Getting Ready to Buy a Home in Santa Rosa, CA
You are about to embark on a great journey that will be one of the most exciting decisions in your lifetime. It will bring you years of comfort and joy. Yet the idea of spending all your time evaluating houses, going to open houses, searching the paper, getting qualified for a loan, figuring out principal and interest and all the myriad of decisions can be a daunting task. That is where Grace Properties comes in. Grace properties can help you find a home that is suited to your needs and budget. You will be provided a list of reputable loan agents who can tell you exactly what you can afford and what your monthly payments will be and the down payment necessary. Today it is always one of the first steps in the home buying process. You have to know what you can afford to buy before actively looking for a home. I will help you locate homes that are listed in MLS (Multiple Listing Service). This service has most of the homes for sale (does not include For sale by Owner homes) and also past sold properties and current statistics on sales. I have included a Home Buyers Flow Chart at the end of this section for your benefit. It will help you keep the various parts of the transaction in mind.
Remember the two most important parts of the home buying equation are: How much house can you afford? And what type of house do you want?
1 Find a real estate professional to help you through the process. As stated above it can be a complex and nerve rattling experience and you need an experienced real estate agent on your side (Mike Grace, Grace Properties).
2. Explain what you are trying to accomplish from a practical and emotional perspective-good agents understand both.
3 If your purchase will require a loan, discuss the financial resources you have available relative to down payment, monthly payments, credit and income. The lender will require this information.
4. Look at as many properties s possible so you have a good handle on “market value” and “comps”.
5 When you find the property you want, discuss the appropriate strategy with your agent and make a reasonable offer. Sellers invariably counter and give better offers to reasonable offers rather than ones they consider “insulting”.
6 Let Grace Properties negotiate the best price possible.
7. Open escrow, work with your loan agent and get all the necessary documentation ASAP and start all the due diligence inspections
8 If “critical” issues are discovered during this period have your agent renegotiate the price or make the decision to go on to another home if necessary. Many homes are sold “as is” today so a buyer must be prepared to accept this as a transaction condition.
9. When financing is approved and all conditions met it is time to close escrow, i.e. sign loan documents and closing papers, bring in the rest down payment fund the loan, record the deed and move in. Please look at the provided list on moving-it will help you get started on this process
10. If you are interested in looking for a home please feel free to call or email me with questions. I am also now offering loan services. Once we have talked I will begin to discuss homes to view and schedule times to see them.