For Buyers
Congratulations on the decision to buy a new home! I understand that this exciting milestone may be mixed with apprehension and concern. My goal is to make your dream home (or home dream) a reality with a successful and stress-free transaction! Choosing a Realtor is just as important as selecting your home. Call me today for a complete Buyer's Orientation and Realtor Interview to learn why choosing me is the smartest move you can make.
As your Realtor, I look forward to helping you find your next home by taking time to listen to your individual needs and desires. I will customize a tour to only those properties that meet your buying criteria and are within your price range. And best of all my services to you, as buyers, ARE FREE! Everything from viewing properties, to completing the purchase agreement and all required paperwork, to buyer representation and negotiations.
For your convenience, I provide listings by email. It's a great tool to keep current on inventory if you are looking for your dream home or to keep an eye on the market. I also offer free buyers courses online covering many valuable topics for you to educate yourself before you buy your next home. Sign up today! Contact me with confidence. I promise to see your buying experience meets AND EXCEEDS your expectations.
First time homebuyer? No problem. I'm committed to educating you and taking as much time as you need to feel comfortable making your first home purchase. I always recommend my first time buyers do their homework and begin the education process as soon as possible. Call me for ideas on how to get started and register for Alaska Housing Finance Corporation's First Time Homebuyer Course. Not sure if buying a home is right for you? Here's what the IRS has to say about the advantages and tax shelters you gain after buying a home.
Whether this is your first home purchase or your last, you will need someone to represent you throughout the transaction. As Your Realtor, I promise to:
- Help you set up a plan of action through an analysis of your needs and your finances, the current housing market, homes available in your price range, and lenders' mortgage options.
- Assure you see all the properties and neighborhoods that meet your criteria.
- Guide you through the intricacies of making an offer on a home and presenting your offer to the seller.
- Make sure you don't pay too much for your new home and help you avoid costly mistakes.
- Assisting you through both the pre-settlement and settlement processes.
- Answer all of your questions about the local real estate market market area, area schools, neighborhoods, economy, and more.
Before You Start Looking For Your New Home:
- Set up an appointment to prequalify with a local lender. By prequalifying, you will determine a comfortable monthly budget for your new purchase and get your credit rating. Prequalifying early will give you ample time to straighten out any errors before its too late.
- Choose a REALTOR® that you trust, who understands your needs, and communicates well with you.
- Determine what type of property and area best matches your needs. Have your Realtor set you up to receive automatic emails when a new listing hits the market that mets your buying criteria.
- Identify important features you would like must have in your new home (for example 3 bedrooms, 2 car garage, all bedrooms on same level) and those features that are on the wish-list (hot tub, 3 car garage, laminate wood floors, etc).
Closing costs vary with the price of your home, your lender's terms and terms of the purchase agreement. Typically you can expect these closing costs:
- Lender fees, loan origination fee usually 1% of the loan amount.
- Home inspection fee
- Title insurance
- Recording fee
- Escrow and interest fees include homeowner's insurance, loan interest, real estate taxes, and occasionally private mortgage insurance.
As your Realtor, I also take on the duties of being your:
- Transaction Coordinator
- Community Consultant
- Property Specialist
- Experience Negotiator
- Trusted Adviser
- Neighborhood Friend
- Real Estate Professional
SO WELCOME ABOARD!
I often compare buying a home to taking an airline flight across the country. When you start on your trip, you have no idea how the trip will go. For that matter, neither does the pilot. You could run into 88 different types of turbulence, or other passengers on the trip could pull stunts on you. Ideally, you should have a smooth flight and land on time. Certainly the pilot will try to use his or her experience to navigate around the storms and go for the smoothest flight plan, but if they’re honest, they can’t promise a turbulent-free trip. Their job is to get you to your destination in the least time and with the least aggravation, while keeping you informed throughout the trip.
Attached is list of the 88 different types of turbulence we might run into during our “flight”. This list is not all encompassing, but it catches most of the common issues we might run into on our home buying journey. While some of the items are "picky" to some, they are very real and fearful to others. Please take a few minutes to review the list.
As your REALTOR®, I see myself as the pilot of your plane. My job is to assist you with the purchase of your home; getting you where you want to be on time and with the fewest aggravations. I can’t promise you no turbulence, or that other parties to the transaction won’t try and pull a few stunts, but I can promise you that I’ll utilize my experience and expertise to take you on the smoothest flight that we can. And if we do hit turbulence, I won’t bail out on you. I will be your teammate throughout the flight, until we get you safely to your destination. Rest assured your advocacy is my number one goal, and that means you must be delighted with the product and service I deliver beyond your expectations during the process. If any of the following items are of particular concern to you, please let me know so that we can talk it over. Again this is not to scare you, but to prepare you.
Please fasten your seatbelt and enjoy the ride!
