How to Buy a Home

Your lender is responsible for providing the needed funds to purchase a home outside of your down payment and closing costs. If you don’t already have a preferred lender, we’ll make recommendations for trusted local lenders. Choosing the right lender is important for ensuring a smooth transaction, not just for getting the best interest rate and lowest monthly payment. In the fast pace of the DC area market, it’s essential to pick a lender that can meet contract timelines.

Getting pre-approved for a loan sounds like it must be a daunting process, but in reality you can apply and hear back within hours. In general, a lender will need your prior year tax return, recent pay stubs and bank statements, and permission to pull your credit report.

Once your lender has your application and documents, we can all work together to determine your preferred home purchase price range. Start thinking about your ideal monthly payment and how much cash you’re comfortable spending on the purchase. Keep in mind that “20% down” is a myth - there are loan options that allow for as little as 3% down payment, or even 0% in the case of VA loans for veterans.

We’ll also evaluate whether you qualify for any of our area’s homebuyer programs that help make purchasing more affordable.

Now, for the fun part - actually going to see homes!

We’ll use your established criteria to set up a custom Collection for you through the Compass app. This is a seamless and interactive tool for us to collaborate on your search. You’ll be able to “favorite” homes, leave comments for us (we’ll comment back!), and request tours. In addition to homes you’ll find elsewhere on the internet, Collections also includes private listings only visible to Compass clients.

Learn how the Compass Collections program works.

In the early days of your search, you may like to start by casually attending some public open houses. It’s a great way to get a taste of what’s available. It’s our preferred process to see every home with you. We believe it’s incredibly important for you to see each home with a private appointment and our real time feedback and observations.

Once you find the house you want to put in an offer on, this is where our value to you really shines. We’re constantly keeping track of the market in the areas where you’re searching. We will provide you with relevant comparable sales information and market trends so that together we can craft an informed offer. We’ll also check in with your lender to provide a precise estimate of costs for this specific home so you know exactly what to expect.

We’ll help you find the right balance of terms for your offer - it’s important to keep in mind that price is not the only factor the seller will consider. We’ll answer all your questions: Am I competing against other offers? How negotiable is the price for this home that has been on the market for a while? How do I make an offer the seller will accept?

Common contingencies we’ll discuss:
• Financing
• Appraisal
• Home Inspection
• Condo/Coop/HOA document review

Once the offer is drafted, we’ll review all the documents with you to make sure you’re comfortable with the terms. Then, we’ll submit the offer to the listing agent and keep you informed. Once your offer is accepted, we start the due diligence process and your lender proceeds with your loan.

We always advise that buyers obtain a professional home inspection from a third party inspector. With a home inspection contingency, you’ll have a certain number of days to conduct the inspection and respond to the seller with a requested list of repairs. The seller can accept that list, negotiate, or offer a credit to you.

Going into the inspection contingency, it’s important to keep three things in mind:

Be Present - Take the time to come to the inspection in person so you can have a better sense of how the home works, areas that will require maintenance, and have a chance to ask the inspector questions.

Be Realistic - Don’t panic! Every home has a list of potential repairs.

Be Practical - Inspections are another opportunity to negotiate, but focus on the items that matter the most.

As we’re working through the home inspection, your lender is processing your loan. As part of that process, your lender will order an appraisal. With an appraisal contingency, you’ll be protected if the appraisal is lower than the contract price. At that point, we’re able to renegotiate the contract price with the seller.

Three days before settlement, your lender will send you a finalized disclosure of your loan terms and cash needed for closing day. We’ll review all settlement documents with you to make sure all charges are accurate.

Usually the morning of settlement, we’ll conduct a final walk-through at the property. This is a final chance to make sure the home is in the same condition as required by the contract. If the seller agreed to repairs, we’ll check to make sure the full list was completed. Once the final walk-through is done, it’s time for settlement. You are almost there!

Settlement day is when you get to take ownership of your new home. On average, settlement takes about an hour to complete, and involves you and the settlement attorney reviewing all the documents. We’ll be there with you to ensure settlement is smooth sailing and answer any questions that come up.