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The Step-By-Step Home Buying Process
Step 1:
Be qualified by a lender
Being pre-approved by a lender before you make an offer on a home can save you thousands of dollars later. When you call me to set up our counseling session, we can recommend a top lender for you to contact before our consultation.
Step 2:
Your consultation
We will quickly go over the basics of buying a home and provide you with Texas’ Real Estate Broker Services Disclosure Form. Next, I will ask you many important questions to help me get a clear picture of your needs, wants, and desires. This takes about 30 to 45 minutes.
Step 3:
Choose your System
During our consultation, you’ll be asked to decide which system for finding a home you prefer.
The first is called Window Shopping. With this system, I provide you with all of the photos, addresses, and directions to those homes that match your criteria. This way you can drive by the homes before you tour them. Many people like this system because they get a feel for the home’s location and condition without having me present. When you identify a home of interest, give me a call and I will schedule a tour.
Step 3:
Choose your system (cont.)
The second system is called Agent Previewing. This is a more traditional system for house hunting. We review all the homes that are available for you and then narrow the selection down to no more than seven “cream of the crop” properties, according to your criteria and my experience. On a predetermined day, we will go out together to find the home you’ll buy from the ones we’ve selected.
At the end of our consultation, you will sign a Buyer Agency Agreement, and the search will be on!
Step 4:
Find your new home
Once I know all your particulars, I utilize the latest technology to search the Texas Multiple Listings Service, as well as other resources, for homes that meet your needs. When we go out to see the selected homes, bring your checkbook! Don’t be surprised when you fall in love with a home your very first day…it happens all the time!
Step 5:
Draft your purchase agreement
Once we have found your dream home, I will go back to my office and complete a residential sales contract. A sample copy of this is given to you at your consultation.
It will then be sent to you for your review and electronic signature.
Step 6:
Write earnest money check
At this time, you submit an earnest-money check to go with your offer. This check is usually written for an amount equal to 1% of the sales price. I will take the check and the sales contract to the seller’s agent and negotiate the sale on your behalf. If the seller accepts your offer by signing the sales contract, you will have “mutual acceptance.” PLEASE NOTE: when your contract is accepted by the seller, your earnest money check will be cashed.
Step 7:
You bought your new home
This point is often the hardest part of the home-buying process. Why? Because buyer’s remorse may set in. Although a majority of our buyers are very excited, some still feel a bit of buyer’s remorse. This happens because it’s time for a decision, commitment, and legal documents. So remember, the butterflies you feel are normal.
Step 8:
Formalizing your financing
Now that the paperwork is signed, complete a formal loan application if you haven’t already done so. Expect to pay for an appraisal and an extensive credit report, which costs about $450. You’ll sign a Verification of Employment form. If you have asked for an inspection to be done on your new home, you’ll need to pay the inspector at the time of the inspection, usually in the range of $300 to $400. You will also want to have the septic tank inspected, if the home has a septic tank. (this usually costs $400).
Step 9:
Prepare to move
Your closing and possession dates will be determined when the offer to purchase is drafted and agreed upon by both the buyer and seller. I work hard to make sure that everything runs smoothly and to make it as easy and pleasant for you as possible. We’ll coordinate your inspectors, appraisers, and lenders; identify problems; and find solutions.
Please feel free to call me at any time during the home-buying process.
Although I work hard to make sure that you are informed, there may be information that needs further explanation. You now know more about the “real world” buying process than 90% of those who are looking to purchase a home!
Q: I went to an open house, and the listing agent said that he could represent me better and “more fair” than any other agent, so I really didn’t need a buyer agent. Is that true?
A: Of course, agents try to be fair and nice to the buyer since they want to make the sale. But, because they are bound by Texas Real Estate License Laws, the Law of Agency, and their Code of Ethics, they can only do so much without jeopardizing their license to practice. For instance, the listing agent cannot tell you if a property is overpriced or how to negotiate the best purchase price. Ask yourself…if the seller has representation, shouldn’t you? As your buyer agent, we will always negotiate only in the best interest of you, the buyer.
