Buyer Information

How to prepare for buying a home in Central Oregon:

In today’s demanding real estate market you need the best representation.  You deserve the best, DON’T SETTLE FOR LESS!  We will treat you like a VIP!

Buyers- Preview my Home Buyers Guide

Services we provide to help you prepare for your purchase:

• Custom home searches providing the most accurate and up to date information        

• We will be your adviser and advocate during the entire home buying process

• We take time to understand your lifestyle needs and wants

• Educate buyer’s on market conditions

• Find a way for buyers to attain as many of their needs as possible when dealing with the realities of the marketplace and/or specific financial constraints

• Assist buyers in narrowing their search until they have identified their top choices

• Handle the ins and outs of the negotiation process including the preparation of all necessary forms when making an offer and/or counteroffer

• Provide oversight and follow up for any inspections deemed necessary

• Be present at closing to ensure that all the buyer’s interests are protected

Buying a home is an exciting time in one's life. Making the smart move of choosing a REALTOR® is your first step to ensuring that your new home and community meets your needs. Our services and experience range from financial aid to helping you find the home that best suits you and your family. For your convenience, we also provide listings by email. We pride ourselves on repeat business and hope you'll come to understand why.

EXIT Realty Bend Guide to Buying a Home…

The first question that everyone wants to know to know is how much is it going to cost me?

To understand the upfront cost and when those fees are due, you have to understand when those are due, and the process that creates those fees. Here is the “cliff notes” version of that process!

Shopping for a home begins with the Buyers deciding what it is that they want to buy.  The Buyer may work with a Realtor to do this, and that Realtor could be their agent or their Buyer’s Agent.  There are no fees that are due to work with a Realtor to find and show these homes to you.  Commission is typically paid by the Seller, not the Buyer.

Before the Buyer starts shopping, and definitely prior to writing a contract on a home, the Buyer must be pre-qualified.  This lets the Buyer and Realtor know what price range the Buyer is qualified is for, and also what price range the Buyer has a comfort level with the monthly payments. Being pre-qualified is critical because Buyers cannot change the financing after a contract is signed without the Seller’s approval!  If the Buyer changes the financing without the Seller’s consent, they are in default and could lose their deposit!

When the Buyer finds a home that they want, they must put a deposit on the home, which the Title Company Holds.  This deposit is known as an escrow Deposit, earnest money, or good faith deposit.  This typically ranges from $1000- 10%, but your Buyer’s Agent will educate you on what the best deposit would be to put down depending on the price range and other terms of the contract.  This deposit (whether in check, money order, cashier’s check) is put in a non-interest bearing account after the contract is ratified by both the Seller and Buyer.

Within the contract, the Buyer and Seller will mutually agree upon an acceptable amount of time for the home inspection and negotiating time period of the inspection results, typically 10 days.  Most home inspectors require that their fee is paid is upfront at the time of the home inspection.  This fee typically ranges from $300-$425.  Some inspectors charge based on square footage of the home.

Although this sounds as if the Buyer has a lot of upfront costs, remember that they are financing programs out there that you may qualify for to help cover some of the fees.  There is also the benefit of the Buyer choosing a licensed inspector for each type of their choice, rather than being at the mercy of the Seller and their preference of inspector.  That way the Buyer knows that the inspector is working for them.

That is an outline of the some upfront fees and the general process of Buying a home!  We at EXIT Central Realty, wish you the best of luck in your endeavor! Please contact us if you have any questions or know someone who does.  We give our clients two key elements:   education….and time.  The education is provided through seminars, website information, office contacts and personal in-home service from our agents.

EXIT Realty Bend will give you time to learn the market, study your options, and then make the appropriate strategic financial and real estate move.  Additionally, we save you time by giving you a comprehensive and concise jump-start to your real estate shopping and selling experience.

We are not salespeople….we are educators.

We are in NO HURRY……our commitment to our customers’ 100% satisfaction requires that we provide the time and space to insure your experience is success