Today something was mentioned to me I had totally forgotten about, The Secret. I remember years ago everyone was embracing the book, the tips and the video like it was a lifeline.

Was it just our frame of mind that led us to believe The Secret held magical powers to better our lives? Or have we just learned to apply the principles and forgotten the source?

I wasn’t one of the people hopped up on the belief that this way of thinking could completely change my life. However, I’ve also always been more of the optimist than the pessimist. I can see how it has changed lives for anyone that has a tendency towards the negative, but it hasn’t been on my recommended reading list for years. However, real estate can really be a difficult business for those that lean more towards the pessimistic side. Is there a new ‘magical’ book that has replaced The Secret?

Personally, I just teach my agents to think more on the positive side. Around here I like to call it ‘purposely changing your mind’. Of course, today, I am remembering and expressing gratitude for the book that made me pay attention to my attitude. The Secret didn’t change my life, but it sure gave me more ammo against Negative Ned & Nelly. The principles are definitely still relevant.

Yipppeee! You’ve made it to closing day.

You will be doing a final walkthrough. It could be the day before or the day of closing. This is to check to make sure that all repairs you requested have been properly completed and to be sure that all of the sellers personal items have been removed from the property. Sometimes there’s a couple of days allowedafter closing for the sellers to move out; it just depends on what’s been written in your contract. At this time, make sure your real estate agent has arranged how the keys will be delivered to you.

The title company, lender, or your real estate agent has given you the amount that you need to bring to closing. This needs to be in the form of a cashiers check, or it can be via wire transfer. Usually, in our area, it’s a cashiers check. Also be sure that you take your ID with you to closing. The title company will usually take a copy of it.

Often, your lender and real estate agent will accompany you to closing. Keep in mind, that you can close without either one of them there, but it’s handy if they do go so they can answer any questions that arise. The title company will take you through a grueling paperwork process…probably the most paperwork you’ve ever signed at one sitting.

When you’re finished, you’ll receive a packet with all of your paperwork to store in a safe place and it’s time to enjoy your new home. Stay calm, sometimes there’s snags at the end with funding or recording; the professionals you have hired will take care of these things and will do their best to get you in your new home ASAP after closing.

Once you’ve moved in, take the time to review your real estate agent and let them or their broker know how you felt you were treated. Good or bad, all feedback is appreciated.

Enjoy your new place!!

You’ve been searching for weeks, maybe even months, and right now, you are standing in the home of your dreams. You can’t describe it…something just feels RIGHT about this one.

Prepare yourself, this journey isn’t easy.

You leave the house, discuss it with someone, and then make the decision to call your real estate agent to write up an offer. The first thing your agent should do is call the listing agent on the home to 1. make sure the home is still available, 2. Let it be known that an offer ‘might’ be coming from you, 3. tell the listing agent to notify them if another offer is received before you have the chance to write yours. When you are getting ready to get together with your agent, make sure you bring your checkbook. You are going to need to write a check for an earnest deposit. As we discussed before, this amount can vary with the price of the home, but should be enough to let the seller know that you are serious.

When you get there, or before, your real estate agent (if they’re a buyer’s agent) should do some research and be able to present you with some comps in the area to help you decide on a fair offer. Most will not suggest an offer price to you, but will help guide you in the right direction. If they feel your offer is way too low and will offend the seller, they should & will let you know. You’ve all been walking through homes in the area and will have an idea of asking price on the ones you walked through. But an educated buyer needs to know about recent sales in the area to come up with a fair offer. This is where a real estate agent really comes in handy.

Now, if you’ve been told there’s multiple offers being submitted on the property, you will need to figure out what the highest price is that you are willing to pay for the home and offer somewhere around that price. We call it ‘highest and best’. The agent working for the seller is also going to point out different things to the seller like seller-paid closing costs, strength and feasibility of your loan, the size of your earnest deposit, etc. Don’t be afraid to ask for things like closings costs when there’s multiple offers, just keep in mind what the seller will ‘net’ off your offer.

If there’s not multiple offers, then you will just get together with your agent, determine your offer price, sign all the paperwork, give your agent your earnest money check, get copies of your paperwork….and WAIT.

The seller will do one of 3 things; reject your offer, accept your offer or counter. When you get the price and terms all worked out, the clock starts ticking. Your real estate agent will likely suggest that you do inspections on the home. Your earnest money will be deposited into a trust account. Your lender will start working on your file. The real estate agent will be in charge of getting your contract to your lender and to the title company of your choice. You, as the buyer, will be in charge of choosing someone to do the inspections that you’d like to have done on the home. There’s all sorts of inspections for radon gas, termites, whole house, structural, etc. The inspection period is also the time that you should call your insurance provider and discuss your new home to be sure it’s insurable. In Missouri/Kansas, inspection periods usually consist of about 10 days, but can be more or less as agreed upon by buyer and seller. Your inspection will need to be paid for at the time the home is inspected ($300-$400) and be prepared to spend about 2-3 hours at the home with the inspector.