Q: Is there a contract or some other kind of paperwork associated with a buyer agent like there is with a listing agent?![](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/6Jrt_u7y50KifbbkLhlHfHWS-6ET25MvJNsTEf04EN4_-V96ympnzbWvMGyV3opq8XI-IRSBwaGqv3CNb_d0xPxOUrH6OdCOYTzjOGLkUVefypiPrD1jAeV7kHd_N9QrUv7nX_JteZ9dzTfhVQ)
A: For years, sellers have been entering into contractual relationships to “list” their properties with real estate brokers. They are called listing agreements. You establish a contractual relationship with us by signing a buyer agency agreement, just as a listing agreement makes the listing
agent legally accountable to you and not to any seller. The buyer agency agreement is also a written commitment to you of services that I will provide.
Q: Do “listing agents” prevent “buyers agents” from having full access to all the available properties through the Multiple Listing Service?
A: No! We belong to the Texas Multiple Listing Service, so we can show you homes listed with any agent. In addition, since we represent you and not sellers, we regularly show homes that are For Sale By Owner and For Sale By Builder that are not listed in the MLS.
Q: Isn’t the agent who shows me the home representing me?
A: NO! If you walk into an open-house, or a new- construction-site model home and any agent tells you that they
|] the paperwork… don’t believe it! Agents who list properties enter into a signed contract with the seller to represent them in the sale of their property. My advice is that unless you have previously interviewed the agent and have entered into a written Agency Agreement wherein they have promised to represent only your best interest and you trust him/her, walk away. You may find yourself working with an agent who is obligated to act in the best interests of the seller.
Q: If you work for the buyer and you negotiate the price down, aren’t you also lowering the amount of commission you will make? Isn’t that a conflict of interest?
A: The difference is minimal. If I save you $5,000 on the purchase price of your home, I would only earn approximately $150 less in commission. Your goodwill and word-of-mouth advertising will be much more rewarding. I also have a legal obligation to represent your best interest.
Q: I’m moving to another city. Can you find me a buyer agent at my destination?![](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/UA63Fa7d1y_T1lNrIa2mFoY6I_xRKeutQs6vuiLh9dHYhoydN5JxyigITSzFN70Jk-j6W9BSfrqBKPZU07BEFhP0-vA6R3q5LuOgBIQMAnx0EI1buladDIvFJVT3AJs9BkDNTUyi)
A: Yes. As soon as you find out that you are moving, call me and I will provide you with the name and phone number of an outstanding agent nearest your destination. I will screen agents for you absolutely free!
Q: If I select you as my buyer agent, how are paid for your services?![](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/rWdYSoJ5qeg3icf75z9RSxvE0AAotiM1dC2rFs1sSl5Kov50NHFVm4faIg3LmLbw3b9YsEW_pUJWGiYavA2QWfYZydPdjkFdVdO60A6xDczmDzc9e7kqBySuu1KqSmEL0A-ZdqWsrO4E8ndW9Q)
A: There are several ways that I can earn my fee. It is always your choice. The typical fee paid to us at closing is paid by the seller and is usually divided between the listing broker (the company who has the home listed for sale) and my broker (The Street Real Estate Co.). Unless there are some unusual circumstances, my portion of the commission comes from the seller’s proceeds of the transaction.
Q: If I sign an Agency Agreement with The Street Real Estate Co., does it really matter?
A: Absolutely! Yes! Let’s put it this way: If you had to go to court, would you use the other person’s attorney?
Real estate agents who act as seller agents must negotiate in the best interest of their clients (the sellers). They must present their properties only in a favorable manner.
Buyer agents negotiate in the best interests of the buyer, do not disclose confidential information about the buyer, and reveal all facts that affect the value of properties to the buyer.
Q: Does Weston Davis offer any kind of a GUARANTEE when we purchase a home through him?
A: Yes! If you buy a from me, move in, and find you do not absolutely love your new home… I will resell it FREE of charge for up to one year after the close of escrow.
You will not find anyone else that will offer you this kind of a GUARANTEE when you buy a home. I take the fear out of buying your new home.
LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT!
To Put our Professional Services to Work for You Right Now Simply
Call me at 682-265-7992 or email me at [email protected]
I am Ready, Willing and Very Able to Find You the Right Home for the Lowest Price Possible!