My goal is to make the Atlanta area home buying process as thorough and as effortless as I can for my clients.  In a metro area the size of Atlanta, a home search can seem daunting.  Not to mention the potential landmines that await home buyers in the contract negotiation, home inspection, and closing stages.  

Typically, when I work with clients in finding a new home the process is divided into 6 stages:

1. Develop Metro Atlanta Search Strategy
2. Mortgage Pre-Approval
3. Negotiating an Offer
4. Home Inspection
5. Closing Preparation
6. Congratulations You're an Atlanta Homeowner!

1. Developing a Metro Atlanta Search Strategy

When we first meet, I'll go over the role of a Buyer’s Agent, and the representation it entails.  As a your Agent, I will aggressively represent your interests in the home buying process.  The best part about it is the Seller compensates me for representing you.

We'll have a discussion, with lots of questions, to learn what is important to you.  Atlanta presents so many housing options, it's important to find out as much about your interests as possible. Are you interested in a traditional house, a townhome, or a condominium.

If we are meeting at my office we might sit down at the computer and look at some homes together. I can get on the spot feedback regarding your likes and dislikes.  I'll also encourage you to use the state-of-the-art search features on my website at your leisure.  You'll be able to familiarize yourself with Atlanta and it's surrounding communities through the use of our numerous search features.

After we've refined the search, I'll start making appointments to view homes.  As we tour the homes in our search, I can get more feedback from you about your likes and dislikes, neighborhoods, etc..

2. Getting Pre-Approved for Financing

Sometimes people pay cash for their homes, but the vast majority have some type of loan(s) on their houses.  It's important to identify a few mortgage companies and make comparisons for the best value.  I can recommend some names of local Atlanta area mortgage bankers. Once you've identified a mortgage banker you would like to work with you should get a pre-approval letter for the loan amount. I prefer pre-approval letters to pre-qualifiction letters. While some consider it semantics, pre-qualification letters are typically done very quickly over the phone while a pre-approval involves getting a credit report. A pre-approval letter shows listing agents and sellers that you are a serious, no financing problem buyer.

When it's time to make an offer on a house, having a pre-approval letter is sometimes required by the seller and can also be a negotiating strength on your behalf.

 

3. Negotiating an Offer

After we find you a home that has everything you want (or at least the important features since compromise is sometimes necessary in a home search) it will be time to make the offer. Don't worry, we'll have done a lot of preparation at this point, so you can make the offer with confidence.

The first thing we do is to check the comparable home sales in the neighborhood or subdivision to see if the home is priced appropriately. I prepare a report, called a CMA (comparable market analysis), composed of similar homes to the one you're interested in. This CMA tells us the price range of sold properties in the given area. We'll look at similar homes that are currently on the market for perspective, but similar sold properties are a much better indicator.

I'll also find out how long the property has been on the market, if there have been any price reductions during the listing period, if there have been any other offers on the property, and what the motivation of the seller is.

When you're comfortable with the offer price, we'll fill in the blanks of the offer contract (The Georgia Association of REALTORS® Purchase and Sale Agreement). We will discuss the contract in further detail but it includes a property description, purchase price, financing, earnest money deposit, closing date, an inspection option, representation as your buyer's agent, and special stipulations.

I will then present the contract to the seller’s agent, who in turn presents it to the seller. During the contract negotiations, we'll creatively and aggressively work to get you the best value for your new home.

4. Home Inspection

After the offer has been accepted more then likely there will be a home inspection. A few contracts are negotiated without home inspections, but this is unusual. We will have previously, in the original Purchase and Sale Agreement, negotiated a set number of days to have the inspection completed, usually 5 - 10 days. I'll have the names of Home Inspectors if you would like some.

I highly suggest you attend the home inspection as you can learn quite a bit about the house you'll be buying. The Home Inspectors I work with are quite thorough and the inspection can take 4 - 6 hours. Make sure you wear something that can get dirty because you'll be crawling through areas of the house you didn't know existed.

After the inspection, the inspector will prepare a report listing the items that may need to be repaired. We'll sit down and go over the list and decide which items are important and need to be submitted to the seller in a request for repairs. During this process we will go back and forth with the Seller in what amounts to a second round of negotiations. Once a final list of repairs is agreed upon, the Seller will need to have them completed by the closing date unless otherwise stipulated.

5. Closing Preparation

This is the time to be in touch with the lender to provide whatever is necessary for the final loan documents, for the seller to take care of any requested repairs, and for the lender to go through the underwriting process. The lender will provide you an estimate of a settlement statement before closing so you'll know how much to bring in a cashier's check.

As a buyer, you will want to arrange for the utilities to be turned on when the seller’s is turned off. Don’t forget to have the phone company ready to turn on your new service as well. Make sure all magazines, bills, and family and friends, have your new address!

6. Congratulations, You're an Atlanta Homeowner!

Congratulations on your new home. I'll be available to answer any questions you might have and look forward to working with you in the future. We'll send out a reminder the following year to file for your Homestead Exemption. The exemption gives homeowners a break on their property taxes.