The first step of the buying process is entails deciding you’re ready to buy.

There are many reasons you might want to purchase a home, but we’ve found 3 primary factors that drive the home buying decision:

1. Financial 
2. Emotional 
3. Legacy

The next step is to build your team. Your team makes all of the difference throughout the buying process, so having a great team is arguably the most important aspect of your home buying journey.

There are two key members that you’ll need to create the formula for success:

1. Your Agent
2. Your Lender 

Applying for a loan and getting pre-approved can be one of the more stressful parts of the process. Understanding what the process entails can greatly ease this burden. 

We’ll walk you through everything that you need, including:

• Tax return for the prior year
• Most recent paystubs
• Permission to pull your credit report
• Additional income information

Buyer-agency agreements are extremely important. They lay out your relationship with your real estate agent, ensuring that you have the proper representation throughout the entire process.

Each state and jurisdiction (e.g., DC, Maryland, and Virginia) all have slightly different requirements when it comes to buyer agency so it’s important to have a team that understands your market. 

In general, a buyer-agency agreement contains the following information:

• Commission rate
• Term or length of agreement
• A protection period length
• Wire fraud notice
• Lead-based paint disclosure

Here comes the fun part and what you’ve been waiting for; Looking at homes! 

With the proper team in place, buyers will typically see 2-4 homes before coming to a decision. 

Your team will help you narrow down your search criteria and make it easier to find homes that fit your agenda. 

Four critical pieces of search criteria include: 

1. Price
2. Size
3. Location
4. Condition

This is where having a strong agent and lender as part of your team come into play. 

You’ve now decided on the home you want to submit an offer on and it’s time to let your team shine for you. 

With strong competition in the buying market, it’s important to not get frustrated and continue to follow the process that we’ve laid out.

Here are the steps to submitting an offer, with who is responsible for that task in parentheses:

• Tour the home (buyer, agent)
• Decide with your agent that you want to put in an offer (buyer, agent)
• Request the seller disclosures
• Reach out to the listing agent asking for the full status of the offer and what the sellers are looking for (agent)
• Pull together cost estimates from lender requested by agent (lender and agent)
• Draft offer documents (agent)
• Review offer documents (agent, buyer)
• Submit offer (agent)

The goal of the due diligence process is to ensure that our clients don’t have to ask for things to do; instead, we take a proactive stance so all you have to focus on is completing the items requested.

The normal sequence of the due diligence period is as follows:

• The offer is ratified (all parties agree to the terms)
• The contract is sent to the settlement company and lender by your agent
• All key dates are shared via calendar invite
• Escrow money (EMD) is deposited with the settlement agent
• Your agent will schedule your home inspection
• The lender will be processing the file and complete the underwriting process
• Complete the home inspection and request repairs
• The appraisal is ordered and completed by the lender
• Final walk-through

This is the day you have been waiting for! Settlement day is when you get to take ownership of your new home. Everything has been completed efficiently and effectively by your team, so all you’ll have to worry about on this day is signing the documents.

On average, settlement takes about an hour to complete, and involves you and the settlement attorney reviewing all the documents to verify two key items: yes, you know what house you are buying, and yes, you promise to pay back your mortgage.