How to Stay Calm, Cool, and Collected Buying a House
Buying a home can be a stressful, hectic whirlwind of emotions, or it can be relatively simple, and the key differentiator of your experience will be preparation.
What to Expect
All transactions are different, but buyers should have a general idea of what to expect when buying a property when starting the process. Here is a checklist of a few things buyers can expect when buying a home on the peninsula.
- Your buying power will drop if you buy a car. Consult with your agent before making big purchases!
- Having a pre-approval letter ready can make the difference between getting the house of your dreams and losing it to someone else. Sellers need to know you are qualified before they accept or respond to your offer.
- Sellers are not required to repair items on your home inspection besides strapping the water heater and proper installation of Carbon Monoxide and Smoke detectors, though you do have an opportunity to negotiate during escrow.
- You won’t lose your initial deposit to liquidated damages if you back out of escrow as long as your contingencies haven’t been removed.
- Home inspections do not cover everything, and can be vague in certain areas, but it’s a good start to identifying any further inspections necessary. Consult with your agent on which inspections are appropriate for your purchase.
- Sellers are not required to present inspections with the listing. Some listings have inspections up front, others don’t – just depends on how the seller and their agent structured the listing.
- On the Monterey Peninsula, toilets are required to be 1.28 gallons per flush. Who’s responsible for changing them out is negotiable between the buyer and seller.
- The Zillow Zestimate is an algorithm, and works well in markets with high inventory and cookie cutter homes. Often times, the Zestimate is not accurate in our market because pricing a property here requires more local knowledge.
- You will need resources when buying a house. Some of those might include – home inspector, pest inspector, septic service, contractor, property manager, handyman, electrician, lender, roofer, architect, etc… Your agent should have those contacts ready for you. It takes a village!
- Finding out what a seller really needs can be the best way to effective negotiating.