Your Journey to Home Ownership

Together, we’ll talk about your goals and the type of home you’re looking for. We’ll cover key factors such as style, price, and location to help narrow your search. By defining your personal and financial goals upfront, we’ll create a clear reference point to guide your decisions throughout the home-buying process. Meeting can look like a phone call, a virtual meeting or grabbing a cup of coffee together- whatever you are most comfortable with.

As a home buyer, your agent’s commission is typically paid by the seller of the home. This means your representation often comes at no cost to you!*

To hear from past clients, click here.

*Commission rates are always negotiable and will be discussed in further detail when we review and sign the Buyer Agency Agreement.

Once we meet, I can connect you with several trusted lenders I’ve worked with in the past. These professionals have access to a wide range of loan products through multiple banks and financial institutions, enabling them to find the most competitive rates and terms for your situation. Your lender will typically request documentation such as pay stubs, W-2s, and bank statements to evaluate your financial position.

Once you’re pre-qualified, your lender will provide a pre-qualification letter, which you can include with your offer to strengthen your position as a serious buyer. This process also gives you a clear understanding of your true budget, ensuring a smoother, more efficient, and successful home-buying experience.

Once you know your budget and we’ve established what you’re looking for in a home, I will create a personalized Compass Collection for you. A Collection is an interactive, real-time workspace where we can organize, review, and discuss properties throughout your home search. Think of it as the “Pinterest of real estate”—a centralized platform that allows you to:

• Save and favorite listings

• Add comments and feedback

• Track real-time market updates

• Communicate directly with me

• Share listings easily with family or friends

This streamlined approach keeps everything in one place, making the search process efficient and collaborative. From your Collection, we’ll decide which homes you’d like to visit, schedule showings, and tour them together until you find the one that feels right for you.

Once you’ve found the home you love, we’ll prepare and submit an offer based on the price and terms that best align with your goals. Together, we’ll review comparable sales, days on market, and the property’s listing history to determine a fair and competitive offer. We’ll also establish key deadlines—such as the inspection period, appraisal period, and closing date—to ensure your offer is complete and strategically structured.

After submission, expect at least a 24-hour acceptance period for the sellers to thoroughly review your offer. If they agree to the terms, they’ll sign to accept. If not, they may present a counteroffer, giving us the opportunity to negotiate and refine specific terms until we reach a mutual agreement.

An earnest money deposit is a good-faith payment made when you submit an offer on a home. It shows the seller that you are serious about purchasing the property. Typically, the deposit is held in an escrow account and is applied toward your down payment or closing costs once the sale is finalized. To submit an earnest money deposit, you will provide a check or wire transfer to the escrow company, following the instructions outlined in your purchase agreement. The amount and timing of the deposit are agreed upon during the offer process.

Once your offer is under contract, it’s important to schedule your home inspection as soon as possible. I can provide a list of recommended inspectors I’ve worked with successfully in the past, though the choice is ultimately yours. Additional inspections, such as radon testing or a sewer scope, are recommended and may incur extra fees—be sure to confirm with your inspector if you’d like these included.

You are welcome to attend the inspection to receive updates and ask questions in real time. Typically, the inspection report is returned within 24 hours, and we will review it together. We will then decide which items we want the seller to address and include them in our Inspection Objection. During the inspection resolution process, we will negotiate how these items will be handled—either by a licensed professional completing the work or through a seller credit. If any issues uncovered during the inspection are significant enough, you also have the option to terminate the contract based on the inspection contingency.

After the inspection, your lender will order a home appraisal. This is required by the bank to confirm that the home’s value supports the loan amount. Typically, you do not need to be present for the appraisal.

If the home appraises for less than the agreed-upon purchase price, this creates an appraisal gap. In that case, we will negotiate with the seller to determine how the gap will be addressed, whether through a price reduction, additional funds from the buyer, or other solutions.*

If you are submitting a cash offer an appraisal is not necessary and can be skipped.

Once all contract deadlines have passed, we will schedule a final walk-through of the property. This allows us to confirm that the home’s condition matches what was agreed upon in the purchase contract, aside from normal wear and tear. It’s also an important opportunity to ensure that any agreed-upon repairs have been completed by the seller and that all items included in the sale—such as appliances, fixtures, and window treatments—are still present. The final walk-through is your last chance to identify any new damage or issues before closing and gives the seller an opportunity to ensure the property is ready for transfer.

A day or two before closing, we will schedule a time to meet at the title office to review and sign the final documents. You will receive a Buyer’s Settlement Statement, which outlines all transaction costs and any remaining balance you need to bring to closing for your closing costs. If a balance is due, it must be wired to the title company before closing—typically at least 24 hours in advance is recommended. Once all documents are signed and funds are finalized, I will hand you the keys, and the home will officially be yours!