No need for you to worry about the countless details involved in finding and buying a home in Anne Arundel County, Maryland - It's MY job to handle them on your behalf.
Yet I know you have questions about what to expect, so I created this handy reference guide for you.
When you work with me, the home-buying process boils down to these 3 simple steps:
1. Pre-Purchase Consulting 2. Shopping for your Home 3. Buying your Home.
Are you ready to get started?
1. PRE-PURCHASE CONSULTING
Before we actually go out to look at homes, we'll invest some time together so you feel confident about the entire home-purchase process and your choice of me as your REALTOR®.
You'll share with me some information about what you're looking for in a home, your hobbies and special interests, your concerns about location, transportation, schools, etc. You'll tell me what you do and don't like about your current home, and show me photos of homes that catch your eye. Together, we'll identify your "wants" and "needs".
You'll share with me some details about your financial situation, including your income, debts, and cash on-hand. You'll tell me what amount you expect to spend on a monthly mortgage payment, and how much cash you wish to invest "up-front". Together we'll determine the price-range of your next home.
I'll explain financing options that suit your situation. Together, we'll choose a local lender so you can make application right away.
I'll provide information about real estate customs and laws, including penalties for non-compliance. Together, we'll review brochures such as "What Everyone Should Know About Equal Opportunity in Housing" and standard disclosure forms.
I'll explain the relationships between home buyers, sellers and agents.
2. SHOPPING FOR YOUR HOME
Now that you've decided what you're looking for and what you can afford in a home, we can get started.
Using the Metropolitan Regional Information Services (MRIS®) database and other sources, I'll research homes that are currently available for sale. Together, we'll choose homes that meet your requirements.
I'll make appointments for us to inspect the selected homes at a convenient time, and I'll point out their assets and drawbacks as we go through them.
When you see a home you like, I'll estimate your closing costs and monthly payment.
I'll conduct the necessary research to determine answers to your questions about the homes and communities we inspect, and provide them to you in a timely manner.
If none of the homes we inspect satisfy your requirements, we'll discuss options such as adjusting your "wants" and "needs" or simply waiting for other homes to come on the market. And we'll begin this step again another day-as many times as it takes to find you the right home.
3. BUYING YOUR HOME
When you choose a home, I'll represent your best interests in negotiations and follow-up.
Using standard forms, I'll prepare a Contract of Sale and all related paperwork on your behalf, and explain your rights and obligations to you. (However, keep in mind that I'm not an attorney, and my explanations are not a "legal opinion")
I'll advocate strongly for you with the property owner and the owner's agent, and help you evaluate any counter-offer.
After you and the property owner reach agreement and initial any changes to the Contract of Sale, I'll assist you in selecting a settlement attorney and home inspectors.
I'll accompany you to the home inspection and pre-settlement inspection, and notify the property owner of any discrepancies.
I'll follow-up with the property owner, lender, appraiser, surveyor, settlement company, inspector and others to assure that all contract conditions and all deadlines are satisfied.
In the meantime, there are some things you need to do: Contact your insurance agent to make arrangements for a hazard insurance policy, confirm that you have provided all requested documentation to your lender, notify all utility companies, and obtain a certified or cashier's check in the amount estimated by your lender.
I'll accompany you to settlement, review the settlement sheet, and advocate strongly for you if there are any disagreements. Then, I'll proudly hand you the keys to your next home.
Whether you're relocating around the world or just moving across town, I'll handle the details so you don't have to. I consider it a privilege to help you through each of these steps so together we can create a real estate success story for you and your family!
PHOTO: Istockphoto.com VIDEO: MWoda
3 Simple Steps to Owning a Home in Anne Arundel County, Maryland Copyright 2008. Margaret Woda. All rights reserved.
Margaret- I hope this post gets to those looking in Anne Arundel County, Maryland! I really liked how you presented the information and the show at the end was a great touch. This has given me some great ideas, I've bookmarked it so I can come back to it later. Also, I really like the picture of the house in the shopping cart, where did you get that?!
Martha - Thank you - this is an update to the 3-fold brochure I created in the 90's and always give buyers. It was the result of a client saying to me "What's next?" and I realized I'd never seen a handout that answered that question.
Fran - Glad you like it!
Matt - My Online Relocation Package gets lots of traffic and generates lots of buyers, so I try to update it every now and then. Look or a few more updates in the coming weeks. This photo is from istockphoto.com, which is my primary source other than my own trusty camera.
Margaret... a very nice, easy to understand presentation. But just one curious question... why does the lender have to be local to so many agents? Agaun, just curious... just a FYI... 70% of my business is out of state. But hey, not raining on your parade here. ;o) Seriously, this is very detailed and I am sure your clients appreciate your hard efforts.
Jeff - I don't care where people get their money, but they're not getting into my car and going into vacant houses with me unless someone I know and trust verifies they are who they say they are. This is a policy I have, even if they come to me with a pre-approval from the Navy or Pentagon Federal Credit Union (lots of our buyers do) - It's a safety issue. Good catch, Jeff.
