Buyers Guide
The Process: Buyers Relocation Guide
Relocating to Santa Fe? Barker Realty can expertly guide you through the process.
Learning about the “City Different”
Let us help you do some research prior to finding your next home. Barker Realty relocation professionals can assist you in gathering information about Santa Fe area schools, churches, recreational activities, the arts, non-profit and charitable endeavors, shopping, taxes, etc. Click here to request a free relocation package, and get aquainted with our unique community.
Selecting a Broker
If you are relocating from outside the Santa Fe area, Barker Realty’s relocation professionals will assist you in choosing the real estate broker best suited to your needs.
Your broker should:
| • | Be thoroughly familiar and conversant in the area or type of property you are looking for |
| • | Be knowledgeable about state and local requirements that could affect your transaction |
| • | Be a strong, effective negotiator and advocate |
| • | Be a well-trained and active participant in continuing education |
| • | Be adept with current technology |
| • | Be a sensitive ‘cultural guide’ to the complexities of our unique location |
Pre-qualifying for a Loan
The intricacies of the current credit market cannot be overstated. Your Barker representative can, and should, provide you with an extensive list of lenders and mortgage brokers that offer a wide range of plans and rates.
When possible, it is desirable to pre-qualify for your loan before you begin searching for property. Having a pre-qualification letter from your lender in advance of, or accompanying your offer will strengthen your position in negotiating.
In addition, pre-qualifying can help you:
| • | Determine the price range, down payment and monthly payment you are qualified for ..…an obvious but time-saving measure that results in ‘narrowing your market’ |
| • | Determine the loan product best suited to your needs and ‘profile’ |
| • | Provide an added layer of comfort to a Seller in negotiations |
| • | Determine the loans best suited to finance the kind of purchase you are considering and speed the process of closing on your transaction. |
Focusing on What You Need:
Your broker will meet or talk at length with you to discuss in depth the type of property you are looking for – area, minimum square footage, lot size, storage and or garage space, the ‘feel’ and aesthetic you desire, views etc. You’ll discuss your plan for the future, the investment potential of your purchase, neighborhood growth patterns, and other factors that may affect the market. We know how to cull the most detail possible so we can best help you find the home, commercial property, or land parcel of your dreams.
Searching for and Viewing Properties
Based on your ‘needs and wants’, your broker will begin the search for your ideal purchase, utilizing his or her in-depth knowledge of the market, community contacts, and professional resources to find properties that best match your specifications.
If you should happen to discover an interesting possibility on your own on the Internet, we’ll obtain more information regarding the property and schedule and accompany you to the showing.
Making the Offer:
With your broker’s help, you have found the perfect property. What next? As your representative, he or she will use their extensive training and experience to assist you in structuring your offer. For example, your Barker broker will let you know if the market is ‘hot’ ( requiring immediate action in the form of an offer) or ‘cool’, which allows for more thoughtful consideration and perhaps some additional research. In addition, he or she will provide information on the sold and active comparables (‘comps’) to help you arrive at an offering price appropriate to market conditions.
Next, your broker will help you compose the other elements of the offer (other conditions you deem satisfactory, i.e. loan terms or purchases for cash, a projected closing date, performance timelines, etc.). Once drafted and executed (signed by you) your broker will submit your offer to his or Seller (the ‘principal’). The Seller might present what is known as a counteroffer (a modification to terms and conditions such price or closing date). Your broker will present the Sellers’ counteroffer back to you and help you decide whether to accept the new terms proposed, or reject the counteroffer and move on.
Agreement to Terms
Your offer (or the Sellers’ counteroffer) is accepted and the principals have ‘agreed to terms’. Your Barker broker will do a transaction calendar of timelines, advise you of your performance duties under the terms of the agreement (i.e. inspection and loan approval deadlines) and apprise you of customary practices and local regulations. He or she will help coordinate the completion of removal of contingencies, including:
Once the purchase agreement is signed, and your earnest money is on deposit with either the title company or some other neutral third party, move quickly to apply for your mortgage loan. Your lender will advise you as to the cost of the credit, a “good faith estimate” of closing costs, assist you in completing your application, coordinating the appraisal and applying for homeowners insurance.
| • | Delivery of the “earnest money” (cash given to secure the offer, deposited with the tile company – “in escrow” immediately following acceptance of the offer and credited to Buyers funds at closing) |
| • | Property inspections |
| • | Preliminary tile report approval |
| • | Property appraisal |
| • | Loan approval |