What Do We Charge Our Home Buying Clients?

NOTHING? And if you contact us and ask for your $500 gift certificate, we will give you a $500 credit towards your out of pocket closing costs at close of escrow. In the Sierra Vista area and all of Arizona the sellers pay the commissions almost all of the time, with few exceptions. It all starts when a home seller enters into a contract with a real estate agent to sell their property. The commission is set at that time. The commission is broken up into two parts one for the buyer’s agent and one for the seller’s agent.

When there is no buyer’s agent involved like in the case that the buyer goes directly to the sellers agent the sellers agent would get both sides of the commission. If this happens and we are representing the seller we give the seller a 1% discount. This situation is usually not ideal for the buyer, as the buyer does not have his/her own representation and their bargaining power is reduced. Some buyers think that the sellers agent will give them some or the commission. The 1% reduction we give our clients is a bonus to the seller and usually does not help the buyer. For this reason it is smart for a buyer to seek the help of an Buyer’s Agent to find and negotiate the purchase of a home or land. Should you chose on of our listings, you can be sure, as a home buyer, that we will treat you fairly even though our contract is with the seller.

So What Will We Do For You?

1 - Find the right mortgage. One of the first things you need to do is get pre-approved for a home/mortgage loan if you are not paying cash. We understand how the mortgage business works and can help you decide what type of loan and loan options are right for you. We will also make sure the mortgage company gives you a good deal and monitor that they are getting everything done once you have found a home. We will do all we can to assure you close on time.

2 - Search for properties. You can use our web site to search yourself and we can do it for you. If you click on “Property Search” on the menu at the top of this page you go to a page that will allow you to search our MLS. This is the same MLS that us Realtors search, the only difference being is that the public access site is not in real time and can be 24-72 hours behind, and it does not offer you the details that we have access to. So if you find a home/property of interest, send us the MLS number or address of properties you are interested in and your questions about the property and we will send you more detailed info. We can e-mail, fax, mail or deliver any search results to you.

3 – Viewing chosen properties. We can meet you at our office; review the properties you have chosen to look at. Ride with us, save your gas and get a tour of the areas. If you are not familiar with Sierra Vista or the surrounding small communities, we will show you around and show you points of interest. During our tour, we can take digital pictures, videos, or virtual tours of properties of interest and later e-mail them to you, or print the photos and mail them to you. This can be very useful if you have a family member out of area that will be helping make the decision of which home to chose. We also specialize in assisting out of area home buyers and getting a home in escrow and/or closed without you even being here yet.

4 – I’m from out of town; where will I stay while looking for a home or waiting for the sale to close? If you need a short-term rental when you first get to Sierra Vista, we will help you locate one.

5 – Negotiate: After you find the right property we will prepare an offer and all the necessary paperwork. We will help you determine what would be a “fair” offer price, but it is your offer and you make the decisions. We can give you lots of ideas in negotiating your offer; like having the seller pay your closing costs, carry your mortgage, make alterations and/or repairs to the home, have them provide you with a home warranty on the home, timing to close, etc..

6 – Escrow: There are lots of details that need to happen between the time your offer is accepted and the closing where you take ownership of the property. We will make sure that everything that needs to happen during this period is done. We will remind you of things you need to do and will make sure everyone else involved does what they need to do. We will attend all of your inspections and your final walk-thru with you or for you in your absence.

7-Inspections: As the buyer you will have 10 days from acceptance to perform any/all inspections of the property you desire. We recommend you hire a professional to do this. The cost is typically $200 - $300 depending on the inspector and size of home. Click here to go to our Property Inspections link.

8- Completing the loan: During the Escrow period, you loan officer will require various documents from you to complete your loan. It is imperative that you cooperate in a very timely manner with the requested information. If you need help getting the documents to your loan officer, let us know and we can help. Click here for a local Mortgage Lender that we would recommend.

9 – Closing: A typical transaction would end with the lender sending the documents needed to finish the mortgage loan, to the title company. The title company will create the other necessary documents that need to be signed. Then you will schedule an appointment with the title company to sign the necessary loan and title documents. This also the time that any funds needed to close are brought in. The title company will then send the signed loan documents back to the lender. The mortgage company will check them to make sure everything is correct and then send the mortgage loan money to the title company. The title company will then record the proper documents with the Cochise County Recorders Office for title recordation. Once that happens it is your house. We can meet you at your new home with the keys or arrange a place for you to pick them up.

10-Congratulations!: You are now the proud owner of your chosen new home. Wasn’t that easy!? (-;