2015
Buyer Expectations are Unique: What are Yours? By establishing what your expectations are, you lay the groundwork for a smoother home-buying process and help ensure you find the home that s just right for you. Name What is your preferred method of communication? (Check all that apply) Address Home Phone Mobile Phone Email Text Home Phone When do you hope to be living in your new home? Mobile Phone(s) What are your specific needs and concerns? Email(s)
Buyer Expectations Cont d Please specify any preferences you have for the following: City Subdivision Please list your requirements: Beds Baths Garages Finished Bsmt Unfinished Bsmt Other School district If you have already started looking at homes for sale, how have you found them? (Circle all that apply) Open house(s) Driving around Newspaper Will you be financing your home? A friend Other Website(s) What is your price range? What styles of homes do you prefer? If you will be seeking someone else s advice prior to making a final decision, who will you consult and what is his/her relationship to you? Have you already started to look at homes? If so, what did you like most about the homes? What did you like least about the homes?
Are Your Interests Being Represented? Did you know that a buyer agent works exclusively on your behalf, while a transaction broker facilitates the transaction and is a neutral party who represents neither the buyer nor seller? HOME FINDING SERVICES Help you find the right home to match YOUR needs. Explain finance options and help you place your loan. Provide you with information about the home and community. Schedule interviews with school officials, if needed. Respond accurately and honestly to your questions. Disclose material defects about the home. Suggest ways to make your home more livable, if needed. Discuss types of insurance that are required. Prepare a Competitive Market Analysis. May interpret results of a Competitive Market Analysis. Counsel you on what price to offer the seller. Present your offer to the seller. Contact and hire a trusted moving company. Represent you in the purchase of unlisted properties (FSBO). CLOSING SERVICES Accompany you to loan application, if needed. Monitor dates and events (e.g. lender requirements, inspections). Provide list of contacts for transferring utilities. Attend the closing with you. BUYER AGENT TRANSACTION BROKER KEEP IN MIND We ll do our very best to address all of your concerns while searching for a home. However, under the law*, no agent is permitted to answer the following types of questions: Will I fit into this neighborhood? What is the ethnic/religious make-up of the area? What is the race/sex/religion/national origin of the buyer/seller? *Federal Fair Housing laws prohibit agents from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status or handicap.
The Home Buying Process: Consultation, Closing and Beyond Purchasing a home is no small feat. You can trust us to guide you through the complexities of the process and help find the dream home that fits the lifestyle you ve always wanted. 1. GET STARTED Determine priorities and needs Select an agent Discuss your financing options 2. OBTAIN FINANCING Consult with a loan officer Pre-qualify Obtain loan pre-approval HOME FOUND! 4. REACH AGREEMENT Present your offer Negotiate terms & possible counteroffers Reach final agreement 3. PREPARE OFFER Determine offer price Review progress of loan pre-approval Prepare earnest money deposit 5. FINAL STEPS Property appraisal Inspections Review seller s property disclosures Provide down payment/closing costs Source: Icons made by Freepik, Dave Gandy from www.flaticon.com
Applying for a Mortgage: Are You Prepared? Before you apply for a mortgage, it s vital that you do your research and organize your paperwork to help the process go as smoothly as possible. GET PRE-APPROVED Understand different financing options Evaluate home lenders and home loan costs Establish how much home you can afford Demonstrate your ability to buy a home ORGANIZE PAPERWORK - ALL LOANS Most recent 30 days of work pay stubs Two years of W-2 tax forms from all employers Two most recent bank statements - checking, savings, money market and investment accounts ORGANIZE PAPERWORK - SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES Self-employed/25% of income is commission or bonus - federal tax returns for the last two years Bankruptcy - need full discharge papers with all pages Divorced - divorce decree and property settlement agreement Retired - copies of social security awards letter/company pension Dividend income - copies of federal tax returns (all schedules)
Our Online Tools are Proven to Help You Find a Home matter what technology you use to search for homes, our tools help make your search fast, easy and convenient. SEE EVERY HOME FOR SALE Find the one home that s right for you from thousands of homes for sale on our website. Get a sneak peek by viewing interior and exterior photos or requesting to see it in person. STOP LOOKING: START FINDING Forget everything you thought you knew about searching for homes online. My Home Search actually helps you find the home of your dreams by giving you thousands more homes to choose from and giving you better ways to narrow your search than any public real estate site. GET ON THE ROAD TO YOUR DREAM HOME Do you ever drive around neighborhoods and wish you knew more about homes for sale that catch your eye? Why wait to find out what a home has to offer when My Home Mobile, our GPS-based home search app, instantly delivers the details on your mobile device.
