| Finding the Right Home | |||
t What are you looking for? Looking at Property What is the Multiple Listing Service? Comparative Market Analysis |
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Now that we know home much you can afford, it is time to figure out what you are looking for in a home. There are many things to consider when purchasing a house. You need to paint a vivid picture in your mind of what you are looking for in a property. Some things to consider are: Do you want a single family residence, a townhome(nobody above you or nobody below you), a condominium, or two homes on a lot or duplex so you can help pay the mortgage with the rent you will receive. Once you have decided this, you need to narrow down the area you want to live in and figure out how many bedrooms and bathrooms you want and how much square footage you require. Of importance also is lot size, condition of the property, amenities, and location on the block. |
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Now that you know how much you can afford and what you are looking for in a property, it is time to look at the properties that will potentially suit you. First, we will set an appointment at my office. During this appointment you will be briefed on the properties that we will be looking at for that day. We usually start out by showing you between four and twelve properties which will take approximately two to four hours to view. After this initial meeting we will get in one car and begin our tour. When viewing the properties please take notes for your future reference While driving through the neighborhoods you should be looking for schools, shops, stores, churches, etc., and try to get a feel for the area. Feel free to ask any and all questions you have. Once we pull up to the property, take a good look at the outside, the surrounding properties, and examine the street. Viewing property takes a lot of vision, imagination, and creativity. You must imagine how the property will look with your landscaping, color scheme, carpet, furniture, window coverings, and with all the personal touches you will add. If you are planning to remodel in the future you must try to imagine what the property will look like when the job is complete When viewing the property the owner may be home. If so, please hold your comments until we get back to the car. When the owner hears comments, either good or bad, it may affect the negotiations if you choose to make an offer on this property. If no one is home, please ask as many questions and make as many comments as possible. The more feedback you give me, both positive and negative, the better job I can do for you. My job as your real estate representative is to show you available properties that meet your needs. Nothing we say or do can get you to purchase a property you don't want. The decision to purchase a particular property is 100% yours. When you find a property that you want, then it is time to make an offer. | |||
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I am a member of the greater South Bay Regional Multiple Listing Service(MLS). The Multiple Listing Service is a database of all the properties that are listed with real estate brokerage firms. The MLS gives me access to nearly all properties for sale in the South Bay and throughout all of Los Angeles and Orange counties. MLS rules dictate that after a property owner signs a listing contract with a real estate company, then that property must be submitted to the MLS immediately, unless the owner has instructed the listing agent not to. Once the new listing has been submitted to the MLS, I have instant access to the information. In today's market some properties are sold immediately after they come on the MLS. If we find a property you like we must act fast! Not only does the MLS have all the active listings but it also contains all the properties that are in escrow, that have closed escrow, and those that have not sold. This information is extremely valuable when determining market trends and for determining market value. |
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Once you have chosen the property that you want to make an offer on, I will prepare a comparative market analysis that will help us determine the approximate market value for the property. We will review similar active listings in the area, similar properties that are in escrow, and most importantly, similar properties that have recently closed escrow. This information helps determine the fair market value of the property. We then determine the state of the real estate market (is it a seller's market or a buyer's market?) and we also find out the seller's motivation. I combine this information to determine what price you may want to offer the seller. |
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