When evaluating and interviewing potential real estate agents, you should be asking yourself if their services fit your needs. Your agent should be able to suggest communities and locations based on your interests and lifestyle. Just as important, your agent should be aware of your future goals and keep those in mind during the house search.

This is a very important initial step. The loan agent will ask you to provide some information, ask you several questions about your goals, and will come up with a buying budget which also includes how much you will need to put down for the initial deposit, closing costs, taxes, and insurance. With this information, Eva can start the process of searching for a home for you. If you’re looking for great loan agents, ask Eva to send her vetted contacts.

Eva can schedule private showings for you and/or take you on a tour of several homes in one day. Once you have found a home that interests you, Eva can order the inspections and disclosures and explain them to you. California is a full disclosure state. Sellers and their agents are required by law to disclose any and all facts about the property. It is very important to have a Full-Service agent sit down with you and go line by line through every item so that you are clear and can make a well informed good faith offer.

Together with Eva, you will write up a good faith offer with the best price and terms possible. You will attach the “proof of funds” and “pre-qualification” letter and sign any reports and disclosures prior to sending the offer to the listing agent.

Once your offer is accepted, Eva will provide you with a list of escrow companies to choose from and escrow will be opened. Initial deposit will be deposited into escrow within 3 days.

Although most sellers these days have all of the inspections performed prior to going on market, the buyer still has time, if needed, to have their own investigations/inspections done.

Once you have an accepted offer your lender will order an appraisal of the subject property. Typically banks will only loan 80% of the value of the home.

Wth all offers, there is a set deadline for the buyer to remove ALL contingencies (Loan, Appraisal, and Inspections). Once these contingencies are removed if the buyer decides to back out they will forfeit their good faith (initial) deposit.

Along with Eva, you will take one final look at the property prior to the title transfer just to ensure that it remains in the same condition that it was when you placed the original offer.

You will either be asked to come into the title company or meet with a notary at any remote location convenient to you with the remaining balance due (if any) and your Identification to sign the final papers. The Seller will also be signing their documents within the same time frame.

After both buyer and seller have signed all of the final documents, and all of the closing documents are acknowledged by the buyer, there is a 3 day waiting period before the title is transferred and the funds are deposited into the seller’s account.