A step-by-step guide to buying a home in the Diablo Valley.
What happens when you buy a house?
When I first started selling real estate, I was surprised that I couldn’t find just simple step-by-step instructions on what happens when you buy a house. Stuff like what does a title company do? Or how much should you put down as a deposit? Or what about inspections? Who does those and how much are they going to cost me?
So I decided to try making a series of simple instructional videos on what happens when you buy a house. At the end of each one, I’ve included a little tip. I hope they help.
Part 1: We’re just looking
Looking for homes online is one of my wife’s favorite things to do. And we’re not even moving anytime soon. Does that sound like anyone you know? There are many websites where you can look at pictures, compare school districts, get zestimates. And all that information can quickly become overwhelming.
My advice to someone just starting out would be to get in the car and just cruise around some of the neighborhoods you think you might want to move to. Don’t even worry about specific houses just yet. Just get a feel for whether you like it there. Find the parks, the schools, where the grocery store is. Take a look at people’s lawns. If you’re feeling really brave, get out of the car and just walk around a while.
The reason I suggest this is I believe that people should decide where they want to live first, and then pick the house that fits their needs. It’s a cliché, but it’s true. The three most important things in real estate are location, location, etc.
Now its fun to look on websites, but here’s a caution. If you’re just starting to look, don’t spend too much time online. The reason is because many times, houses on those sites are already off the market. Those sites can take a while to catch up, so you don’t want to fall in love with a place that was sold last week.
Here’s the tip: Do the neighborhood drive-by like I suggested and hit some open houses if you can. Talk to people. People love talking about real estate. Stop in a garage sale and just tell them you’re thinking about moving to the neighborhood. You’ll probably have to buy their old lawn furniture just to get out of there, but you will get a great sense of the neighborhood than you would sitting in front of a computer.
