to see how their offer compares to the other one(s), if there's any. This will give me an idea whether or not they have a good chance at getting the house.
5. Fifth, the offer gets accepted, appraised and inspected.
Once we submit an offer that gets accepted, we need to start moving with a sense of urgency. We have quite a few contractual deadlines that we need to abide by. This includes, but may not be limited to: Earnest Money Deposit, Home Inspection(s) and Appraisal. I always advise my buyers do their due diligence and really get a feel for where they're about to move. The buyer has the right to cancel their offer during this 10-day period without compromising their earnest money.
Once the inspection is completed and the home is appraised, a few reports will be communicated to us. We will receive a few documents detailing whether or not the house appraised and from the inspection, we'll receive a list of everything that is considered "wrong" with the house, from there, we will advise them what's customary to ask to be repaired before we proceed with the purchase of the home. I'll send the listing agent a document consisting of a list of repairs that the buyer would like done.
The seller has a right to fix all, some or none of the items on the list. Once they reply to the document, if what they're willing to repair is acceptable, we can either accept the repairs or cancel the deal.
It's quite common for the sellers to refuse some of the requests. There is no more further negotiation after they respond. If they refuse, the deal falls through.
6. Finally, we do a final walk-through of the property before handing you your keys and the transaction is recorded.
After the original homeowners move out, we will do a quick walk-through and compare what's been done to the house and see if all the contractual obligations have been fulfilled, if the contents of the inspection's results have been fixed or fulfilled and whether or not everything that was supposed to be included in the purchase of the home stays with the home. We advise that this isn't done too soon, like while the homeowners are moving out because if the property is damaged or something is removed, it's no longer in the same condition that it was in when we put an offer in on the house.
When we're confident that the property is in acceptable condition, we'll hand you the keys!
CONGRATULATIONS! You are now the proud new owner of the home! Keep in mind that this concept of home inspection is a good idea on newly built homes, too! Just because something is advertised as "new" doesn't mean that a home inspector will find that everything is in perfect order.
Hi, I'm David Barker and I work with my mother, Barbara Barker in the world of real estate (we're both Realtors®). One of the most common misconceptions that we come across in ANY market is the process of purchasing real estate. We've both been in the business for a while and we've heard of and seen a thing or two and one of the most common questions we have is, "What is the process to buying a house?". The answer is a lengthy one, but simple. I'll do my best to break it down for my readers because I try my best to keep everyone as educated as I can when it comes to purchasing a home.
TL;DR.
• Find Your Realtor & Get Prequalified (or Provide Proof of Funds if Purchasing Cash)
• Establish Your Search Criteria
• Searching For your Home
• Make An Offer
• Offer Is Accepted
• Open Escrow
• Appraisal
• Close the Transaction
1. First thing's first... Find me and GET PRE-QUALIFIED! (or tell me that you're buying cash)
If you're reading this, welcome! We are the Barbara Barker Team and we're here to ensure that you know what to expect when making the leap to purchasing a home! This is an exciting process and we'd love to walk you through it! We have a few trusted Loan Officers and mortgage originators. The reality is that most people who are making the leap to buy a property here in Arizona, or anywhere for that matter, is that we Real Estate Agents and Clients need to be on the same page. There is not one real estate agent that I know of that will send a respectable offer, then intentionally fail to attach a proof of funds or a letter of pre-qualification to the contract. It's pretentious to assume that any seller is going to take our offer seriously if we don't attach these document(s) to the offer.
I hate to sound stingy but it's the reality of the business. Imagine that you're going to your local convenience store and you try to purchase the last can of soda. How would the cashier react if you didn't even have your wallet but you insisted that you can pay for the soda AND there's a line of people with cash in hand or a credit card who also want to buy that last can of soda. It the cashier going to take your word for it? Probably not. Point is, a letter of prequalification or a proof of funds tells me how much house you can buy!
Side Note: If you plan on purchasing a new build house, the builder may offer one or a few buyer's incentives when you finance your new home with them!
