First things first!

One Of The First Questions I Ask My Buyers Is, Whether Or Not They Have Been Pre-Approved For A Mortgage?  I Always Say, “There Is Nothing Worse Than To Fall In Love With A Home That Is Completely Out Of Your Financial Reach, Because It Can Be A Hard Road To Find Another That Fully Compares To The One That First Made Your Heart Skip A Beat!” Getting Pre-Approved Is Not Necessarily The Most Fun Part Of The Home Buying Process, But In A Competitive Market, Being Fully Prepared Is Extremely Important And Time Sensitive. I Cannot Stress Enough About How Important It Is To Choose A Great Lender.  Bigger Banks And Credit Unions Have The Reputation For Longer Closings, Low Appraisals And As I Have Found, Can Even Make It Difficult For Convenient Communication.  I Have Some Great Lenders I Can Recommend That My Buyers Have Loved Working With And Have Had Much Success With. 

Once A Lender Has Been Chosen, It Is Time To Begin Your Home Search!

How difficult is it really to buy a home?

It Does Not Have To Be, Which May Be The Contrary To What We All Hear In Real Estate News And This Crazy Market.  This Is Not To Deny The Fact That It Is A Great Time For Sellers To Sell And A Tough Time For Buyers To Buy. Having A Successful Buying Experience Should Not Be A Rarity, Instead It Should Be An Exciting And Empowering Time.  Buying A Home Is One Of The Biggest Steps In A Persons Life And It Is My Goal To Make It A Great One As Well.

I Cannot Tell You How Many Times I Hear Buyers Coming In To My Open Houses Or In Passing About How Many Failed Offers They Have Made And How They Have Been Looking For Months And Months.  In My Experience Of Working With Buyers, This Does Not Need To Happen And I Can Explain My Strategy In Accomplishing This.   

 When I First Meet With My Buyers, I Give Them A Questionnaire I Have Put Together To Lay The Groundwork For Our Home Search. It Basically Sets The Bar As To How Expectations, Need And Want To Be Met In A Realistic Way.  My Goal Is To Be Respectful Of Your Time Because I Know What Busy Looks Like And Let's Be Honest, When It Rains It Pours. Setting The Bar For Realistic Expectations And Truly Understanding What That Means, Creates The Best Atmosphere For A Successful Home Buying Experience.  

“Seattle’s current real estate market is an absolute disaster for buyers. Luckily we had Rachel working for us. She was extremely helpful throughout the entire process. Not only did she make herself available to view homes on our schedule, but she answered our questions and explained all the processes to us. When it came time for making offers and negotiation it was clear that we had a real asset on our team. Ultimately I am convinced that without Rachel we would not have our home.”

— LUKE COLLOVA