Steve & Scarlett Justice’s Blog

Have you ever wondered what a Realtor does when you are buying a home besides open the door so you can see the property? Well, here is a list, and by all means it is not a complete list, but it will give you a good idea of what goes on behind the scenes.

1. Set up a search on MLS for you according to your needs and price criteria.

2. Review the MLS daily to see if any new listings come up and email them to you to see if you would be interested in seeing any of the properties.

3. Recommend a lender to you if you do not already have one so you can get get pre-approved and know exactly what your monthly payment will be and what down payment is required for you to purchase a home.

4. Show you properties according to your specifications. Also point out any defects in the property or bring to your attention any issues in the neighborhood.  Many times all a property needs is carpet and paint, you can fix that, but your sure can’t fix a neighborhood.

5. When you see a property you like in a neighborhood your like, write up the offer and submit the offer to the listing agent along with your preapproval letter and a copy of your earnest money deposit check.

6. Follow up with the listing agent via email and phone to obtain the status of your offer.

7. Once your offer is accepted, then deposit your earnest money deposit check with the title company.

8. Provide the title company, your lender and the appraiser copies of the Offer.

9. Set up the home inspection, termite inspection and any other inspection you may request and be at these inspections. Obtain the disclosure reports from the listing agent, review them with you and bring any items to your attention that may be important.

10. Review all of the home inspection, termite inspection and any other inspection reports. Draft a Repair Request Addendum for the Seller to fix any major items that may be important to you or assist you in obtaining estimates from different vendors to see what the costs are for you to fix these items if the Seller is unwilling to fix any items.

11. Work with the lender and title company and follow up weekly to see if any items or documents are outstanding and check the status of the loan.

12. Once the loan is approved and loan documents are sent to title, review the loan documents and the estimated closing statement from the title company for accuracy and advise you of place and time of signing and the amount of money to bring in.

13. Meet with you at the title company when you are signing the loan documents to answer any questions you may have and once again to check for accuracy.

14. Do the final walk through of the propety to confirm the requested repairs have been completed and to see that the property is in the same condition as when you purchased it.

15. Follow up with the title company to have your loan funded and recorded!

16 Once the loan is recorded (aka close of escrow) then meet with you at the property to give you the keys to your new home! 

Best of luck in your new home!

 The prices are affordable again and the interest rates are reasonable too. The only problem is at the entry level price point, First Time Home buyers and Investors are competing for the same properties. So you have an investor that comes in with all cash and usually beats out the First Time home buyer unless the First Time  home buyer offers substantially over asking price.

This is driving the prices up. So, anything that is priced well is receiving multiple, multiple offers and usually sells for over the asking price. This pressure is pushing the prices upward. The entry level price point is extremely active right now.

The majority of the homes for sale now are REO/Foreclosure properties and the Seller doesn’t want to fix anything. The FHA loans require the home be in decent shape and the stove, heater, air conditioners and other appliances to be in and working. Some of these homes have been stripped of the appliances making it difficult to obtain an FHA loan. Most of the First Time Home buyers right now are FHA buyers.

So, if you are in the market for your first home and are writing offers and writing offers you may have to increase your offer price to beat out these Investors.

I met a young couple the other day and the husband said to me. The only thing I need a Realtor for is to open the door. I do all the searching on line for the homes myself. I don’t need a Realtor. I explained to him that Realtors are like the coordinators of the entire transaction. We work with the title companies, lenders, home inspectors, termite inspectors, roof inspectors, buyers, buyers agents and sellers. We make well over 100 phone calls on each file to coordinate all the players and to make the transaction as smooth as possible.