Our 8 Step Buying Process

Beginning your home search can be an overwhelming and daunting task. Because of that, our team makes sure that you, and all other potential buyers, understand each of the 8 steps that we take to make the process as easy and painless as possible. By the end of your search, with our support and guidance, you will live happily ever after in your new, dream home.

Meet in person and create a wishlist

Let’s get to know each other! Once you’re ready to work with our team, we’ll meet together for a Buyer Consultation to focus your search and determine what you want and need in a home. We can meet in person at a location convenient for you or simply have a talk over the phone, whatever you prefer.

Pre-qualification

Make and appointment with your bank or if you don’t have a bank preference we’ll introduce you to one of our mortgage partners, who can help you determine your buying price range with confidence. Be prepared to dig into paperwork during this part of the process such as pay stubs, and tax returns. The lender will do a full review and then tell you what you will be able to borrow in order to purchase a home. This is a vital step in the home buying process!

Listing alerts sent to you based on your criteria

Now the fun can really begin! Our agents get to know you — Need to move for a job? Want a shorter commute? Getting married? Having a baby? Need to upgrade or downsize? At this stage in the process, we’ll send you notifications about the listings that you’re most likely to be excited about. Be sure to let us know if one (or more) jumps out at you so that we can skip to the next step and schedule a viewing.

Schedule viewings and attend open houses

Exciting times ahead! Our agents will schedule viewings of the homes that you’ve loved from our listing alerts and we’ll go to local open houses together. We’ll talk about how the budget will work and make sure that we find you the perfect home. This step can be fairly quick or can take many months depending on what you are looking for.

Find the perfect home and write an offer

Once you’ve found a suitable home and you’re ready to make an offer, your agent will present a written offer to the seller. And while everyone loves getting their offer accepted right away, the seller could come back to us with a counter offer, or reject your initial offer all together. We’re happy to walk you through each of these possibilities and exactly how to handle them. Once the offer is accepted, it’s time to get your financing in order and move forward to the next step!

Acceptance, appraisal and inspection

The sellers accepted your offer, and the home is going through appraisal and inspection. The appraisal guarantees that the price of the property matches the condition of the property while the inspection makes sure that everything in the home is functioning properly and there are no major issues inside. These are the last steps before the keys to your home are placed in your hand... for good!

Time to close and get the keys

Once you have an accepted offer, it’s time to notify your lawyer. If you don’t have a lawyer yet we can offer you a referral to one of our partner lawyers. They will be the one to do a title search on your home before closing and they handle the transfer of funds on closing day. Get excited because it’s time to close on your home! This process includes going through all of the final paperwork and signing your name (a lot!). Don't forget to bring all of the paperwork you’ve collected along the way and your down payment.