How I help you buy a home, step by step

Most agents start by showing you houses. I start by getting you ready to win one. The house a buyer loses is usually the one they weren't ready to write an offer on.

I'm a REALTOR® and a licensed general contractor. Most agents see bedrooms and bathrooms. I see what the house is going to cost you. That changes how we look at homes, and it changes what you know before you're locked into a contract.

Here's how it works, in four parts:

• Ready. Your loan and our agreement in place before we tour, so you can move when the right house shows up.
• Educated. An honest look at what your budget actually buys, town by town, before you fall for something out of range.
• Aligned. A search built around what you really need, with a contractor's eye on every house you're serious about.
• Locked. The offer, escrow, the inspection period, and closing, run so the ending is boring in the best way.

Don't panic if you've never done this before. You don't need to know how it works. That's my job, and you're always in control of the final decision.

This is the step that saves people months. Before you fall in love with a listing, you should know what your money actually buys where you want to live.

Six towns, six different markets

Santa Maria doesn't behave like Nipomo. Orcutt doesn't behave like Lompoc. The same budget buys a very different house, on a very different lot, depending on which town you're in, and sometimes depending on the neighborhood. I'll show you what's really out there in your price range in each town, so you can choose where to look with your eyes open.

Every kind of home

Your options might be wider than you think. Single-family homes, condos and townhomes, rural properties, and manufactured homes, in a park or on their own land, all have a place here, and each one buys differently. I'll explain the tradeoffs plainly, including the ones nobody mentions until it's too late.

If you're moving from somewhere else

Relocating? Most buyers can't tell our towns apart from far away. I'll explain them so you can make the most of a couple of weekend trips, instead of making ten. And if you're military, on orders to Vandenberg, I'm a Military Relocation Professional. I know what a PCS date does to a timeline, and I'll build the search around it.

If you have a home to sell first

Buying and selling at the same time is the move most people freeze on. We'll talk through selling first or buying first, and what each one means for your offer, before it becomes urgent.

You'll leave this step with a clear picture, not a fantasy. That's what lets you move fast later.

Once you've found the house, the goal is simple: get it, at the right price, and get to closing without drama.

Writing the offer

Before we write, I look at what similar homes have sold for, how long this one has been on the market, and what we can learn about the seller's situation. Then we decide on price and terms together. I'll tell you what I'd do and why. You make the call.

Escrow opens and your deposit goes in

When your offer is accepted, escrow opens and the timeline starts. Escrow is the neutral company that holds the money and the paperwork until closing, and here in California a title company handles the ownership side. Your earnest money deposit goes straight to escrow. It's usually a percentage of the price, though sometimes it's a set amount, and you typically have 3 to 5 days to get it in. Escrow will contact you directly with your choices for sending it, a check or a wire transfer.

One safety rule: before you wire any money, call escrow at a phone number you already know is real and confirm the instructions out loud. Never use a phone number or wiring details from an email alone. Wire scams that target home buyers are real, and a phone call stops them.

The inspection period

Your contract gives you an inspection period, usually 17 days. That's your window to have the home professionally inspected, get a pest report, and look into anything else that matters to you. When the inspection report comes in, I read it as a contractor. I'll tell you which items are serious, roughly what they cost, and what's reasonable to ask the seller for.

Your loan and closing

While the inspections happen, your lender is working on your loan. I keep the deadlines, escrow, the lender, and the seller's agent moving, so nothing sits on someone's desk. Before closing, we do a final walkthrough to make sure the house is in the condition we agreed on.

Then you sign, escrow closes, and you get your keys. You'll know what's next at every step along the way.

This page describes my general process. Every purchase is different, and nothing here is legal, tax, or lending advice. Talk with your lender about your loan, and with a CPA or attorney about anything tax or legal.