The inspector will point out serious issues if there are any, and also safety issues and minor concerns. Usually, you’ll have the chance to ask the seller to repair any major issues with the home. Sometimes homes are sold as-is, and if there’s a major concern you would just cancel the contract. Keep in mind that if you’re asking for something to be fixed, this is a re-negotiation period and the seller has the right to cancel the contract as well. Do your best to only focus on the issues that are of great concern to you and work with the seller on what needs to be repaired. If the inspector turns up something that makes you afraid to buy the home, you do have the right to cancel your contract and walk away. Our contracts state that you will get your earnest money back, but real estate agents don’t enforce the contract.

During the time between contract and close, your lender may be asking you for additional items for your file. Do your very best to get these to the lender in a timely manner. If you don’t have the ability to fax during the day, drop the documents off with your real estate agent and they will be more than happy to send them to the lender for you. Also, this is NOT the time to go and buy a new car or get furniture on credit. Everything you do between contract and close will be watched by the underwriter. Don’t run up those credit cards or take a bunch of money out of your checking account, etc. Wait until you’ve closed and gotten the keys to your home to do those things. We’ve watched buyers lose homes for years over something as simple as putting a refrigerator on a credit card before closing. If you have a question about anything like this, feel free to call your lender or real estate agent and ask their advice. This is what we’re here for.

Next blog: Buying your first home; Closing Day.

Disclaimer: We sell real estate in Missouri and Kansas. Laws and contracts will vary from state to state.

Now that you’re ready to start searching, it’s time to figure out your method.

There’s websites, open houses, hiring a buyers agent, driving around on your own, etc. At last count, 94% of homebuyers start their search on the internet and actually take about 8 months before finally closing on a home. That’s a lot of searching.

If you begin your search on the internet, you might want to choose the website wisely. Some will start on Realtor.com because it seems so robust. I’d like to offer you a bit of different advice…we’ll call it an ‘insider’s tip’. Chat with your friends for a minute, either in person or via Facebook, email, Twitter, etc. See if they’ve had an incredible experience with an agent or particular company that they would like to recommend to you. If you do get a good recommendation, go to that agent’s website and use their site to search. Didn’t get any good recommendations? Take a glance at the companies in your area and check out their websites. If you like one in particular, you can either search through agent bios and pick one you think would be a good fit, or you can just start searching and you’ll be randomly assigned to an agent in the company. No worries, if you feel like you’ve gotten stuck with someone you don’t like, you don’t really have to use them. You are more than free to find someone else. What happens onRealtor.com is that you get assigned to whatever agent has the listing you’ve clicked on.

Customers like the internet because they feel they can search without being hounded by an agent. Agents like the internet because their customers feel so comfortable searching on it. It’s a win-win. Feel free to tell whatever agent you’ve gotten in contact with your situation. For example, if you’re not quite sure what you’re doing, but would like to continue to search the web—-that’s just fine. We, as agents, just don’t want to run the risk of YOU feeling like we’re not there for you or not interested, so we try to contact you and find out your intentions. It’s all really harmless and nothing to be scared of.

If you’re more of the ‘driving around’ type, you will find quite a few open houses to go through on the weekends. Some websites now even show all the open houses in the area to help cut down on your drive time (and to make you like our site better). Open houses are nice…the agent will usually ask you to sign in. If you’re working with a buyer’s agent already or know someone you’re going to work with, just let the open house agent know. If you don’t have an agent yet, check out the one at the open house and see if they might be a good fit. The one thing you do know is that they’re a hard-working, dependable agent if they’re hosting an open house on the weekend. There’s nothing wrong with taking a minute to be friendly and see if you like them—-that’s what they want!! If you like them, take their info and give them a call when you’re ready. Mostly we hold open houses to make our sellers happy and to try and meet potential buyers. Most buyers don’t buy the home that’s being held open, so don’t feel bad about not liking the home and giving some good, honest feedback.

If you’d like to make things easier on yourself & faster, hiring a buyer’s agent from the beginning is definitely for you. A good buyer’s agent will take the time to chat with you, learn exactly what you’d like, advise you, and take you through any home you’re interested in viewing. In most states, hiring a buyer’s agent doesn’t cost you anything…they are paid by the seller at closing. Some companies may have an extra brokerage commission they charge buyers, but that is also usually paid at close. It takes a lot of faith for an agent to take you out and show you 30 homes without asking you to sign a buyer’s agency agreement. See, that agreement proves to others that we have a relationship with you and it helps guarantee that we’re going to be paid for our time and effort. Now, if you’ve met an agent and gone to a couple of houses with them and you find that you don’t really like them, please let them know…don’t just disappear. If you’re not comfortable telling them, call their broker and explain; maybe ask for a recommendation on someone else. We would prefer to know what we need to improve as opposed to wondering where in the world you went.

In Missouri, if you drive around and call the agent on the sign, and you’d like to work with that agent to buy the home they have listed; they will work for you as a Disclosed Dual Agent. This means they’re representing the best interest of both parties and keeping confidential information, confidential. In Kansas, they will be a transaction broker. Either way, if you’re comfortable working with the same agent the sellers are using, by all means, do so. If you’d rather have your own person looking out for your best interest, hire a buyer’s agent.

Next blog: Buying your first home, when you find THE ONE

Disclaimer: We sell real estate in Missouri and Kansas. Laws and contracts will vary from state to state.