The Process

Home Buying Made Easy

A lot of work is involved in finding and successfully purchasing a home. With our guidance, the process is as efficient as possible and very possibly, fun to boot! We work with clients to stay on track with their particular needs and priorities so that time is spent only on realistic expectations.

First Step

Before you can start scouting for your home or income property you need to decide how much you can comfortably spend in down-payment, monthly mortgage and closing costs — plus any improvements to the home. Some clients are comfortable stretching to the limit, while others take a more conservative approach. Typically, a buyer’s mortgage and taxes are about 1/3 of their gross income. To give you a basic idea of mortgage costs, check out this Calculator.

We can refer you to an outstanding local loan broker who will analyze your financial data and provide a “pre-approval letter” for a specific mortgage amount and purchase price. This amount is a function of your salary, other income, credit rating, employment history, down-payment, financial assets and liabilities. Once you are “pre-approved” for a specific amount, you have a very accurate assessment of your buying power and can focus your search on properties in your realistic price range.

Scouting for Your Home

Thanks to the Internet, a home buyer can efficiently find homes that fit your criteria of location, price and size.  For this search process to yield helpful results, buyers need to do some homework and a lot of clear thinking about what’s truly important to them. Realty Advocates sets you up for success from the very beginning and helps you use your time effectively. Once you sign on as a client, you’ll have access to the full array of our talents and tools. Here’s a quick look at the process:

  • Online Search: Specify location(s), price, size, and type (single-family detached homes, condos and/or multi-unit properties). You can also sign up for our custom email service to receive an email alert any time a new listing meets your criteria. We strongly encourage you to sign up for this service so you can get to know the market.
  •  Check out the properties in person. Drive by the interesting houses and/or attend Sunday Open Houses or weekday Brokers Tours.
  • Dig deeper with our help. When you find one or more homes worthy of more serious consideration, call or email us and we’ll arrange a private showing. We’ll analyze the structural condition as well as possible cosmetic upgrades and remodeling considerations. With our extensive background in residential remodeling, we’ll help you budget for simple fixes or major remodels. If, after this visit, the house is still an offer-candidate, we’ll obtain and provide you with the seller’s disclosure packet for review.
  • Making an offer. Taking into account all the disclosed conditions, as well as other factors such as the price that similar homes have sold recently and competitive interest, we will map out a recommended offer strategy. We will present your offer, along with your loan pre-approval letter, and wait for news from the seller.
  • In Escrow. Once your offer is accepted, we guide you through the process of inspections, loan contingencies and other important details all the way through closing.

Who’s In Charge? You are! Throughout the process, all decisions are up to you – the client. We will consistently give you our best information and recommendations. We will never pressure you to over-ride your own concerns and judgment. With us, you always have the last word.

Here on our website, we offer several easy ways to find properties that meet your criteria:

  1. Realty Advocates featured listings
  2. Custom MLS search
  3. Email updates
  4. Open houses
  5. Brokers’ tours
  6. REOs ( Foreclosures)

Once you register as a client, you can save properties of interest and can notify us about properties you want to pursue in more detail.

FORECLOSED PROPERTIES AND SHORT SALES

We have successfully represented buyers in both bank-owned foreclosed homes (REO) and short-sale transactions. Please contact Brett about the opportunities – as well as the challenges – of these types of transactions.