YES!
You found the home you like, love, or fix up. Now it is time to write the offer. If this is your first time writing an offer, this may be a stressful time. You don't want to make a mistake, you may not understand everything in the purchase contract (yet) and you're wondering, ...perhaps... what will happen to my initial deposit or earnest money deposit as it is also called.
Well, there is only good news! Yay! No more sweaty palms!
The money will be cashed by the Escrow Company, generally within 3 business days after acceptance of your offer. This means the money, let's say $3,000.00, will not go directly to the seller. They will not spend it on icecream and toys before you even purchased the home. The $3,000.00 will become part of your total down payment! So, it is not extra money out of pocket for some obscure slush fund.
The next hurdle you may think of is, what happens with my $3,000.00 if I find out that the home is falling apart and we withdraw our offer. Great thought! After acceptance of your offer you have 17 days to do your due dilligence. Meaning, to find out everything there is to know about the home, do your home inspection, get the appraisal done and get your loan in place. If for whatever valid reason, let's say there are too many safety issues with the home that cannot be taken care of, you withdraw your offer before day 17 you will get your initial deposit of $3,000.00 back. (sometimes minus some administration fees)
However, if at day 17 you remove your contingencies and then after that time back out of the transaction; it will be very hard to get your initial deposit back.
Therefore, I will always help my clients to know well before day 17 what the shape the home is. Have the appraisal done, the loan in place etc. etc.
So, good news all around. You can be rest assured that when you buy your home with me, I will guide you every step of the way so you know what decision to make and when, and; feel good about it because you understand what you are doing!
Enjoy your home buying!
Robin Auwerda
562HomeGuy.com
Find me on YouTube!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Don't you want to know first if you want to work with me?
I really enjoy the home buyer consultation. Why? Because I get to know someone better after just meeting them over the weekend at an open house, or after a brief phone call off a sign or advertisement. Sometimes It's someone I "know" from Facebook.
You'll be invited to my office. It's a nice, comfortable office. You'll be greeted most likely by Kathy our Director of First Impressions. She is a sweetheart and will put a smile on your face. She's just a little sunshine!
We'll meet in one of the conference rooms, glass of water or soda and off we go. I think it's really important that in the time that we spend together we get to know eachothers expectations if it comes to your home buying experience. I can only imagine that you'd like to know if you even want to work with me.
I want to know how you got to the decision to buy a home for you (and your family). If you could swing a magic wand around, what would your home look like, where is it located? What do you like about the place your staying right now and more important what irritates you about it. Just basic but important stuff to talk about.
Remember, you are buying your home and nobody elses. It's all about you!
Next time, "What are you comfortable with?"
Robin
It all starts with looking around.
This weekend I was at my open house. Both Saturday and Sunday. Great weather to be out and about as a buyer to look at all the homes that were open to the public.
As I was setting up the flags and banners to attract you to my open house, a neighbor from a couple of streets over cane by and asked if he could look inside. Of course!
I normally give a quick run-down of the home that I'm holding open. Bedroom count, bath', square feet, lot size and then invite you to take the Grand Tour, regardless of the size of the home. I have some flyers about the home, however you have to see the home to find out if it will work for you, not read about it... After the "Grand Tour" the neighbor was about to leave. I asked him if he'd been looking at homes for a while or just started. "Oh, I've been looking for a couple of weeks now." was his reply. So, I asked how he went about finding homes to look at. Are you using the internet, a Realtor..? The internet was his way of learnig about homes for sale. He didn't realize that only aproximately 10-15% of all homes for sale will ever have an open house. Of course I offered to help him in looking for homes and get him into the 85% of homes that do not have an open house. I asked if he'd done his homework in regards to financing the home.
At the end of our chat this gentleman agreed that talking to a lender and meeting with me at the office to go over the home buying process was of value to him. We set the appointment at a time that is convenient for him and I arranged for a lender to reach out to him to answer all his questions.