The Easiest Home Search Tool You ll Ever Use Join the thousands of home buyers who found the perfect home using My Home Search, our signature online home search tool. OPEN THE DOOR TO EXCLUSIVE HOME DETAILS Keeping a close eye on homes you like and their details - such as number of days on market, price changes and status - makes it easier to know when the time is right to make an offer. TAKE A NARROW-MINDED APPROACH When you mark some homes as favorites and ignore others, you re making all the right moves to narrow down your choices and find the home of your dreams. FIND THE DREAM HOME YOU WEREN T EVEN LOOKING FOR You can t predict when your dream home will go up for sale, but you can find out as soon as it does. Watch your inbox for email updates about homes you already like and new ones on the market you may like even better. Buyer Buzz: My Home Search I love this - it is great to have the new listings or changes to the listings I am interested in pop into my email box so I can check them every morning. - Michelle K., Kansas City
Follow Us on the Road To Your Dream Home Driving around neighborhoods looking for your dream home? w, you can instantly see information about homes for sale around you with My Home Mobile, our exclusive, GPS-powered mobile app. WANT TO BE A KNOW-IT-ALL? Tapping a home on My Home Mobile let s you see everything you want to know about it including a detailed description and home information. SEE INSIDE HOMES FROM YOUR CAR Don t just read about what a home has to offer, see for yourself by looking at interior and exterior photos right on your mobile device. STOP LOOKING AND START SEEING Take the next step from looking at a home on-screen to seeing it in-person. Contact us right from My Home Mobile for a showing. START USING MY HOME MOBILE TODAY! Visit kansascityhomes.com on your mobile device and tap Get My Home Mobile GPS App. Be sure to indicate that you re working with an agent.
6 Useful Tips for Every House Hunter Looking for a new home? Use these six tips to help make your house hunting experience an enjoyable one. Location, Location, Location! How far is the commute? How good are the 1 4 schools, hospitals and local services? Keep these questions in mind as you consider which areas to buy your home. Know What You Want Take the time to write down the home 2 5 features you must have, the ones you d like to have, and others you absolutely do not want. Get the Power of Pre-Approval A pre-qualification letter from a mortgage 3 6 lender tells you how much you re qualified to borrow and allows you to shop for homes with confidence. Wear Comfortable Clothes & Shoes House-hunting can be exhausting, especially if you re touring a dozen homes in one day. Dressing for comfort while being on your feet can make looking at the last home of the day as pleasant as the first. Be Ready to Make an Offer You should walk into each home prepared to make an offer. If you fall in love with the home on the spot, you need to know you are financially and emotionally ready to make a move. Breathe & Get Some Perspective Buying a home is a life-changing event. But it s not worth driving yourself or your family crazy. Trust us. We ve done this before.
You re Almost Home: Offer and Negotiate When you submit an offer on a home, one of three things could happen: the seller can accept it, reject it or make a counter-offer. We provide you with advice to help improve the chances of your offer being accepted. 1 2 3 submit your OFFER REQUEST Seller concessions finalize details Never assume that a seller s asking price matches their home s true market value. By using information about area homes that are for sale or have recently sold, we can better estimate its actual worth and arrive at an offer that makes the most sense. There are times when a seller is willing to make concessions in order to sell their home. Work final details into your agreement about who pays for the home warranty, closing costs and date, and all additional terms of the transaction. Even after the seller accepts your offer, there is still much to do, and we will be there to guide you through every step from getting an inspection and finalizing your loan to acquiring insurance and signing the final papers.