Home Buying Process:
Know Before You Decide

Most people start buying a home by looking at homes. It feels like progress, and it is the fun part. The trouble is that falling for a house before you know what you want, what you can comfortably afford and what would make you walk away puts you in the position of deciding under pressure, usually with someone else setting the deadline.

The home buying process in Scottsdale and across the Greater Phoenix Metro goes better in a different order. I use the same method with buyers that I use with sellers, Strategy Before Reaction™, because the idea behind it is the same: I help you understand your options before you have to make the decision.

• Prepare. What you are trying to accomplish, what matters most and what you can comfortably afford.
• Inform. Each home, the market around it and what the numbers mean.
• Coordinate. Offer, inspections, appraisal, financing and closing, kept on schedule.
• Adjust. When something changes, we decide together what makes sense.

My job is not to talk you into a house. It is to help you understand what you are buying, so you can make the decision that is right for you. Sometimes that means writing a strong offer the same day. Sometimes it means waiting. Sometimes it means walking away from a home you liked, because the inspection or the numbers told you something the photos did not.

Once we know what you are looking for, we start touring homes. This is where I help you look past the photos and evaluate what you are really seeing. A listing is written to sell the home. My job is to help you see the rest of it.

For each home you are serious about, we look at the property itself, the condition and the likely costs of owning it, how it compares with other homes that recently sold nearby, and how long it has been on the market and why. A home that has been sitting may be overpriced, or it may have an issue other buyers noticed. A home that came on the market this week in a busy price range may need a faster decision. Either way, it helps to know which situation you are in.

When you are ready to make an offer, I explain the strategy before we write it. Price is one part. The others include how much earnest money you put down, which contingencies protect you, whether you ask the seller to pay or credit anything, and the closing date. Each of those affects both how strong your offer looks to the seller and how protected you are if something goes wrong. When it helps, I will ask the listing agent whether there are specific terms that would make our offer more appealing to the seller, because the strongest offer is not always the highest one.

New construction deserves its own mention, because the process looks different. The salesperson in a model home works for the builder, and their job is to represent the builder's interests, not yours. Most builders also require your own agent to be introduced at your very first visit. If a new home community is on your list, talk with me before you walk in, so your options stay open. I can help you compare the base price with the upgrades you would actually want, look at the builder's contract terms, and weigh a new home against a resale home nearby. More on that on my page for new construction buyers.

When several buyers want the same home, the pressure changes. You may hear that offers are due by a certain time, or that the seller has more than one to review. This is exactly where the work in Prepare pays off. You already know your comfortable number and your deal-breakers, so we can decide calmly how strong to make your offer and where to stop. Losing a bidding situation is disappointing. Winning one by stretching past the budget you set for yourself is usually worse.

I share my recommendation and the reason behind it. If there is something I do not know, I say so. Then we talk through your options together, so you can make the decision that is best for your situation.

If you ever find yourself asking, "Is this agent actually looking out for me, or just trying to close the deal?", I want you to ask me that directly. You deserve a clear answer.

Real estate does not always follow the plan, and buying is where that shows up most. The inspection finds something expensive. The appraisal comes in below your contract price. Your loan terms change. A repair the seller agreed to turns out to be bigger than anyone thought.

When that happens, we go back to what you told me in Prepare: what you are trying to accomplish, what you can comfortably afford and what would make you walk away. Then we look at your options. You might ask the seller for a repair or a credit, renegotiate the price, bring more money to closing, or cancel within the terms of your contract. Each option has a cost. We talk through what each one would mean for you, and you decide which way to go.

Sometimes the right decision is to keep going. Sometimes it is to walk away, and I will support that decision as fully as the other one. A house you do not buy is not a failure. Buying the wrong house is the outcome that is hard to undo.

Adjusting also works in your favor. Sometimes the home we thought was the one does not work out, and the next one turns out to fit better, because by then you know exactly what matters to you. Every home you see, and every offer you write, teaches you something about what you want and what the market will give you for your money.

The plan can change. Your goals are what keep us grounded.