Ready to Buy a Home?

More than opening doors. There are well over a hundred separate tasks between the day you start looking and the day you get keys, and most of them happen out of your sight.

Before we look: I’ll get clear on what you actually need versus what you’d like, set up a search that filters out the noise, and tell you honestly what your budget buys in the areas you’re considering.

While we’re looking: I pull the history on properties you’re serious about — how long they’ve sat, price changes, whether they’ve been under contract before and fallen out. I’ll point out things worth having a professional look at, and I’ll tell you when a house isn’t right for you rather than let you talk yourself into it.

When you’re ready: I pull comparable sales so your offer comes from data, walk you through the terms that matter beyond price, write the contract, and negotiate it.

After we’re under contract: I coordinate inspections, track every deadline in the contract, stay on top of the appraisal and title work, negotiate repairs or credits, and handle the problems that come up — because something always comes up. Then I’m at the closing table with you.

Most people think the work is finding the house. The work is everything after.

Before we start touring homes, we’ll sign a buyer representation agreement — and it protects you more than it protects me. It puts in writing what I’m obligated to do for you, how long we’re working together, and exactly how I get paid, so nothing about my compensation is a surprise at closing. Without it, you have my word. With it, you have a document.

It also makes me legally your agent, which means I owe you confidentiality and loyalty — I can’t quietly work the other side of your deal. We go through it line by line, you can ask about anything in it, and if the term or the scope doesn’t feel right, we adjust it before you sign.

The first step isn’t a house, it’s a lender. A pre-approval tells you the real number — including taxes and insurance, not just the loan payment — and it makes your offer credible when you find the one. If you don’t have a lender, I’ll give you a few names and you choose.

From there I’ll set up a search built around what you actually want, not just price and bedroom count, so you’re not scrolling through listings that were never going to work. When something fits, we go see it. I’ll tell you what I notice — good and bad — and if a house isn’t right for you, I’ll say so rather than let you talk yourself into it.

When you find the one, I’ll pull comparable sales so your number comes from data rather than a hunch. Then we talk through the rest of the terms — closing date, earnest money, possession, and which contingencies to keep — because in a competitive situation those often decide the outcome more than price does. I write it up and negotiate on your behalf, and I’ll tell you honestly when I think an offer is too strong or not strong enough.

Once you’re under contract the clock starts. I’ll give you names for a general inspection and for anything specific the house calls for — sewer, foundation, roof — and you choose who to hire. I’m not the one who evaluates condition; the inspectors are, and their report is what we work from. Once you have it, we go through it together and decide what’s worth asking the seller to fix or credit, and I negotiate that for you. Meanwhile the lender orders the appraisal and title work begins, and I stay on top of both so deadlines don’t slip past you.

We walk the house one more time before closing to confirm it’s in the condition you agreed to and that any negotiated repairs actually happened. At the table the title company handles the paperwork and explains what you’re signing. I’ll be there too — to make sure the numbers match what we negotiated and to speak up if something doesn’t look right. Then you get the keys.

Congratulations on your dream home!!!

Often the seller’s side covers my compensation, and when it does, it isn’t coming out of your pocket. But that’s not automatic on any given house — it’s negotiated property by property and it’s no longer published in the MLS, so there’s no way to know until someone asks. That’s my job. Before you tour anything, I’ll find out where that particular seller stands and tell you straight.

Whatever the answer turns out to be, the amount and who’s responsible for it is written into your buyer agreement upfront. You’ll know what you’re on the hook for, if anything, before you ever walk into a house.