Time to Go Shopping

Once you have made all of the preparations described above, you are ready to search for the home of your dreams.

Explore. The most important element to real estate is LOCATION. Where do you want to live? Think about your preferred areas. If you are new to the Washington DC metropolitan area or are unfamiliar with various neighborhoods and areas that may suit your needs, take some time to get to know the area. Start exploring. Drive around and get a feel for what it would be like to live in the area. Pull over and talk to residents. Come back at different times of the day. Look around at the style of homes offered in different neighborhoods. If you want a traditional colonial, a neighborhood with only mid-century modern split level homes may not be for you. Talk to colleagues and friends about what they like and don't like about the areas they live in. Evaluate the nearby amenities, schools, access to transportation, and other services offered by each area you are considering. Use the Internet - it is a powerful tool to research different areas and to gather pertinent data on a particular area, from everything from school reviews to municipal tax rates to neighborhood restaurants and parks.

This exploration process should help you determine at least your top three preferred areas to consider a home purchase.

Narrow your search. After deciding on your preferred locations and your price range, think about which elements in a home are most important to you. Make a list of "must have" features and “nice-to-have” features (i.e., features that would be a bonus to have, but that are not imperative). How many bedrooms do you require? How many bathrooms? If you plan to work from home, does the new place offer a suitable home office set up? Do you require garage parking? Do you want a single family home, a condo, a town home, a loft, etc.? A fixer-upper or brand new, move-in ready? Must the home be in walking distance to a metro? Your "must have" list is the list of non-negotiable items - whichever home you choose to buy must satisfy that list. Let your agent know what your "must have" requirements are. Your agent will do a comprehensive search of the listings to identify all of the homes in your preferred areas that meet your needs and are within your price range. As you visit more and more homes, your focus will become further refined and you may find that some elements will be added to the "must have" list and other items may fall off of the list. But keep in mind that in some circumstances, you may have to make compromises even on your "must have" core requirements since there are certain inflexible realities in the real estate market. For example, if your core requirements include a home with at least 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, with 3 garage parking spaces in Dupont Circle for under $400,000, the market reality is that such a property for such a price does not exist in Dupont Circle. You may have to re-think your core requirements and change either your space and parking requirements, your location, and/or your price point. As your agent, I will advise you if your "must have" list within your preferred price range is achievable or not and will help you to identify possible alternatives.

Visit Homes For Sale. Have your agent take you to see homes that meet your criteria. Go to open houses. When you visit homes, keep an open mind. Most buyers have an immediate emotional reaction when they enter a home - sometimes the immediate reaction is positive, such that the buyer overlooks some flaws or shortcomings. Other times, the reaction is less positive, and the buyer overlooks the potential and the positive attributes of the home. A good agent will help to keep you on track, reminding you of your core must-have requirements and pointing out how each home will or will not meet those requirements. Often, the seller's furnishings, color choices, or the level of cleanliness of the home will influence a buyer's perception - try to see beyond the seller's choices and focus on the home itself. The seller's belongings will be removed before you move in and minor cosmetic changes (like paint, new carpet, etc.) can transform a home, so be sure not let a good house go by because you didn't care for the seller's choice in wall colors. Conversely, if the home presents like something out of a design magazine, don't be dazzled to the point of overlooking key flaws. No matter how beautiful, if the house doesn't meet your "must have" requirements, is it really the house for you?

Make an Offer. Once you have picked out the home you want to buy, you and your agent should discuss what type offer you would like to make and what type of offer is most likely to be successful in the particular situation. This is especially critical if the house you want to buy is receiving interest from several buyers and there is a multiple bid situation. Your agent should advise you on how best to position yourself to win such a bid, while still protecting your interests. Your goal should be to prepare an offer that reflects terms that would be acceptable to you as the buyer, but also palatable to the seller so that he will accept your offer.

Your agent should clearly explain to you all elements of the purchase contract and the offer process. Of course, price is often the most important element to the offer. Your agent should help you to determine what price to offer based on several influencing variables, including competing interest from other buyers, recent sales information for comparable homes, comparable homes that are currently for sale in the same area, the length of time on the market, and the interplay between the offered price and the other terms of your offer.

Generally, when you submit an offer, one of 3 three things can happen. Your offer can be wholly accepted by the seller without any changes. The seller can reject your offer entirely - for any or no reason at all. Or, the seller may make a counter-offer. A counter-offer usually means that the seller liked certain elements of your offer, but not all of them and is therefore proposing to change certain terms. It is now your turn to either accept, reject or counter-offer the seller's counter-offer.

Contract Ratification. Once your offer has been accepted, with the assistance of your agent and the seller's agent, the parties will ratify the contract for the purchase and sale of the home. This means that you and the seller have agreed on all terms related to the purchase and sale of the home and all of those terms are reflected in a written contract. Remember, oral agreements related to real estate don't count - it must be in writing to be enforceable. So, be sure to document each agreement and have that agreement initialed or signed by all parties. In order to ensure everything proceeds smoothly toward settlement, it is important to fully understand all of the steps necessary to get from contract ratification to settlement, to set a schedule, and to stick to that schedule. These steps may include home inspections, appraisals, termite and other pest inspections, completing all financing requirements, and making required repairs. Aside from ensuring a smooth transaction, a failure to meet a particular obligation may result in the deal falling apart. As your agent, I will keep you constantly updated on what you will need to complete prior to settlement as well as the progress of the seller to ensure that you are always aware of the status of the transaction and any potential issues. Should issues arise, I will be there to help you resolve them.

Always keep in mind that if your offer is accepted and the contract ratified, you are now in a legally binding contract with only limited avenues available to cancel the contract without risk or obligation. So, it is very important to be fully aware of your rights and obligations under any contract that you sign. Read all of the documents comprising your offer to be sure that you fully understand them and to also be sure that the offer reflects the offer you in fact intended to make. If you have questions or concerns, raise them. Seek legal counsel from a qualified attorney if you desire it or feel that you need it.

For more information and for any additional questions, please feel free to contact me at any time.

© Nadia Nejaime, 2006