Step 1: Get Loan Pre-Approval (If You’re Not Buying With Cash)

Before looking at homes, it’s important to determine your budget - what you qualify for and, more importantly, what is comfortable for you financially.  A good lender will help you determine both. If you're not pre-approved, start here:

• Getting Pre-Approved
• The Ten Commandments of Home Loans
• Lenders We Know and Trust

Step 2: Identify Homes & Go View Them

I send you homes the moment they hit the market and you let me know which ones you want to go see.  In a seller’s market, we’ll want to see them quickly - time is of the essence. 

Step 3: Write The Offer

Once you have found the property you want, we’ll write the seller an offer.  While much of the offer is standard, there are a few areas that we can negotiate:

• The Price   What you offer on a property depends on a number of factors, including its condition, length of time on the market, buyer activity, and the urgency of the seller.
• The Move-in Date  If you can be flexible on the possession date, the seller will be more apt to choose your offer over others.
• Additional Property  Often, the seller plans on leaving major appliances in the home; however, which items stay or go is often a matter of negotiation.

Step 4: Present The Offer 

Typically, you will not be present at the offer presentation - we will present it to the listing broker and/or seller over the phone and/or email. The seller will then do one of the following:

• Accept the offer
• Reject the offer
• Counter the offer with changes
• Not respond at all

When a counteroffer is presented, you and I will work together to review each specific area of it, making sure that we move forward with your goals in mind and that we negotiate the best possible price and terms on your behalf.

Step 5: Start The Home Inspection Period

This is the most important part of the buying the home. Home inspections are an out-of-pocket buyer expense and the inspections that are needed will vary per house due to the age of the home and the available historical documentation. 

You will want to get your inspections ordered and completed as soon as possible after receiving an accepted offer. These are some of them more common inspections: Whole House Visual Inspection, Sewer Scope, Radon Testing, Oil Tank Locating, Oil Tank Soil Testing, Lead Based Paint Testing, Roof, and Structural Inspection.

Step 6: Title

In order to change ownership of the property, its title has to be transferred.  Before transferring the title, the title company that is hired will search for clouds and encumbrances to ensure that you know exactly what you are purchasing.  At this point title insurance will also be purchased to protect against loss coming from unforeseen defects on the title.

Step 7: Complete Mortgage Requirements

Before officially securing the loan, the lender will require a few last steps and double checks.

• Appraisals - An appraisal is ordered by your lender and paid for by the buyer.
• Income Verification - Though often covered in your pre-approval, the bank will ensure that nothing has changed with your employment or income. 
• Credit Report - Credit will be checked again at this point to make sure that your credit score hasn’t changed which usually implies accounts opened and closed as well as on time payments and a myriad of other things. Again, for more on this, please see the included Ten Commandments section.

Step 8: Underwriting

This is an important part of the loan approval process and the person who does the underwriting for your lender can reject, approve, or give conditions that must be addressed before they will approve the loan.

Step 9: Signing Day

Signing day marks almost-the-end of your home-buying process and the beginning of your new life!  To make sure your signing goes smoothly, you should bring the following:

• A certified check or wired funds ahead of time for closing costs and down payment. 
• An insurance binder and paid receipt
• Two pieces of Photo ID per buyer

Step 10: Recording - You Own It!

Transfer of title moves ownership of the property from the seller to you. The two events that make this happen are:

• Delivery of the buyers funds - This is the check or wire funds provided by your lender in the amount of the loan.
• Delivery of the deed - A deed is the document that transfers ownership of real estate. The deed names the seller and buyer, gives a legal description of the property, and contains the notarized signatures of the seller and witnesses. 

At the end of closing, the deed will be taken and recorded at the county clerk’s office. This is also the day that you get your keys!

More Information

• Transaction Timelines
• Getting Pre-Approved
• The 10 Commandments of Home Loans
• Lenders We Know and Trust

Are you thinking about selling your home this season and buying another - but you're curious - should I sell or buy first? 

Navigating something like this on your own can seem quite daunting - but you have me! And I’m here to help the transition goes as smooth as possible!

Let’s take a look at the two most common strategies…

Everyone’s situation is unique to them - and perhaps yours will require us to put together a plan that looks a little different. 

