A mortgage is a loan to buy a property. Unless you rob banks like Bonnie & Clyde and can pay for a house in full, a mortgage lets you borrow the money at a fixed interest rate and pay it off over time. If needed, you can refinance your mortgage in the future. 

It’s usually best to sell your current home before buying a new one if you need the money from the sale to buy the new home or qualify for a mortgage. This means you may need temporary housing before you can move into your new home, but there’s no place like home, so do what you gotta do.

Everything is negotiable. It depends on the demand for houses in the market at that time. Buyers may be able to negotiate a lower price if there are more houses for sale than buyers, while sellers may be able to negotiate a higher price if there are more buyers than houses. We’ll give them an offer they can’t refuse.

All the houses… With online tools, it’s easy to view a lot of houses virtually or use my Youtube videos. Once you’ve narrowed down your list, you can visit properties with your hero – err – agent. Or you can sit back and let me find a close match to what you’re looking for. “You can’t always get what you want. But, if you try sometime, you find you get what you need.”

Shit happens. It’s okay if you have to change your mind about a property. You’ll have to give up your earnest money, which is usually 1-2% of the home’s sale price. Hasta la vista, baby…

Yes, it’s important to get a home inspection before buying a property. I work with excellent home inspectors who will tell you about any issues with the property. So when you close the deal you can sigh and confidently say, “Hello, gorgeous!”

Find great inspectors here.

It’s recommended to do a final walk-through before buying a property to make sure everything is in order, especially if there were any repairs agreed upon in the sale contract. You want no regrets when you sit down in relief in your new home.

Earnest money is a deposit made by the buyer to show you’ve got the stones to buy the property. It’s usually a percentage of the sale price and is held in escrow until the sale is completed. It gives the buyer time to arrange for inspections, appraisals, financing, and all the stuff.

When you sell a house with the help of a real estate agent, they get paid a commission fee by the seller, which is usually a percentage of the final sale price of the house. This fee is typically split between the seller’s agent and the buyer’s agent. I take a lower cut so you keep more!

An escrow is a neutral third party that handles the exchange of money, property, and documents in a real estate transaction. They hold onto everything in a trust until all the terms of the sale are met. It’s a good idea to use an escrow account when depositing earnest money. It’s money that says, “I’ll be back.”