2. Secondly, tell me what you're looking for in a home and why you're thinking about moving.
I need to know the approximate square footage of the property, how many bedrooms, how many bathrooms, where in town you want to live and whether or not you're seeking a single family home, townhouse, condo/apartment, new build, etc.; I need to know that you own an RV or need an RV gate, I need to know that you want a pool, I need to know if you plan on running a business out of your home, I need to know your feelings about an HOA (Homeowners Association), I need to know if you plan on using your new home as an AirBnB.
I also need to know what you're willing to compromise, too, as it will broaden the search and help me help you find a home. We're probably going to be really good friends by the time the transaction is over because I need to know a lot about your life! It's how I pre-screen and research listings before I send them out to you.
Tons of agents and I have had a decent chunk of clients who come to us with the expectation that we can read their minds! I know that it's my job to narrow down the client's options based on their needs and motivations but when a client doesn't tell me anything, it puts me in a position where I need to 'impede on their privacy' just to figure out what they want in a house. If the client doesn't pretty much paint me a picture of what they're looking for in a house, I need to do it for them... and sometimes, I'm wrong about some of the details and it makes the searching process longer.
To put this in perspective, we all know the classic issue, "what do you want to eat tonight?" We all know that this person needs to eat but when I try to scout out what options may work for them and they keep telling me, "no" to everything I inquire about, it would be wrong of me to haphazardly take them to a restaurant that might not be anywhere near what they were thinking of!
3. Third, the house hunting begins.
Some of my clients love house hunting. It gives them the opportunity to really envision themselves in a new home. Some other clients find this part the most stressful part; typically these clients are questioning whether or not they really want to move or just entertaining some wishful thinking. As an agent, I'm there to walk them through the process of home-buying. I tell them that it's normal to feel stressed out during the hunting period but not to fret, only worry about whether or not they can realistically see themselves and their family living in this house. Most people know as soon as they walk through the front door if they like the house or not.
4. Fourth, make an offer.
Once my client finds a house that they like, we move on to making an offer. There's not much they have to do for that, I fill out the contract, send them the wire fraud disclosure, worry about addendums & amendment, ect. and submit their paperwork. I'll communicate with the listing agent to see how their offer compares to the other one(s), if there's any. This will give me an idea whether or not they have a good chance at getting the house.
5. Fifth, the offer gets accepted, appraised and inspected.
Once we submit an offer that gets accepted, we need to start moving with a sense of urgency. We have quite a few contractual deadlines that we need to abide by. This includes, but may not be limited to: Earnest Money Deposit, Home Inspection(s) and Appraisal. I always advise my buyers do their due diligence and really get a feel for where they're about to move. The buyer has the right to cancel their offer during this 10-day period without compromising their earnest money.
Once the inspection is completed and the home is appraised, a few reports will be communicated to us. We will receive a few documents detailing whether or not the house appraised and from the inspection, we'll receive a list of everything that is considered "wrong" with the house, from there, we will advise them what's customary to ask to be repaired before we proceed with the purchase of the home. I'll send the listing agent a document consisting of a list of repairs that the buyer would like done.
The seller has a right to fix all, some or none of the items on the list. Once they reply to the document, if what they're willing to repair is acceptable, we can either accept the repairs or cancel the deal.
It's quite common for the sellers to refuse some of the requests. There is no more further negotiation after they respond. If they refuse, the deal falls through.
6. Finally, we do a final walk-through of the property before handing you your keys and the transaction is recorded.
After the original homeowners move out, we will do a quick walk-through and compare what's been done to the house and see if all the contractual obligations have been fulfilled, if the contents of the inspection's results have been fixed or fulfilled and whether or not everything that was supposed to be included in the purchase of the home stays with the home. We advise that this isn't done too soon, like while the homeowners are moving out because if the property is damaged or something is removed, it's no longer in the same condition that it was in when we put an offer in on the house.
When we're confident that the property is in acceptable condition, we'll hand you the keys!
CONGRATULATIONS! You are now the proud new owner of the home! Keep in mind that this concept of home inspection is a good idea on newly built homes, too! Just because something is advertised as "new" doesn't mean that a home inspector will find that everything is in perfect order.
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