STRATEGY 1: Sell Then Buy

In a hot seller’s market like we have today, it can be difficult to get your offer accepted - as there are often multiple buyers vying for one property.  The path that will give you the most buying power will be... putting your home on the market, leveraging your position as the seller by negotiating a long closing timeline and/or 30-60 days of what we call “rent back”, and then - once your home is under contract with a buyer - making what we call a “contingent” offer on the home you’d like to purchase.  

If the seller of the home you’re attempting to purchase sees that you are already under contract on the sale of your home (or have already closed on the sale of your home) and has the choice between that offer and another that perhaps hasn’t put their house on the market yet or isn’t under contract yet - and all other variables are the same - your offer will likely be considered more desirable.  

You’re putting yourself in a stronger buying position than many other buyers on the market by choosing the "Sell then Buy” approach. 

One side note, it occasionally happens that the home you’re selling closes, the rent back period ends, and you’ve still not found the home that you’d like to purchase and you’ve found yourself temporarily homeless.  

Don’t fret!  There are strategies here, too.  

If this is something that you’re concerned about - call me and let’s chat about what your options will be.

STRATEGY 2: Buy Then Sell

The biggest reason clients lean towards this strategy is because, quite simply, they don’t want to sell their house if they don’t have somewhere to move to.

The problem with this approach, however, is - in a seller’s market - there are often multiple offers on the same property and in order to get yours selected, your offer needs to be strong.  

Let me ask you this - hypothetically, you have 2 offers in on a home that you’re selling. 

They are the same price, the same loan type, have the same provisions, and they both need to sell their current home to purchase yours.  One of the offers is under contract and has a closing date already on the calendar.  The other is “waiting to find the home they want to purchase” before listing their home.  Which of those 2 offers are you inclined to select?

Obviously, it’s going to be the one that’s already under contract…We see scenarios like this all the time.   

When you finally find the home that you want to purchase, I can’t stress enough how important it is to have a strong offer ready to go - and almost always, this means that you should either be under contract or at least on the market prior to making offers.

That said - the majority of the time - it’s going to be best to sell THEN buy.

If you’d like some help planning the logistics of your home transition this season, reach out.  No two scenarios are exactly the same and we can put together a strategy that will help you accomplish your goals.

As always I'm just a phone call, text message, or email away.  Reach out and let's connect. 

More Information

• See your homes current market value here
• Selling Your Home
• How Long Does It Take To Sell A Home?
• 5 Inexpensive Ways To Prep Your Home For Market
• Setting Your List Price
• Find Your Next Home

Sellers - today we’re talking about what you can do to your home to get the most bang for your buck as you prepare it for the market.

Let’s get right to it…

First, we’re going to assume that your systems like the roof, heating, electric, windows, siding, etcetera are all in working order.  

If they’re not, when we sit down together, we’ll go over which, if any, would be worth investing in repairing before you hit the market. 

What you can get for your home is going to be determined by both what a buyer is willing to pay for it - and in most cases - what the bank is willing to lend that buyer to purchase it which is typically determined by the appraisal.

We’re not going to focus so much on the systems, location, and comparable properties sold that appraisers are looking at - but rather, we’re going to take a quick look at what is commonly referred to as “The 3 P’s and 2 F’s”.

• Plants
• Paint
• Pictures
• Furniture
• Fixtures.

These 5 things are the least expensive, most impactful things that you can do to make buyers feel at home when touring your property.  

Let’s take a closer look…

Plants

Our primary goal with curbside appeal is to make the buyer think “oh that’s cute”… not “wow - that’s going to be a lot of work”.  Even if the home is perfect on the inside - when most folks see weeds in the flower beds, untrimmed hedges, and uncut grass their first thought is “wow, this is a lot of work”.  Don’t under estimate the impact that a pair of gloves, some hedge trimmers, and a little time can make on your bottom line.

If you have a little bit of money to spend, I also recommend 1 or 2 pots with annuals on the front porch.  $50 at Home Depot or Fred Meyer will be more than sufficient for what you need.  That little pop of color adds a lot.

Paint

Again, we’re not talking about remodeling the entire interior or repainting every surface - but just some touch ups.  If you don’t have any leftover paint from the last time it was painted, chip off a piece of paint from an out-of-the-way area, take it to Home Depot, have them match the paint color, and use that to do your touch ups around the house.  I recommend white trim and light gray walls.  Remember, buyers don’t care what your favorite color is - you want them to envision their favorite color on your walls.

