Looking for a home in the Gresham, Oregon area?  Maybe you prefer Portland, or like the small town feel of Sandy or Boring.  I am a licensed Realtor in Oregon and can help you find a home anywhere in the state.  Perhaps you already live here and are wanting to move out of state.  No problem.  I work with a select group of Realtors around the country who I refer clients too.  I chose these select agents because they have the qualities and ethics that I myself have.  I feel confident in sending my clients to these agents because I know they will receive the same level of customer service they would get when dealing with me.

  So you have decided that you would like to buy or sell a home, now what?  There are many ways to choose a Realtor.  Some people already may know a Realtor, others find one online, from a friend or simply call a real estate office.  So what do you need out of a Realtor?  How do you know if you have found one that is good or bad?  Sometimes people tend to forget that when dealing with a home you are dealing with more than just a roof over your head.  Bottom line, a home is an investment!!  You need a Realtor that understands this and knows how to explain it to you.  You have to have a Realtor you can trust and speak openly with.  All of your questions and concerns must be addressed throughout the process.  What a lot to look for in an agent eh.  There is an easy way to think about this.  Would you go to a finacial advisor, invest $300,000 with him or her and not ask questions about them and thier company?  Of course not.  You should do the same when choosing a Realtor. 

  As a Realtor I can show you any home that is listed, meaning any home that has a real estate companies sign in front of it.  I work for John L. Scott, but I can show you a home that is listed by Remax, or Century 21, ect, ect.  If I am selling your home, I can also help you buy your new home free of charge.  During any transaction there are two types of agents.  The listing agent, the agent who is helping sell the home, and the buying agent, the agent who is helping buy the home.  Let's say you decide to have me work for you.  You want to buy a home in the $300,000 price range and ask me how we get started.  The first step is to sit down with a lender.  I obviously work with several lenders that I can send you to or you can choose one on your own.  We get you pre-qualified and you find out you are only comfortable with a house payment that is equal to a $250,000 home.  Now you understand why we get you pre-qualified.  One, we didn't spend a bunch of time looking at homes you couldn't afford and two, now when you do find a home you like, we can write a better offer because you are pre-qualified.  You being pre-qualified makes your offer more attractive to a seller as they can see you are serious and not just writing an offer just because.  After we find you a house for $250,000 we write up an offer and wait for it to get accepted.  When writing an offer we include earnest money which is generally 1% of the sales price.  This also lets the seller know you are serious.  This money can be used in several ways once your offer is accepted.  Most typically people just put it towards the purchase price of the home or their closing costs. Generally it will take 48hrs. for your offer to be accepted.  Once it is accepted, we will schedule a home inspection.  This will tell us if there are any problems with the home.  The home inspector may or may not find some problems with the home.  The home inspector will give us a report and I will review it with you.  We will decide what we want the seller to fix and ask them to do so in a repair addendum.  Now this part can be tricky.  A lot of real estate transactions are lost at this point because agents do not know how to work through problems and make all parties happy.  The good news is it can be done.  After we get through the repairs, we wait for closing.  Closing takes place at a title company that is usually choosen by the listing agent (the agent helping to sell the home).  We arrive at the title company at a different time than the sellers and you sign all of your documents pertaining to the transfer of ownership of the home.  Typically three days after you sign the documents, everything is recorded, the loan is funded and you get the keys to your new home.  The process may sound long and difficult, but with the proper agent it can go quite smooth.  I hope this brief insight helps to explain things a little better for you.  If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at anytime.  Enjoy your day!!