It seems obvious, but it's good to mention here that the first step to buying a house in the Wine Country is to make the decision to buy a house in the Wine Country. Whether you want a cottage in the Redwoods, a spread in the sun with a pool or an ocean front view home, you’ll want to consider all the reasons you want a home in the Country. Will it be a week end get-a-way, second home investment or a full time residence?… you may want to write your ideas down. Explore your thoughts on how long you want to own/live in your house – do you want income when you aren’t planning to come and stay at the house? How much can you expect to get in weekly rental income.. how about each season? We can help here. In the end, the big question most Buyers ask is - Will buying now make good financial sense? Can we afford the house that we want? Again, this is important, and we can help.
Step 2 - Seek Guidance from an Expert
Connecting with a trusted and professional REALTOR® is crucial…. especially in the Country. Finding the right match for you can be tuff and time consuming. We welcome you to start out here, on our website. Look around, read some of the articles, check out the market trends and as questions come up, feel free to write them down. When you are ready, shoot us an email or give us a call. We can go over those basic questions and more. Again, when you are ready, we can schedule a time to meet and hear more about what’s important to you and your plans for the future. We'll talk about area market trends, investment strategies and cycles likely to affect the market today and tomorrow.
Step 3 – Look At What’s Out There
After we've had a chance to introduce ourselves and talk about what you are most interested in, we can have a look at what's available in the market that seems like a possible match for you. We'll search all of our resources for the properties that fit your criteria. We usually choose 4-6 to start. We'll be keen to watch your reactions as we look at the various homes. We want to really observe what you like and what you don’t like… many times things that never came up when we were talking will definitely come up now… this process of narrowing down is really important in finding the perfect place..
At this time, we may also help you start the pre-approval process for a loan. Here we like to encourage you to contact a few different mortgage brokers, this way you have a chance to understand the current loan packages available in the market. It also ensures that you develop a comfortable relationship with your mortgage professional. Pre-approval is a written statement from a loan officer indicating his/her assertion that they have reviewed necessary information that qualifies you for one of their loan programs. It really makes a difference when we are in negotiations. When the Seller knows you are qualified, it can make a big difference in your bottom line price. You also want you to know what monthly obligations you will be signing up for when the loan is placed.
Step 4 – Score A Direct Hit !
It may happen the first time out, and it may take a few tries, but we’ll find the right match for you… It's a magical moment when you are standing in the right spot and YOU KNOW IT! When this happens, we will be right there to help keep things on track for you.
Now it is important to remember that when you like a house and want to pursue purchasing it, you are basically saying that if everything pans out, and everything is the way you expect it to be, you will pay “X” amount to buy this house.
In other words, there will be contingencies in our offer to make sure you really DO want to buy this house and that the house really is as it appears to be.
The first contingency is sometimes called a “Physical” contingency (this is where we conduct all of our inspections to qualify the condition of the property and also to set aside enough time to investigate and ask questions about everything we want to know). The second common contingency is usually called a "Finance" contingency (this is something we typically work out with the Mortgage Broker and the contingency is designed to protect you from committing to the property and not having a loan in place when it’s time to purchase). Lately, there has been a lot written about Loans, and we can help put the right contingency in place that will work best for you.
Bottom Line : You won't be buying the house until and unless you are 100% satisfied and happy with the answers to all of your questions.
Step 5 – Write Up Your Offer
It’s likely that things are starting to move quickly now, and our job is to slow it down a bit so you can understand everything you are about to put on the table. At this point, we want to develop and tailor our strategy very carefully. We also want to consider and review every detail to make sure you understand and are comfortable with moving forward.
So… here comes the paperwork. It’s amazing that, with so much technology, we haven’t figured out how to complete a paperless transaction… well not yet.
Our approach here is to write up and review all of the necessary paperwork to complete the purchase. Having this all done now shows that we have taken the time to consider everything before writing our offer. It also shows clearly that you are not casually making the offer and that you are serious. This will make a big difference with the Seller.
Step 6 – Negotiating The Terms
In today’s market, the way terms and conditions of the sale are negotiated is much different and more complex. It used to be that a Seller would expect multiple offers and choose whichever offer they liked… sometimes for more money than they were asking. The playing field is much different now. There are many nuances and micro-conditions that can influence your purchase by 10’s of thousands of dollars. We will help guide you through the negotiations and interpret what is happening so you can make the best decision and better influence the outcome -- to your favor.
Step 7 – Kick The Tires & Look Under The Hood
Once we have negotiated the terms that work for you, we will want to pursue all of the inspections and discovery around understanding the property. Part of this will be reviewing documents and statements that the Seller will provide to us, and part of this will be scheduling all of the inspections we want to conduct on the property. We will also be communicating closely with your Mortgage professional to ensure the necessary commitments are underway for your financing. In the end, we will help you coordinate all of the necessary inspections and information that is important for you to be able to say… YES this is the right house for me. IT’S THE ONE! And, here’s the trick, we’ll do it on time!!
Step 8 – Title, Escrow & Closing
We will help coordinate a smooth and friendly Escrow and Closing experience. The goal here to make sure there are no surprises when you are at the signing. Being prepared and knowing what to expect is important. We work hard to make sure this part is everything you expected and is smooth sailing!
Step 9 - Move In !
Congratulations! It's time to move in and begin a whole new chapter that includes a quality of life that you worked hard for. It’s time to start enjoying things now. We are pleased and excited to have you as our new neighbor. We look forward to helping you to get settled in. Welcome to the Wine Country... Life is good! Please give a call, we are always here to help.
