Serving the greater Houston area, with particular concentration in The Woodlands, Spring, Tomball and Cypress areas.
1. Have a detail discussion together so that I understand exactly what you’re looking for in terms of price, geographic area, square footage, number of bedrooms, targeted age of home, special considerations, etc.
2. You ask any questions of me, including my experience, approach to business, etc. Confirm I am the right real estate broker for you and together we sign representation papers. However, I still operate on a handshake basis. If you think at any time I am not serving your needs (that won’t happen!), you can seek other representation.
3. If you are financing the home, connect you with a lender – either your preferred lender, or I will suggest one of the lenders I have worked with in the past. The goal is to make sure you are pre-qualified for the price of home you are seeking, and to obtain a pre-approval letter from the lender. The pre-approval letter is necessary to submit an offer on a home.
4. Based on your home requirements described in Item 1, I will do a search in MLS (Multiple Listing Service – only real estate professionals have access to this), identify homes together to view in person, and set appointments to view those homes.
5. Assuming we find a home you like, I will prepare an offer to be given to the seller’s listing agent. Offer preparation generally takes 2-3 hours, and includes an analysis by me of the recent sales and active listings in the subdivision to determine the proper price to offer and agree on with you. Offers are made on standard contract forms promulgated by the Texas Real Estate Commission. In addition to the standard contract forms, either a lender pre-approval letter (see Item 3) for financed offers, or Proof of Funds for cash offers, will be submitted to the listing agent to prove to the seller you are a qualified buyer. You will sign the offer via Docu-Sign, and all contract correspondence will occur via Docu-Sign.
6. If you don’t find a home based on my initial search of MLS, we will repeat the process until the right home comes on the market for you to view and make an offer.
7. The offer may be rejected, accepted as is, or more likely, negotiations (centered around price) will occur to gain acceptance of the offer by the seller. Those negotiations will be handled by me via either phone or text with the listing agent. I will communicate with you prior to every communication with the listing agent to ensure I am representing your exact desires. My obligation is to represent your needs over mine, with integrity.
8. Once a verbal agreement is reached, the contract will be revised by me and you will re-sign via Docu-Sign. Acceptance and execution of the contract occurs when the listing agent dates the revised contract.
9. A real estate contract in Texas requires the buyer to deposit earnest and option money with a selected Title company within three days of contract execution. As buyer’s agent, I can select a Title Company of my choosing – one I am familiar with and trust. I will make that selection (in consultation with you) and have Title “open” a title search of the property. The Title company will provide a Title commitment to you, typically within 15-20 days of contract execution, to ensure there are no issues with transferring title to you at closing. The listing agent will often suggest a Title company to use, but the buyer has the right to choose.
10. Earnest money is typically 1% of the sales value and option money is typically $100, though it can be more, and both are held by the Title company. The option money gives the buyer the right to terminate the contract for any reason within a set time period designated in the contract (typically 7 or 10 days) and is not refundable. This is when the buyer will hire an inspector to inspect the home for possible negotiation of repairs. Earnest money is refundable if the contract is rightly terminated, typically during the option period if negotiated repairs are not agreed to, or if the lender does not finally approve the buyer’s loan – which is often designated in the contract as a 20 day period, post contract execution.
11. I will direct you to an inspector I trust to perform the home inspection, or you can pick one yourself. This can usually be arranged within 1-3 days of contract execution. The inspector provides a standard report in terms of format, identifying any repair needs of the home. You and I will review the Inspector’s report together and decide if you want me to negotiate repairs on the home with the listing agent, before finally accepting the contract by the end of the option period (again, typically 7-10 days.) Inspections typically cost $350-$400 and are paid by the buyer directly to the inspector.
12. If repairs are agreed to, a standard contract amendment will be signed by both parties and Title and the Lender will continue their processes. Once the option period ends, the earnest money then goes “hard” and is not refundable, unless the lender does not finally approve the buyer’s loan. If repairs cannot be agreed to, the contract can be terminated (by me informing the listing agent via a standard contract form), and the earnest money is returned to the buyer by the Title company.
13. For financed contracts, lenders will be asking the buyer for more detailed information during the first 20 days of the contract (typical period identified in the contract), in order to finally approve the loan. This information might include several years of tax returns, several weeks/months of pay stubs, etc. Be prepared for this process to be somewhat tedious, but not overly burdensome. Just keep working at it and try to be timely.
14. The contract will have a targeted closing date in it. Assuming the loan is approved, and Title has completed their work, buyer and seller will close on the targeted close date at the Title company. Buyer and Seller don’t have to close at the same time, but both processes must be complete for closing to be final. Also, closing can be done remotely, typically through a remote notary. Close process for the buyer takes 30-45 minutes and for seller 15-30 minutes. Buyer’s process is longer if the transaction is financed because loan papers must be signed at closing.
15. Just before closing, and usually the day before, the buyer will conduct a walk-through (with me), to ensure the home is ready to close and no surprises will exist at closing.
16. Closing is considered final when funding has been completed - including the bank funding the buyer’s loan and the seller receiving proceeds – and possession can then be taken by the buyer. I will arrange in advance to receive keys, garage door openers, etc. that will be provided to you at closing. In addition, the buyer should pre-arrange to have all utilities put in their name on the closing date.
17. You are now a proud homeowner! Congratulations!