As easy as that, conversations happened 4 or 5 times this past weekend. NO pressure but tons of information to help you the buyer make informed decisions. Decisions that will lead you to be a homeowner because you understand and see the benefits, homeownership brings with it.
Next time I'll talk about the buyer consultation. Not a boring dry meeting but digging deep in to what you want. You are buying YOUR home; not mine. It is therefore all about YOU!
Enjoy the day and visit www.562HomeGuy.com to start your search today.
You can also follow me on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Just type in "562HomeGuy" or "Robin Auwerda"
As I was setting up the flags and banners to attract you to my open house, a neighbor from a couple of streets over cane by and asked if he could look inside. Of course!
I normally give a quick run-down of the home that I'm holding open. Bedroom count, bath', square feet, lot size and then invite you to take the Grand Tour, regardless of the size of the home. I have some flyers about the home, however you have to see the home to find out if it will work for you, not read about it... After the "Grand Tour" the neighbor was about to leave. I asked him if he'd been looking at homes for a while or just started. "Oh, I've been looking for a couple of weeks now." was his reply. So, I asked how he went about finding homes to look at. Are you using the internet, a Realtor..? The internet was his way of learnig about homes for sale. He didn't realize that only aproximately 10-15% of all homes for sale will ever have an open house. Of course I offered to help him in looking for homes and get him into the 85% of homes that do not have an open house. I asked if he'd done his homework in regards to financing the home.
At the end of our chat this gentleman agreed that talking to a lender and meeting with me at the office to go over the home buying process was of value to him. We set the appointment at a time that is convenient for him and I arranged for a lender to reach out to him to answer all his questions.
As easy as that, conversations happened 4 or 5 times this past weekend. NO pressure but tons of information to help you the buyer make informed decisions. Decisions that will lead you to be a homeowner because you understand and see the benefits, homeownership brings with it.
Next time I'll talk about the buyer consultation. Not a boring dry meeting but digging deep in to what you want. You are buying YOUR home; not mine. It is therefore all about YOU!
Enjoy the day and visit www.562HomeGuy.com to start your search today.
You can also follow me on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Just type in "562HomeGuy" or "Robin Auwerda"
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Buyers!
Ever heard (or seen signs in the window of homes that are for sale) of HomePath Financing?
What is the financing for? It's offered on Fannie Mae/Government Owned Homes.
What you want to know...
- 3% Down payment
- NO Mortgage insurance
- NO Reserves needed
- NO Appraisal
- Keith Murphy with RPM Mortgage is an authorized HomePath Lender.
Not all homes are offered or eligible for this program however.
Now you know.
Enjoy your day!
Robin
www.562HomeGuy.com
What is the financing for? It's offered on Fannie Mae/Government Owned Homes.
What you want to know...
- 3% Down payment
- NO Mortgage insurance
- NO Reserves needed
- NO Appraisal
- Keith Murphy with RPM Mortgage is an authorized HomePath Lender.
Not all homes are offered or eligible for this program however.
Now you know.
Enjoy your day!
Robin
www.562HomeGuy.com
Homeowners and Carbon Monoxide
- did you know?
It started July 1st, 2011. New legislation went into effect requiring homeowners to install carbon monoxide detectors in every California home; a move CAL FIRE officials say will save lives.
"Carbon monoxide is a silent killer, each year claiming the lives of an average of 480 people," said Acting State Fire Marshal Tonya Hoover. "And sending more than 20,000 people to emergency rooms across the nation."
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless gas that is produced from heaters, fireplaces, furnaces and many types of appliances and cooking devices.
The best way for homeowners to stay protected from CO is to have a carbon monoxide detector installed on every floor and outside each sleeping area.
It started July 1st, 2011. New legislation went into effect requiring homeowners to install carbon monoxide detectors in every California home; a move CAL FIRE officials say will save lives.
"Carbon monoxide is a silent killer, each year claiming the lives of an average of 480 people," said Acting State Fire Marshal Tonya Hoover. "And sending more than 20,000 people to emergency rooms across the nation."
