I’ve been more than just a little busy with new clients who called me in a panic, a week ago Monday. Their landlord had just decided she wanted to move into the house they’d been renting for three years, and she wanted them out by the end of December. This great couple had been planning on buying a house, but not necessarily this week. They found me with an Internet search and by reading my blog.
I couldn’t meet with them until Wednesday, and that is when the marathon began. My new clients had the basic parameters for the homes search: Must be in a location central to their work. 3+ bedrooms. Newer home. Move-in ready. And of course, available before the end of the month.
We viewed homes on Wednesday, and my clients were a bit depressed when we finished. They had really been hoping for a better selection of homes. (That’s what is so bizarre about the market right now. With the larger number of homes available, it still a shopping expedition, to find the right match.)
Sometimes a recalibration of expectations is needed and that is exactly what we worked through over the next couple of days. When buyers are looking for a home to buy, they may have to give up the idea of having a home built in the past ten years in a particular part of town. While Phoenix and Scottsdale are considered newer cities, most of our more central neighborhoods were built in the 50′s, 60′s, and 70′s. Or, the home buyer may need to do a little more updating than they were hoping for.
We explored all of the available home possibilities, using creative search techniques and making many adjustments in the basic criteria. I contacted one of the local real estate teams who specializes in the area that we were looking at, hoping that they might have a matching home or two that would be coming on the market this week. After five straight days of searching, the buyers had two possibilities for their new home.
While we looked at quite a few homes, we spent some of our most useful time at the computer viewing homes on-line and talking through the buyers’ preferences. With the technologies available, we were able to get a sense of the home through photos and also see where the property was relative to job locations. This technique allowed us to weed out homes quickly, and saved us hours, if not days.
And then of course, there was the emotional aspect of buying a home.
My new clients had already spoken to a banker and walked in on Day 1 with an Arizona-based Loan Status Report (LSR), which is a document prepared by the buyer’s lender showing how they will be paying for their new home. It includes information about the size of the loan(s), interest rates, whether the buyer’s home needs to be sold or rented first, and how far along the buyer is in the loan approval process.
Getting approved, searching for homes, deciding dates… these are all “to-do’s” that have some pretty significant emotion attached to them. When you are buying a home, you need to share personal financial information. You will be going into other people’s homes and seeing how they live, up close and personal. And then, there’s trying to figure out how exactly you are going to do it all (pack and move). Did I mention that we are in a holiday-filled month?
I digress.
Seven days later. Offer to purchase a home made. Counter offer accepted. Close date in fourteen days.
Now, this is where all the participating parties shift into hyper-mode. The lender has committed to funding the loan in less than two weeks. The escrow officer is ready to make expedited requests for the Seller’s loan payoff and to get the needed HOA documents. A home inspection is set for tomorrow.
When I work with a buyer, I tell them that after their offer to purchase has been accepted, they will be very busy for the first ten to fifteen days of escrow. Then, there will be doldrums where they can focus on preparing for their move. And then, about five days before closing, the pace picks up again with signing loan and title documents, completing the final walk through, and making all the final arrangements of the move.
In a short close like this one, all parties will be moving quickly towards the finish line. The sellers and their agent are cooperating with the expedited time line. The lender and escrow officer are on track. One of my many responsibilities, as the buyer’s agent, is to sure all key days are met, and that any challenges (or obstacles) are addressed, educating the buyers so that they can make smart choices. The buyers will be actively involved in the process and need to get paperwork and inspections completed quickly.
At this point, buying a house becomes very much a team effort. All parties working separately, yet collectively. And that…. is how to buy a house in 21 days.
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