The Home Buying Process

Let Doug and Jill be your guide to buying a home in Chester and Delaware County, PA! Our clients love our approach to the home buying process. We prefer to listen to our clients’ needs and priorities while working at each client’s preferred pace. Our role is to be available & informative without any pressure at all. We’ll typically follow these steps:

Initial Consultation

We'll discuss your needs & priorities and determine your time frame, which will set the pace for your search. Some clients need to close asap, while others have plenty of time to browse & make their decision. During this consultation, we’ll identify your price range, the type of property you need, & we’ll discuss which areas/neighborhoods would be a good fit. If you need help with a mortgage pre-approval, we’ll give you a list of preferred lenders.

Set Up Online Property Search

Our online platform will start working for you right away, automatically emailing you new listings that fit your criteria as they hit the market. You'll be able to save favorites and remove properties that you don’t like. We typically like to include as many areas/neighborhoods as could possibly fit your search and then remove neighborhoods & areas as you narrow your search down. Likewise, we like to set up the property criteria broadly (price, beds/bath, square footage) and then add more criteria as you define your “must haves” in a home.

Let's Hit the Ground Running!

We usually recommend setting up a 2-4 hour appointment to view multiple properties on the first 1-2 outings. Since you’ve just begun your search, there is the most inventory that you’ve not yet viewed, so we’re able to look at quite a few houses in a short period of time. As we look at homes, you will naturally like some properties and dislike others. We’ll discuss what it is you like & dislike about properties so that it’s easier to determine what properties are a good fit in the future.

Make an Offer

When it’s time to make an offer, we’ll run a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) to determine the Fair Market Value (FMV) of the property. we’ll talk to the listing agent to see if there are other offers on the property and then put together an offer contract, which has every term of the contract outlined in detail. Sometimes the seller will accept your initial offer, but typically there are 1-3 rounds of negotiations. After we’ve come to terms on the contract, you’re officially under contract!

Contract to Close

After you’ve put the property under contract, you will need to deposit earnest money with the seller. You’ll have 7-10 days to have the property inspected and negotiate any repairs. The inspection will typically cost $500, which is the last check you will write before closing. Closings are usually 45 days from the contract date, and is outlined in advance in the contract. Contract to close has quite a few steps, and more details are available.

Closing Day

You’ll receive the settlement statement from your lender 3 days prior to closing. This shows you exactly how much you need to wire into the title company and shows you what you’re paying for at closing. If you would like to schedule a final walk through of the property, I can do so the night before or the morning of closing. I like to schedule closings at 2PM or earlier to make sure the sale is recorded on the same day. Unfortunately, you don’t get your keys until the closing has been recorded, which takes 1-2 hours after the last party has signed. As soon as the property has closed, you can either pick up the keys from your closing attorney.

After Closing

It’s natural for you to have questions about the home & homeownership after closing. we’m always available to answer questions and to provide you with referrals to any vendors you may need. It’s not uncommon for us to stay in touch with our clients for years after closing and in many instances we become good friends with our clients.

Using Our Mortgage Calculator to Find What You Can Afford

Are you planning to buy a home but don't know where to start? Our mortgage calculator can help! With just a few basic financial details, our easy-to-use tool provides an estimate of how much you can afford to spend on a home and what your monthly mortgage payments might be. Keep in mind that this is just a starting point and other factors such as your down payment, interest rates, and type of mortgage will also need to be considered. Get started today and take the first step towards your dream home!