The Real Estate Football Playbook
November 17th, 2009 categories: Buyer Resource
Another weekend of football, and it got me thinking…how can I make a cheesy sports analogy and relate it to Real Estate?
Football Play - Running Back Stepping On Defender
The PreGame of a Real Estate transaction is a lot like getting your docs in a row. Make sure you have all of the necessary paperwork, and give copies to your lender. This way, your lender can give you a prequalification or preapproval letter so when you make offers, you will show you are a qualified buyer. Also, your lender will help you determine which price range of homes you should be looking at.
After the pregame preparation, we have Kickoff. This is when you actually start looking for homes. Start making decisions about the home you intend to buy; things such as number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, area, price, etc.
After the kickoff, we are now in First Quarter. The first quarter is a lot like when you have already seen a number of homes, and can start narrowing your choices down to a few. Make sure you update your Realtor on any changes in your search criteria, and what you are looking for.
The Second Quarter is when you begin to submit offers. It is our opinion that you submit offers on home that reflect how you feel about the home. Leave emotion out of it as much as you can. Your Real Estate agent should be able to help you with making offers that give you the best chance of success by showing you comparable sales in the area.
Now it is Halftime…the time when you have made an offer and are waiting for acceptance. This can be a stressful time for some, but take a breather, as you have made an offer and the decision is now with the seller. You may want to regroup and put a game plan together for the second half.
Once you have an accepted offer, the Third Quarter can begin. This is your inspection period, your time to make sure the home is in good shape and lives up to all the seller claims with a professional home inspection. Make sure you choose a reputable home inspector.
After the home has passed all of the inspections, it is time to play the Fourth Quarter. This is crunch time, when winners are made. This is the time for you and your lender to make sure that your loan is approved. If you want to win the game, make sure you do not make any unplanned purchases, change jobs, alter anything in your financial picture.
The clock just wound down to 00:00, and you just won the game…it is time for your Victory Celebration, the closing table. Make sure you sign legibly, and do not forget to bring a certified check to closing. Your lender can find out from the title company an exact amount you will need to close. No last minute heroics here, your planning allowed you to be prepared for and win each quarter.
Now it is time for your PostGame interviews. All of your friends and family will certainly have a lot of questions, and also your new neighbors will likely come over to introduce themselves.
When it comes to a Real Estate transaction, it is not much unlike other things that are familiar to you. This is only one analogy I could have used, I just chose this one after my 3 teams won this past weekend….The Kentucky Wildcats, Penn State Nittany Lions, and of course the Florida Gators. Just make sure you do the planning, run the right plays, and you will certainly win the game.
If you have any questions about Sonoma County or Sonoma County Real Estate, please feel free to contact us.
