Many people recommend saving 20% of the purchase price as a down payment for your home, but in reality, you can move forward with a purchase with as little as 3% down. But don’t forget that there are costs associated with buying a home in addition to the down payment, like closing costs, inspection, attorney… if you are even thinking about buying a home, the best thing you can do is schedule a time to sit down with a broker for a buyer consult. We will walk you through the entire process and can offer many resources to help you plan and achieve this goal.

Sometimes a client thinks the close date could move/change, so they are hesitant to book their move… or they delay moving after purchasing ‘just in case’. To be clear, the closing is a contractually agreed upon date. It is not moving unless something unusual happens or both parties agree ahead of time, so you can plan accordingly!

Always. How else will the sellers know that you can really pay for this property you’re offering to buy? If you are paying cash, you need to provide proof of funds via some kind of bank statement or a letter from your financial institution stating that you have a balance of at least X amount.

If only we got to know, it would make competing so much easier! No one but the sellers and their agent gets to know what the other offers are. We don’t even find out after they’ve gone under contract. No one but the parties involved know what the purchase price is until the property is closed.

I can’t speak for anyone else, but I work with clients with a wide range of budgets, from first time homebuyers to people who have bought and sold multiple times, and price points from the low $100,000’s to multi-million dollar properties.

As someone who felt extremely inadequate and intimidated by the entire idea of buying a house (forget about getting all the way down the road to selling it!) before I got my license and actually started working in real estate, I really hope that if you are reading this and have ever felt overwhelmed or intimidated – no matter what your budget or experience level is, that you’ll reach out and connect.

The first step to achieving any goal – especially if you are overwhelmed - is to get information so that you have an understanding of the overall process. If you are a buyer you can understand how everything works, the money aspect, the timing, etc.. and if you are a seller, what is realistic pricing, can you optimize timing, is there work that you need to do, etc?

Even if you’re unsure if you are really ready to move forward, have the conversation with an expert, which in my experience helps clear away the uncertainty! I never pressure anyone I work with to operate on anyone’s timeline but their own. I make sure my clients have all of the information they need to make the best decision for themselves.

For a buyer we can’t promise that you’ll find your new home within a certain amount of time, but once we go under contract it is typically anywhere from 30-45 days until closing. In today’s competitive market it can take a while to find (or win) the right place, so the more flexibility you have, the better. The more certainty you have so that when you see ‘the one’ you can act quickly and get it, the better!

For sellers, no one can promise when your property will go under contract but in today’s market, if you are well priced and well prepared, it will happen quickly. If you are in certain upper tier price points the process traditionally takes longer. We also use neighborhood and our own stats as a guide as well, to set expectations. Once under contract the timeline is again, typically between 30-45 days but there are always exceptions to this.