How I Can Help You Buy A Home In Arlington, VA
If you are thinking about buying a house in Arlington, VA, know that homes are still being listed for sale and are continuing to go under contract quickly despite the coronavirus pandemic.
Buying a home involves a series of extremely complex steps that are best navigated with the advice of a local real estate expert.
Here are 7 ways I will help you find a home you’ll love:
- I will analyze your wants and needs and answer your home buying questions during a free consultation.
- I will recommend qualified lending professionals who you can speak with to get pre-approved for a mortgage loan.
- I will guide you to homes that best fit your criteria to save you time.
- I will advise you on making the perfect offer.
- I will negotiate the sales contract and oversee all of the details.
- I will provide access to my network of preferred providers – from title companies to home inspectors, and more.
- I will represent your best interests at all times.
Arlington is ranked as the nation’s hottest seller’s market.
Here are 5 insider tips on how to beat the competition and win a home in Arlington.
Buying A Home Safely During The Coronavirus Pandemic
First, and most importantly, we will work together to find and buy your home as safely as possible. I am adapting my home buying process in many ways, including using:
- Virtual consultations
- Live video walkthroughs
- Remote or drive-through closings
Here’s an outline of the process to sell your home that includes strategies for dealing with COVID-19.
Free Virtual Consultation
Before I can help you buy a home, I need to convince you that I am the best agent to help you. Instead of an in-person meeting, we’ll meet virtually via conference call, Skype, FaceTime, WhatsApp or Zoom. I will send my presentation and other relevant information via email or Dropbox prior to our virtual meeting.
During our free virtual consultation, you and I will have a chance to discuss what you are looking for in a home: it’s features, location and style.
Our consultation will also allow you to leverage my Arlington, Virginia-focused neighborhoods and market expertise, understand my process, and help you decide if you’d like me to represent you.
Mortgage Loan Pre-Approval
Want to make a serious offer? Then you’ll need to be pre-approved for a mortgage.
I recommend that buyers start talking to a lender as soon as possible because the pandemic and the large number of refinancing applications is slowing the lending process down, in some cases.
Why get pre-approved? There are 3 key reasons:
- With financing pre-approval you will get an accurate idea of how much you can afford before you start house hunting and save yourself the grief of looking at houses you can’t afford.
- Sellers want to see secured financing; they will not accept a contract without a lender pre-approval letter. And now, because of the coronavirus pandemic, some sellers require that the pre-approval letter is provided to them prior to any tour of their home. For the safety of all, sellers only want serious buyers to visit.
- Lenders will provide you with estimated closing costs, down payment amounts, interest rates and monthly housing payments for your planning purposes
If you don’t have a lender, I can provide you with several trusted local mortgage lenders in the area who you can talk to virtually about your financing.
Searching For A Home You’ll Love
First and most importantly, I will listen to what it is you want in your home: its features, location and style. Then, I’ll compile a list of properties based on your criteria and budget and guide you to homes that best fit your parameters.
I’ll email you new listings that match your criteria the minute they hit the market and we will “tour” properties of interest.
With the coronavirus this now looks a little differently than it used to but there are still several ways for you to see a home:
- Many agents are now holding virtual open houses.
- I can visit the home and provide you with a video tour or we can FaceTime so that you can ask me questions in real time.
- And, if you want to see a home in person, we will drive in separate cars, I will provide you with disposable gloves and shoe covers and we’ll remain the recommended six feet or more apart. We will each provide our own masks. I will also ensure that we are the only potential buyers in the home during our visit.
Search Arlington, Falls Church and other area homes for sale.
Making an Offer to Buy Virtually
Making an appealing offer is key to securing the home you want. I will help you determine the right price to offer by looking at recent comparable home sales, analyzing list price to sales price ratios, examining the local market and more.
DID YOU KNOW?
While negotiating the price is key, it’s only one aspect of an offer to buy a home.
I will also provide you with impartial advice on other contingencies, including home inspection, financing, appraisal, home sale, and more when structuring your offer. I will prepare and submit your offer.
We’ll be able to make the offer virtually. There’s no need to meet in person, my streamlined document system allows you to sign documents electronically from the comfort of your home on any device, including your phone.
Savvy Negotiation
As a skilled and experienced negotiator, I’ll help you negotiate a purchase contract that is in your best interests. I’ll also ensure that you get the best price and favorable closing terms.
However, the process is not over once we have a ratified contract to purchase your home. There are still several hurdles to cross before we reach the finish line.
DID YOU KNOW?
In any given real estate transaction, there are more than 50 documents, 100 signatures and at least a dozen parties involved, from the buyer and seller to realtors, home inspectors, lenders, title companies and more.
I will oversee all of the transactional details for you, manage deadlines and coordinate everything for you to ensure a successful and stress-free purchase.
Virtual Inspections
Once we have an approved contract, I will line up all of the necessary inspections – including a professional home inspection to assess the condition of the home.
My home inspector will provide a 50+ page report with detailed photos and descriptions of the home’s HVAC systems, electrical and plumbing systems, windows, structural components and more.
I will also review all the reports with you, and ensure any concerns you have are addressed with the seller.
In a similar fashion to negotiating price, there is an art to getting seemingly unwilling sellers (and their agents) to address property condition concerns.
Closing the Deal Virtually
Once your offer has been accepted, inspections are complete, and financing is in order, you’ll need to do one last thing – sign the settlement documents.
I will help you select a title company to arrange all of the necessary paperwork and conduct the settlement.
You may be able to sign all of your closing documents electronically with the help of an online or mobile notary, limiting in-person contact.
If a remote closing is not possible, many settlement companies are doing “drive-through” closings or doing in-office closings with only one party to the sale at a time, among other precautions.
When your closing is finished, congratulations, you’ll finally have the keys to your new home!
Learn more about how I can assist you with your home buying needs
To find out more and to discuss all of the ways that I can assist you in buying a home in Arlington, please call or text me at 703-447-0970 or email me for a free consultation.
Also need to sell? See how I can help you sell your home.