Another pro tip - if your wooden cabinets are looking a little weathered, there’s a quick and pretty inexpensive solution!  Paint them white and update the knobs to the cheapest fixtures you can find.  Clean, working, and matching is better than weathered.

Pictures

Fast and simple - you want buyers to imagine their family pictures on the wall, mantle, and bedside table.  From picture day on, let’s box up those family photos and put them in the garage or closet.  Same goes for trophies, awards, trinkets, and the like.  Think mirrors, candles, and art.

Furniture

Less is more.  Way less is way more.  Buyers want to know that there is room to put their things in the home.  If a home is cluttered with end tables, hutches, oversized couches, and decor, it’s very challenging to do so.  I recommend putting those extra couches, chairs, hutches, ottomans, coffee tables, decorations, and shelving out of site either in the garage, a storage unit, or a friend or family’s garage while your home is on the market.

Fixtures

If you have the money, a $100-200 investment in matching door knobs, matching ceiling lights, matching light switches and faceplates, and consistent kitchen and bathroom hardware has a huge impact on the subconsciousness of the buyer.  In almost all cases, we're not talking about the most expensive, high-end versions - but rather, the least expensive options.  It’s not the material as much as the consistency and “fresh” feel.

Regardless of wether your home is a $250,000 first-time-home buyer / light fixer or a $750,000 inner-east-side charmer, less than $500 of an investment and the 2-3 weekends spent on these items is going to have a very real impact on how much buyers feel your home is worth.

If you’d like a more customized set of recommendations or if you’re ready to get the listing process started, give me a call at 503.701.7023.  Otherwise - to see your home’s value or to get a head start on finding your next property, there is a tool in the side column of this website. It’s a free and easy to use resource that should help.

More Information

• See your homes current market value here
• Selling Your Home
• How Long Does It Take To Sell A Home?
• Setting Your List Price
• Should I Buy Or Sell First?
• Find Your Next Home

A lot of people think, "since most people look for new homes in the spring or summer I'm going to list my home then" and then they make the huge mistake of waiting until the spring or summer to start the process.   

Selling a home takes time.  Selling a home for top dollar takes even more time. 

You see, your home will never be worth more than it is the day it is first listed for sale. There are things that you need to do to prepare and market your home in order to capitalize on that day... all of which takes a little time. 

First, you want to figure out the things that cost the least and take the least effort that will have the biggest impact on your bottom line. That takes careful budgeting, planning...and time.  A week or so should be sufficient.  

Then, you'll need to spend the time preparing your home, de-cluttering, and performing those fixes.  If you've got a lot of time on your hands, you might be able to do this quickly enough – but if you're a weekend warrior like most - you're going to want to budget a few weeks for this. 

As soon as the aesthetic items are completed we are going to want to get a jumpstart on your pre-marketing. In order to generate interest leading up to list day, we're going to want to get some high quality photos, 3-D imaging, get the sign-up, and get your property online with "coming soon" advertisements. 1 to 2 weeks of pre-marketing should be sufficient. 

At this point – you're looking at 1-2 months of preparation prior to listing your home. 

Now let's say you accept an offer after your first weekend of being "for sale". If your buyer is financing the home, it might be 45 to 60 days before their lender can close on that property. 

What this means is – if you were to start the process right now in late February… you would be looking to move in May or June.  

Again – if you want to get the most for your home and you are looking to make the move this spring or early summer… Now is the time to give me a call so that we can start preparing.

More Information

• See your homes current market value here
• Selling Your Home
• 5 Inexpensive Ways To Prep Your Home For Market
• Setting Your List Price
• Should I Buy Or Sell First?
• Find Your Next Home

Hi guys!

For the last couple of years, we've been doing a monthly newsletter - you may have seen it - with a link to a market update, a local news article of some kind, and a link to something fun or interesting to do in the Portland area.  This year, instead of doing a monthly newsletter, I’m going to do a couple video updates each month.  I feel like its more personable and…well…a lot more fun!

I’ll try to keep these videos short and sweet - maybe 1 to 2 minutes long - and I’ll try to stick to only valuable information that I would want to know if I were looking to buy or sell in the Portland Metro Area.  My goal with this is to give you every advantage possible as you look to accomplish your 2017 home buying and selling goals.

As always - if you or someone you know is looking to buy or a sell a property in the Portland metro area, call me!

Julie Lais, LIC OR RE Broker

Premiere Property Group, LLC

C: 503.701.7023

E: julie@housesofportland.com