1. Figure out how much house you can afford.
Call a lender
(for example, Amerisave,
Wells Fargo,
Chase,
Prospect Mortgage, AIM
Loans, Sun West
Mortgage) and ask a loan officer to pre-approve you.
At this point, there's no need to shop for the company with
the best rates, since rates change every day. You'll want to
shop for rates later, when your offer has been accepted.
Note that you're under no obligation to get a loan from the
lender that pre-approved you.
2. Find a neighborhood that’s right for
you.
Check out neighborhoods on our
Where? page, then drive around and
explore different areas.
3. Search for homes in your price
range.
Go to our
Where?
page to search for homes, then make a list of homes you’d
like to investigate further. E-mail the list (with MLS
numbers) to us at
alden@sonic.net, and we’ll provide you with a full
client MLS printout for each of the homes. (Please limit
your request to no more than 15 homes at one time.)
4. Narrow your list.
Drive by the
homes, but don’t contact owners or agents. Come up with a
list of properties you'd like to see, or visit them if
they're holding open houses.
5. Call
Lori
at (707) 481-1776 or Ashok at (415) 860-4841.
We’ll give you a
private showing if you're not able to visit during an open
house, and provide you with
comparative market analyses, and other useful information. We'll also give you a signed pledge that we
will limit our share of the cooperating broker commission to
1.25% of the sales price of the home (plus a surcharge if
you view more than ten homes or make more than six offers), and credit the balance of
it back to you at close of escrow, assuming the sales price
is $480,000 or more.
6. Make
your offer.
We'll prepare it
for you and work exceptionally hard to get you the best deal
possible.
7. Relax.
Once your offer
is accepted, we‘ll handle all of the paperwork required from
contract to close of escrow. We‘ll do our best to make sure
your transaction is smooth and successful. If the
transaction doesn’t close, you owe nothing. |
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Careful! Real estate agents operate on the principle
of “procuring cause” when determining who
gets the buyer’s agent’s commission. A
simple mistake can cost you thousands of
dollars.
For example, if you visit new model homes and
sign the guestbook, enter a raffle, or give
out your name, the sales staff may get
credit for "finding" you, costing you a
chance to get a buyer rebate.
If you’re interested in buying a new home,
please note that many builders won't pay a
commission to your agent unless you’re
accompanied by that agent during your first
visit.
Click here to learn how
some simple mistakes can cost you thousands of
dollars. |
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Think you can save money by making
an offer without an agent? Don’t
count on it. If you make an offer
without representation, all of the
buyer’s agent’s commission goes to
the listing agent as procuring
cause. |
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