Are you interested in a house, a townhome, or a condo? In an urban area or a suburb? Do you need at least a two-car garage, or does it not matter? Is your family growing and needs another bedroom and bathroom? Hmm, what about a finished basement? Or a fixer-upper? Or central air conditioning? 

Before searching for your home, we need to calculate your monthly payment and establish your budget so that you can stay within that budget. If you don’t have a lender already, then I can refer you to experienced and trustworthy ones who can accurately preapprove you for a loan.

We must submit the lender’s preapproval letter when we submit an offer on a home. That’s the only way the seller has proof that you can purchase the home. With that letter in hand, we are in a great position to make an offer that will be taken seriously.

Using your selection criteria and the industry’s most-advanced search tools, I’ll locate the homes that match your needs and price range and email them to you immediately.

Per the Colorado Real Estate Commission, this is our agreement that I will solely represent you — not the seller — with the utmost good faith, loyalty, and fidelity; that I have a fiduciary responsibility to you; and that we intend to have the seller compensate me for my services.

I’ll schedule private showings for the homes you are interested in seeing. Although most buyers choose a home after seeing about eight to 12 of them, we will look at as many as it takes to find the best match.

I will prepare a clean and professional offer that puts you in a strong position. The offer will contain the purchase price, the amount of your loan and down payment, inclusions (such as kitchen appliances), exclusions (such as the pool table), several dates and deadlines, and much more.  

When the seller signs our offer, then we are officially “under contract” and a score of events and paperwork begins.

After we go under contract, you have up to three business days to deliver earnest money, which is “good-faith money” that ensures you are serious about buying the home. The earnest money amount -- determined by the seller and the seller's agent -- typically is about 1% to 1.5% of the purchase price.

I strongly recommend you pay for a general home inspection and possibly a sewer scope and a radon-gas test. If the inspectors find big-ticket issues, then we will submit an inspection objection and negotiate those items with the seller. If you and the seller don’t agree on a resolution, then you can terminate the contract. If you and the seller agree to resolve the inspection items, then we continue to the next steps in the process.

Title proves ownership of something, such as a home or a vehicle. Home sellers must convey a “marketable” and clean title to home buyers. In other words, the home must have no liens or encumbrances on it, such as a mechanic’s lien, an IRS lien, or an HOA lien. I will review the title commitment to ensure its marketability. 

If you’re getting a loan to buy a home, then the lender needs proof that you will have adequate homeowner’s insurance, beginning the day you take ownership. Simply contact your insurance agent to receive a quote and send the quote to your lender. I can refer you to experienced and trustworthy insurance agents if you need one. 

The lender will order an appraisal to determine the value of the property. If the value is less than the agreed-on purchase price, then you can negotiate the price or terminate the contract. If the value is equal to or more than the agreed-on price, then we continue to the next step in the process. 

Conditions could include paying off a bill or an outstanding judgment, closing an account, providing your most-recent pay stub or bank account statement, or something similar that your lender is requiring.

After you’ve satisfied all loan conditions, and when your lender tells you these three magic words — “clear to close” — you are done providing paperwork to your lender and are ready to close!

This document summarizes your closing costs and credits, such as purchase price, earnest money, lender fees, property taxes, and escrows. The title company creates the document, and your lender will review it with you.

This is the day you sign closing documents and officially become the owner of your new home. The 60- to 90-minute closing typically occurs at a title company’s office. Although this is the last step in the process, I will be there with you to ensure everything runs smoothly.