Margaret.... I am sure that you don't care, but many do. I almost lost a deal with a buyer in Miami, Florida, who found me online. They first had been approved by Countrywide, talked to Wachovia, and a local broker. After speaking to them for 30 minutes, they felt very comfortable with me. When they foudn a home that they liked, the realtor told them to pick a local lender. They got a letter from a local lender, but then came back to me. I close on their house this coming Tuesday.
In any case, I would expect your local people, if military, to go to the local credit unions. But if they can't be helped with a VA loan, I would love to help them with their FHA financing. They won't get great knowledge for FHA financing from a place that does mostly VA financing. In any case, I just thought I would mention this. Because it's been a slight fight of mine, especially on here, with realtors telling consumers to stay local when it comes to their choice of lenders. And I have closed 8 deals just this year, all in other states, that had chosen a local lender, who at the last minute, couldn't come through. Thanks for a good post.
Jeff - You make a good point... I sometimes forget how different the world beyond Crofton is for other agents on ActiveRain and I respond from my own perspective.
Ah, the power of a gold star! I initially posted this a week or more ago and about three people noticed it... I put it together as a 3-fold brochure in the 90's (original version) and have updated it periodically since then. When I updated it recently I thought it might make a good addition to my relocation package - and Voila! Rich discovered it! (2 more valuable folds on this brochure... stay tuned for those...)
May I say THANK YOU, Rich for acknowledging a decent REAL ESTATE post. It's nice to see that someone in ActiveRainLand may realize that consumers respond to this stuff. They can go to countless other websites for restaurant reviews and the travelogues AR seems to want for Localism. I'm betting on 3 consumer contacts this week from this REAL ESTATE post vs. NONE for all recent Localism posts. I'll let you know - even if I'm wrong.
Very well done, informative as always. Nice to see Rain recognized the effort and quality content. Congratulations on the feature. This one earned the spot!!
Very well done, informative as always. Nice to see Rain recognized the effort and quality content. Congratulations on the feature. This one earned the spot!!
Margaret, this was a great post that was so clear and concise that I am still marveling at how well you dissected the home buying procces for potential buyers as well as consultants out here.
Margaret, you are my hero. When I grow up, I hope to be able to organize and communicate in much of the same way. What a great teacher and inspiration you are to all of us.
Excellent breakdown of the home purchasing proceedures. No buyer could say that they do not have all the preliminery infomation that they could want. You sound like the type of agent the I, as the owner of a local title company, love to see contracts from because I know that all the I's are dotted and the T's are crossed. An agent that will keep on top of things and demand the service their clients need.
Good show!!!!!
Kevin A. Stroud, eSettle, LLC, Edgewater and Rockville, MD
Great personal promo V.T. I'm motivated to do mine asap.
I'm not very comfortable telling buyers what their closing costs and monthly payments are going to be. I am not an expert and would hate to misquote either high or low. However, you are throrough and that's great.
Well said. You've certainly established your value and the important sevices you provide. Impressive! After reading this I wouldn't consider buying without you =)
Margaret, I am new to blogging and saw: "3 Simple Steps to Owning a Home in Anne Arundel County, Maryland Copyright 2008. Margaret Woda. All rights reserved."
Is the copyright for the whole blog...ie photos, video, layout, etc?
Thank you for your comments! I'll be back to acknowledge you personally or reciprocate on your post as soon as I finish my current project. Hopefully by Thursday, but no promises. In case you missed my short post on the topic, I am singlehandledly creating an organization's yearbook and I procrastinated too long. Much info to assemble, verify, type, format, print and assemble. I do appreciate your reading this post and commenting but there are only so many non-work hours.... (work defined as "with client").
I've had numerous emails asking about using this material. I don't mind sharing the written brochure with people who are not in my immediate market (sorry!) because that won't compromise the search engine placement. If you want this to print and include in your buyer materials as a tri-fold brochure, lelt me know.
Great information, Margaret. Thaks for the information and with your permission, I would like to use this as a buyer checklist of sorts. Making sure we're both on the same page.
this is a little off topic, but i felt the need to tell you how much i love how you lay out your posts. They're so easily readable and eye catching. You're good at bolding the most important points and i never have trouble undestanding what you write. Sometimes i wish you could give us a template (html code) for these posts lol. Anyways, great stuff and great blog overall. :)
Castellum Realty - Thanks for the compliment. I just try to follow the advice from my Real Estate Tomato training... make it read like a menu. And thanks for commenting, because it made me realize I had slacked off on responding to some other commenters before you.
Melissa - Certainly! If you'd like to have it in the form of a print-ready brochure, just send me an email
Thesa - Awe shucks! How's your husband doing? Is he back to work?
Pippa - Are things back to normal yet in the Woodlands? And thanks for commenting on this post.
Dee-Dee - Thank you. It's a good handout for buyers at their first appointment with you... kinda lets them know what to expect.
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Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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Margaret- what a nice presentation. And the video is a nice touch. Kudos to you. You know your stuff!