The Buying Process

Buying a home, whether it’s your first or fourth time, can generate a roller coaster of emotions ranging from disappointment to excitement and everything in between. The Markwood Team is here to guide and consult with you through every step of the process, and we will try make it fun along the way. Our collaborative philosophy is that you begin with a vision, we'll help facilitate the dream.

Intake

When we first meet, we will take time to get to know each other. I want to learn all about what you envision your ideal home to be like, your ideal location, and we’ll spend time brainstorming your wants, your must-haves, and your deal breakers.

Home Buyer Wants & Needs

Buyer Agency Agreement

After our initial education day, when we decide to work together, we'll sign a Buyer Agency Agreement. As your Realtor, my responsibilities are: undivided loyalty, obedience, diligence, disclosure, confidentiality, accounting, and reasonable skill and care. All duties are fiduciary -- they are owed exclusively to you as the buyer. I want you to meet your home buying goals!

Inspection

A home inspection is going to be your version of an x-ray of the property. You will hire a professional home inspector (we can help provide a few referrals) who will walk through each part of the home, from the basement and crawl spaces to the attic and roof, inspecting each detail and searching for anything that might be cause for concern. Afterward, the inspector provides you with a detailed report of any issues they found, and from here, we’ll go back to the seller and negotiate repairs or necessary funds to manage the repairs.

Financing

The next step is for you to connect with a lender. You’ll need to submit an application and gain pre-approval, and at this point, we can provide you with our lender recommendations. Of course, you’re also free to shop around on your own, but we ask that you work with a lender who was strongly recommended to you by someone you trust. Ensuring that you have an experienced, reliable advocate on your side will help guarantee that you’ll have your loan approval and necessary documents in place to close on time.

The Offer

Once you’ve found “the one,” we begin putting together the offer. We will start by providing you with a market analysis to help determine a competitive offer price. We’ll walk you through the contract, including going over various contingencies and addendum to ensure that you understand the contract and your obligations as a buyer.

Escrow

After mutual acceptance, we will work in conjunction with a third party escrow officer to ensure the transaction is managed to meet all deadlines. After inspection, your next step will be to focus on the various conditions your lender may have given you to complete your application for final funding. Once all loan documents have been sent to escrow, you will meet with the escrow officer about 2-3 days before closing day to sign the documents. On closing day, once we have received word that the documents have recorded, we can hand over your new keys!

Education Day

This is where the fun begins! Based on the information we gathered during our intake meeting, we will put together a selection of homes for us to tour together. Before the tour, we will preview all active properties that fall within your parameters, and from here we design the tour to include homes that we consider “winners,” homes that could be “maybes,” and a few homes that you may not have considered but could still have potential.

Mutual Acceptance

Finally, after submitting our offer (and after possibly negotiating counteroffers), our goal is to get to mutual acceptance. Once you and the sellers come to an agreement, we will provide you with a timeline of dates that include each action item you need to complete prior to contingency expiration. If this sounds stressful, don’t worry—we’re here to help you at each step along the way!

Moving Day

When the day you’ve been waiting for finally arrives, we’re ready to help you plan a successful transition! We have several resources to assist you with the entire moving process, from packing up your previous home to moving it all into your new home. We also have recommendations for services you might need in setting up your new home, whether you plan to paint, install new flooring, or tackle a bathroom remodel. We’re here for all of your real estate needs, no matter what part of the process you’re in.