This video is the beginning of a series of videos that talk about the home buying process from start to finish. My clients, The Pulidos, have agreed to let me document their journey in hopes of helping other buyers better understand the process behind purchasing a home. Buyer consultation allows me to understand clearly your motivation, your wants, your needs and most importantly your whys. I am able to assess your knowledge of the market and home ownership, manage your expectation, address your concerns and answer all of your questions.

Pre-approval means the lender is confident you have the ability to make the necessary down payment and income that can sufficiently cover your future mortgage payments.

When you are pre-approved for a mortgage, a lender has looked closely at your credit reports, your employment history, and your income — and must then determine which loan programs you qualify for, the maximum amount you can borrow, and the interest rates you will be offered.

For your loan representative to submit your mortgage application for pre-approval, you must provide your last two years’ tax returns and W-2s, thirty days of pay stubs, sixty days of bank account statements, and a signed authorization to order your credit report.

In this video, I talk a little bit about the pre-approval process with regards to my clients Jovie and Lyann Pulido from an agent's standpoint. This is for informational purpose only. It is not a substitute to your lender’s advise. To better understand the pre-approval process, talk to a trusted lender. Your lender is the expert on this field.

This video talks about the process of selecting properties. It is a critical process that eliminates a buyer's fear of missing out on a house or paying too much for it. It helps clients make a balanced decision by combining their emotional and analytical brain in order to make an informed decision. By doing this, I am also able to help my clients not get overwhelmed with their decision-making.

In this video, I talk about the process my clients go through when I’m showing homes. I confirm the appointment the night before, I go through what they can and cannot do and I plan our route. I bring comps for each of the homes I am showing. I let them park on the driveway and I watch their reaction and body language while they’re looking at the house. I do give them some time to go through the house and then I point out the items that the house have that check off the items on their list as well as the possible concerns. I always ask for feedback especially the things that they didn’t like about the house because that would only help me find them the right house. I also show them around the neighborhood if they are not familiar with the area. I go into a showing as prepared as can be so that I can answer any of their questions so that they can make an informed decision. By doing so, they know that I do have their best interest at heart. I forgot to mention in this video that I always warn my clients that they may or may not be being recorded.

Depending on what kind of property you want to purchase, there’s a form for that. In Southern California, we usually use the C.A.R. form Residential Purchase Agreement (RPA) to make an offer on a single family home. It is designed to help buyers and sellers agree on five negotiating points:

• Price

• Date (closing, possession, contingency periods)

• Terms (deposit, down payment, financing, etc.)

• Inclusions and Exclusions (refrigerator, washer, dryer, etc.)

• Contingencies (appraisal, loan, inspection, buyer selling their homes, etc.)

Note: In real estate, everything is negotiable but remember, it’s not about what you can get from the other party. It’s about coming to an agreement that would make both buyer and seller happy. The goal is to get you into your new home.

In California, as part of the contract, buyer has the right to do its own buyer investigations within a specific time frame. It is an expense paid by the seller unless agreed otherwise on the contract. In Jovie and Lyann’s case, they have 14 days to do so.

Home inspection is a part of buyer investigation. No home is perfect and your home inspection allows you to take a closer look at the condition of the property to help you reach a final decision before proceeding with the purchase. You want to make sure that the home you’re purchasing doesn’t have a list of serious issues that would be difficult or impossible to fix.

I highly encourage my clients to attend the home inspection. Whether they make it or not is up to them. Either way, I always attend my client’s home inspection.