Homebuying with the Benefields
Buying a home can be a complicated process – and each homebuying experience is unique! Before we get started looking at homes, we need to learn a bit more about your goals. Are you looking for a mid-century modern in Mt Baker? A rambler in Rainier Beach? Whatever you’re dreaming of, we are excited to help you find it!
Let’s meet and learn what you are looking for – During our initial meeting, we will learn all about what you are looking for – style of home, location, beds/baths, square footage, your timeframe for buying and, of course, your budget. We will talk with you about the homebuying process so you are comfortable with the path in front of us.
If you have not yet met with a lender and gotten pre-approved, we can refer you to lenders that we have worked with in the past. Getting pre-approved is key to writing a strong offer and we definitely need you to have your ducks in a row!
Let’s go look at properties! Either one of us (or even both of us) may join you on your search for a home. The great thing about working with a team is that one of us is almost always available to go look at a home that has just come on the market. We know you are more than likely searching for homes on your own online. That is okay! But know that viewing a home in-person is a lot different than viewing it online, so don’t be so quick to disregard a home just because it has tacky wallpaper and bad landscaping. Sweat equity (whether by you or a contractor) can yield great results!
In addition to setting up your search parameters on the MLS, we will also keep an eye out for those unexpected properties that could be a great solution! When we (you or us) find properties that we want to see in-person, we will make an appointment and go as soon as possible. We will also, in many cases, preview the home before you do, so if it is clearly not a good match, we will let you know.
Our goal is to respect the way you want to buy a home. This is your process and experience – and we want you to win!
We will pull the numbers. Once you think you might have found the right home, we will go to work on research, completing a market analysis on the property, looking at comparable sold properties along with what is currently on the market and under contract. Our goal is to determine the current market value of the property so you know where you want to come in on the offer. We (you and us) need to do our due diligence and make sure that what you are buying is the same thing that is being represented.
Research and Rapport. We will also learn as much as possible from the listing agent and work hard to build rapport. If the listing agent knows how easy we are to work with, that can go a long way to making your offer more appealing to the seller. If the listing agent is holding an open house, we may even ask you to go and introduce yourself. We like to pull all the parties who could be involved in the transaction together as soon as possible so everyone gets to know the people behind the purchase and sale agreement.
Making the offer and negotiating. Depending on your comfort level, we can go through as many of the details of the offer as you need. There are a number of different items that can be negotiated, so we will go through those and help you determine your priorities so you can write the strongest offer possible that is also in line with your needs. Licica goes over the purchase and sale agreement to make sure there are no errors or things that could hold us up down the road. In fact, it is not unusual for the listing agent to thank us for writing such a clean and thorough offer.
Negotiating is one of our strong suits! We like to work collaboratively to make sure your highest priority items are addressed while at the same time allowing both sides to come together.
Now onto pending to close! Once the contract is accepted, we really get to work. There are a lot of deadlines and activities to keep track of on the buying side, but we are right there every step of the way: disclosure review, inspection, appraisal, title review, and making sure we are on track with your loan and escrow. Licica will be keeping all the parties to the transaction on track all the way to close.
We understand that as you are juggling your responsibilities as a buyer and a borrower, that you are also preparing for the move and managing life at the same time. Our goal is to help you as much as possible by being hands-on and supportive.