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless gas that is produced from heaters, fireplaces, furnaces and many types of appliances and cooking devices.
The best way for homeowners to stay protected from CO is to have a carbon monoxide detector installed on every floor and outside each sleeping area.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Why Facebook is awesome!
It's still amazing to me how much smaller the world is compared to only a few years ago. For me it works something like this.
Eventhough cars are not allowed to go any faster than 10 years ago, boats still have to battle the waves and flying to Amsterdam has taken 10 hours for as long as I've known, the world has gotten smaller. This morning I emailed my aunt seconds after she emailed me her new address, I was on a chat with my brother in Holland and made friends on Facebook in Montana in an instant.
For example the lady in Tennessee... I've never met her, I've never heard her voice or seen her handwriting, yet somehow there seems to be a connection. She happens to have a sense humor that's somewhat like mine, she has smart comments and inspires people around her. At least that's the impression I have of this lady. I don't really remember how or when we connected on Facebook but I found out enough about her in the last couple of months to know that if I ever have a client moving to TN or a family member that needs to sell a home in TN; she'd be the first on my mind to contact.
Facebook is one way to meet people, stay in contact with people and sometimes just unwind and waste time with.
I think Facebook is an awesome way to express and sometimes, promote yourself.
Yesterday was Keller William's RED DAY. "Giving back where we live". This year we played soccer and BBQ'd, it was great. The kids had to ask us questions about our professional past. Questions like; what was your first job, how much did you get paid and what did you like about it. I ended up talking to some great teenagers who are just now finding out thath there IS a future for them in society.
Below is an email from my team leader at the office. Makes me feel good that little things, go a long way.
Bottom line; play more sports, BBQ often and hang out with people you don't know once in a while.
"I want to thank everyone who participated in Red Day, It was a huge success!
We had a great day with the kids, We had a scavenger hunt with questions that the kids asked us and they got raffle tickets for getting into dialogue, thank you Jeanine for putting that together. We BBQ'd hamburgers and Hot dogs, thank you Jose for staying over the grill and thank you to everyone who provided items and helped prepare. And we had a soccer tournament, thank you Marcos, Wilson, Pat, Kevin and Nivias daughter Arianna for participating in the tournament.
Want to know what you accomplished? As we were in the park with the kids, the principle, councilor and committee members were in a meeting talking about closing the hope academy's sport program. For those of you that were there, they were the professional looking team that showed up in the green van. The sports program is one of the great things that keeps the kids off the street and it was going to be canceled. The kids showed up with their trophy very excited and wanted to share what a great day they had. They were asked several questions about the day and were very excited about their trophy. The committee chair closed her folder and said this discussion is over. You saved their program!
Thank you again. I look forward to working with you to change more lives.
Your Team Leader,
Elaine"
Below is an email from my team leader at the office. Makes me feel good that little things, go a long way.
Bottom line; play more sports, BBQ often and hang out with people you don't know once in a while.
"I want to thank everyone who participated in Red Day, It was a huge success!
We had a great day with the kids, We had a scavenger hunt with questions that the kids asked us and they got raffle tickets for getting into dialogue, thank you Jeanine for putting that together. We BBQ'd hamburgers and Hot dogs, thank you Jose for staying over the grill and thank you to everyone who provided items and helped prepare. And we had a soccer tournament, thank you Marcos, Wilson, Pat, Kevin and Nivias daughter Arianna for participating in the tournament.
Want to know what you accomplished? As we were in the park with the kids, the principle, councilor and committee members were in a meeting talking about closing the hope academy's sport program. For those of you that were there, they were the professional looking team that showed up in the green van. The sports program is one of the great things that keeps the kids off the street and it was going to be canceled. The kids showed up with their trophy very excited and wanted to share what a great day they had. They were asked several questions about the day and were very excited about their trophy. The committee chair closed her folder and said this discussion is over. You saved their program!
Thank you again. I look forward to working with you to change more lives.
Your Team Leader,
Elaine"
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