Buying a home will typically be the largest single transaction of anyone’s life. Having the right representation will help protect your interests and help ensure the home you buy can be resold for top dollar. Having expertise in the local real estate market can help you make an educated decision. We are two past school teachers who will educate you all the way to closing.
As your Realtors®, we will help you select the right property, negotiate on your behalf in order to get the best possible price for your new home, and help you through the entire home buying process.
Here are some ways we will help you find and purchase the right home:
Local Real Estate Market Review
Location largely determines home values. For example, neighboring houses may differ in value if they are zoned for different school districts. However, neighborhood prices also fluctuate due to a variety of other factors. As the demand for affordable housing increases, home values will rise in some neighborhoods and fall in others. As your Realtors®, we will help you understand the current market conditions and how they are impacting the specific neighborhoods in which you are considering purchasing.
Review Area Schools, Services and Amenities
Many parents consider the quality of local schools, services and amenities when deciding where to purchase. Also, some buyers who do not have children want to know how these factors will impact the resale value of their home. As Realtors®, we can help you to understand the quality of our local schools and provide you with a wealth of resources to learn more about neighborhood services and amenities.
Set Property Search Guidelines
Once you have met with us, we will refer you to a few experienced lenders to determine what you can afford. Please note that we do not receive any fees from these referrals. What we do get, is the comfort of knowing you are acquiring services from people you can trust.
At this point, you will want to share with us your ideas for the perfect dream home. As your Realtors®, we will want to get a sense of your personal preferences and together we can set parameters to guide your home search. For example, you may need at least 3 bedrooms plus an office or perhaps you desire a great room style living area.
Find Available Properties
In addition to a thorough online review of properties, we will also utilize our network to help you find your dream home. What many clients do not realize, is that Realtors® sometimes network to buy and sell homes before they are listed on the MLS. In some cases, we also talk with local residents or send mailers to find sellers in a neighborhood desired by our current buyers. If a home has been sitting on the market for a long time, it does not necessarily mean it is a poor home to buy, but it does warrant investigation.
Research Available Properties
Your time is valuable. Before we schedule a showing, we will eliminate as many properties as we can that are known to have fatal flaws. Often we are able to do this based on our knowledge of real estate, online research, discussions with listing agents and property previews.
Schedule Showings at your Convenience
We work mornings, days, evenings and weekends. When we need to schedule personal time, we try to do so when our clients are least likely to need us. We make every effort to be easily accessible and to schedule showings around your busy schedule.
Evaluate Properties
We know houses! With our experience, we can often spot home maintenance problems right away. As a result, you avoid the hassle of making an offer on a house that is unlikely to pass inspection. Or perhaps you still make an offer, but with a better idea of what may lie ahead. In addition to identifying home maintenance problems, we can often provide you with an estimate of future repair costs and direct you to local specialists who are well-equipped to handle these problems. Again, we don’t collect any referral fees if these services are utilized. We know who to refer because we have been in the business for a long time and we want to share this knowledge with our clients.
We are also very good at determining which homes are likely to have the best resale value. This is more important than most buyers realize. Often the homes with the best resale values are also the homes that are the most comfortable to live in. For example, you may not notice the amount of shade the house will have at different times of the year or the long narrow driveway that is hard to turn around in, but you can bet that we will!
Negotiate the Best Price for your Home
There are many subtleties to the negotiation process. A well-intentioned buyer who initially places an offer too low may end up losing the property to a higher bidder. As Realtors®, we have a feel for how far you can push before you are out of the game. On the other hand, there are many cases in which it would be foolish to offer the full purchase price. To complicate matters, there are additional details that may be negotiated in an offer beyond the purchase price itself. When you do something day in and day out, there is a rhythm and a pattern to how things typically go. We urge you to use your Realtor’s® knowledge and experience to your advantage. Having representation by a Realtor® who is a strong negotiator and who is trusted by the listing agent, can make all the difference.
Explain & Complete Legal Documents
We want you to be comfortable with what you are signing before you write your name on the dotted line! And you will have many opportunities to practice your signature! As your Realtors®, we will explain, facilitate and ensure timely completion of all necessary legal documents.
Deliver the Key
As your Realtors®, we guide you through the entire home buying process. We look forward to congratulating you as we deliver your new key!
