The Buying Process

1. Find a realtor
If you are interested in a certain area of your city, look for a real estate professional with expertise in that area of town. They will be better informed and are in a better position to network with other agents in the same area. Some statistics state that as few as 20 percent of homes are sold through newspaper or print ads. The other 80 percent are sold through networking among agents.

As a residential real estate expert in urban Seattle neighborhoods with over 99 percent of his work in the Greater Seattle Area, Jon can provided unparalleled service in helping you find your next Seattle house, condominium or townhome.

2. Sign up for Property Tracker
Property Tracker is exclusively a John L Scott tool that helps you keep on top of every home that is listed in the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS). John L Scott extracts all properties available with NWMLS (a database of all available homes) and delivers the information to your inbox. You can sort through the information and identify homes that you might be interested in viewing thereby placing them in your "favorites." Jon will then arrange a tour with you to view those particular homes.

3. Obtain loan pre-approval
This step is crucial. How much can you afford as a monthly mortgage payment? How much do you want to spend on a monthly basis for a mortgage payment? When you get pre-approved, your lender will establish the price range you can afford in a home and provide documentation that you qualify for a mortgage loan up to a specific amount. When the time comes to make an offer, sellers look for this documentation to see that you have the purchasing power to follow through.

4. View homes to narrow choices
As your agent, Jon will provide you with listing information for available homes that meet your criteria and encourage you to use the Internet, local magazines and classified ads as tools in your home search. You may even want to go for a drive in the neighborhood(s) you're interested in and look for "For Sale" signs. As you evaluate homes, be sure to communicate your likes and dislikes in order to better focus and prioritize your search. Jon will work tirelessly to help you find the home that meets your needs.

5. Find the perfect home
After viewing a multitude of homes, you will eventually find a favorite. This favorite home will generally meet the criteria you are looking for in a home, possibly with a few exceptions. For example, you may find a home in the most ideal location, but it may not meet your original size requirements. Whatever the case, Jon will be there to help you through these sometimes difficult decisions, as well as offer an objective, non-emotional opinion.

6. Make an offer/put down earnest money
Generally speaking, the more contingencies an offer has, the weaker it is. Price is usually not the only consideration a seller will take into account. When the sale closes, the type of contingencies, and the type of financing that will be used are usually swaying factors for a particular seller.

Earnest money is also a large factor in accepting an offer. As a rule, the more earnest money, the stronger the offer is considered. It's important to note that earnest money exceeding five percent is usually useless, and earnest money is refundable until all contingencies have been met.

7. Inspection, insurance and financing contingencies
Every offer is a little different, and some aspects are more important to certain buyers. For instance, if you are a contractor, you may be willing to accept a house as-is, without an inspection contingency. These are the most common contingencies that are included on 80 percent of offers:

Inspection - This contingency offers the buyer a right to conduct an inspection of the home via a professional home inspector. The home inspector will inspect the home and notate any causes for concern, whether it be a non-functioning outlet, faulty windows, or a not up to code electrical breaker box. Regardless of what the outcome of the inspection is, this contingency allows you the right to renegotiate the purchase and sales agreement to account for these issues.

Financing - This contingency allows the buyer the luxury of obtaining financing through conventional and government lenders. If the buyer is unable to obtain financing, the buyer can produce a letter from the lender disclosing why the buyer is unable to obtain financing, which will then allow the buyer to cancel the purchase and sales contract without forfeiting earnest money. This contingency also allows the buyer a clause, if checked, to call their insurance company and ensure that the insurance rate yearly will not exceed one half of 1 percent of the purchase price.

Title - This contingency allows the buyer the right to review the title of the property and ensure there are no adverse claims on the property.

Disclosures - There are certain forms the seller is required to fill out that deal with disclosures. This includes the "Seller Disclosure Statement" which allows the seller to "wash their hands of the property." In this form, the seller would disclose any material fact that affects the property, such as a leaking faucet. You have three days to review the disclosure statement and cancel the contract if you do not like what you read. Further, if the home was built prior to 1978, the seller must disclose whether they know of or have any reports pertaining to lead based paint. Regardless of whether they know or don't know if there is lead based paint, you have the right to conduct a risk assessment on the paint in the home. This involves testing the paint in the home for lead.

8. Closing
Closing usually occurs in the office of the Escrow company. The Limited Practice Officer (LPO) will review your documents required for the lender and state to acquire the property, ensure you sign in all the right places, and notarize the documents. You will be required to bring certified funds that are needed to close on the home prior to 10:00am of the day of closing.

9. Settlement and obtaining keys
The day of closing has many moving parts, which include the transfer of money from the buyer/lender to the seller, the title transfer from the seller to the buyer, and the exchange of keys. Buyers shall receive the keys to their new home no later than 9pm on the day of closing. However, most keys are delivered as soon as the recording numbers occur with the state, which can happen no later than 5:00pm on any given business day.