Buying a home
Know what you're buying before you're committed to it.
Most of the trouble I see in a purchase traces back to something nobody checked, usually because checking felt like it would slow things down or weaken an offer.
Conditions are protections, not obstacles. Every condition you give up is a question you have decided not to ask.
An offer is a set of decisions, and price is only one of them. Deposit, irrevocability, closing date, what's included, which conditions you keep and how long you keep them. Several of those matter more to a seller than the last few thousand dollars, and all of them matter to you.
What working together looks like
- Before we start. Talk to a lender first. A real pre-approval sets the range, and it stops you from falling for something you can't finance.
- Looking. I'll tell you what I see, including the things that would make me hesitate. You'll get my read on price before you get attached.
- Writing the offer. We build it deliberately. Price from comparable sales, and the other terms chosen for this specific property and seller.
- The conditional period. Roughly five business days where everything happens at once. Inspection, insurance, lender, lawyer. I coordinate it and you'll get a heads-up well before anything expires.
- Firm to closing. Paperwork to your lawyer, and I stay in it until you have keys.
Where my role ends. I'm not a lender, a lawyer, an inspector or an insurance broker. Part of my job is making sure you talk to those people at the point where it still changes your options.
What you are actually buying
The house is the easy part
Age of the roof, where the water goes, what the furnace is, whether the previous owner pulled permits. None of it is visible from the street and all of it changes what the house is worth to you.
That is what the conditional period is for, and why I would rather you spend five days asking than five years finding out.
Buyer guides
The things worth understanding first
Conditions are protections, not obstacles
Why the conditions in your offer exist, what each one actually does, and why insurance matters more than people expect.
Read →Waiver or amendment: what actually firms a deal
Two forms that look similar and do completely different things. One ends the conversation. The other reopens it.
Read →Your inspection found something. Now what?
Repair, credit, or price reduction. How to think about which one to ask for, and when to walk.
Read →The conditional period, day by day
What happens between an accepted offer and a firm deal, and what you should be doing while it happens.
Read →What is actually in an offer
Price is one line. These are the other terms that decide whether your offer gets taken seriously.
Read →Deposits and irrevocability, in plain terms
Two of the most misunderstood parts of an offer, and how each one affects your chances.
Read →When the appraisal comes in low
What it means, why it happens, and the options in front of you when it does.
Read →Things that can make a house hard to insure
You can be approved for the mortgage and still not be able to close. These are the usual reasons.
Read →How to handle multiple offers
Drawing your line before the emotion starts, and why the process is designed to move you off it.
Read →Buying a home with tenants in it
Vacant possession is a process, not a promise. What has to be in place before you sign.
Read →Buying your first condo: the numbers nobody adds up
The status certificate, the reserve fund, and the monthly figure that actually matters.
Read →