The REALTOR You Can Trust

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First Time Home Buyers
 
I've been in Your shoes before and completely understand what You may be feeling and thinking...

You want Your own home.
You want additional freedom.
You're tired of paying rent and your landlords mortgage.

• Can I afford my own home?
  
• What about a downpayment?
  
• How does the home buying process work?
  
• Where do I begin?

You're reading this here and You are moving in the right direction now.

You want a Realtor You can Trust, who can assist in meeting Your needs.

The home buying process should be enjoyable and

A Positive Experience You Remember!

As Your Realtor, I will.....

• Represent You and Your best interests
• Listen to Your needs and expectations
  
• Guide and oversee You throughout the home buying process
  
• Provide advise, information, and answers to any questions You have
  
• Ensure You are fully informed when making important decisions
  
• Be accessible at all times via cell phone, email, and in person at your request
  
• Meet Your expectations every step of the way
  
• Make the process of acquiring Your new home smooth and comfortable as possible for You
  
• Save You time and money by proactively searching for the perfect home for You

1. Finding a REALTOR - Your Agent Matters. Not all real estate brokers are created equal. You want a full-time agent;
   • Who is devoted to You
   • Who listens to Your needs
   • Who is prepared to answer Your questions, and
   • Who will guide You through all aspects of the home buying process
   • Who is available when You need them and will return your calls and emails in a timely manner
   • Who will make You feel comfortable and enable You to enjoy the process - the home buying process should be "A Positive Experience You Remember".

2. Become Pre-approved for a specific loan amount – You will consult with a loan officer (either over the phone or in-person) to review Your income and debt, Your Credit Report, and discuss financing programs and options available to You.  I can recommend loan officers for You that my clients have had great success with in the past, and can make it a priority to attend this meeting if You wish. The meeting will help You understand what You can afford to pay for a home, and where You are comfortable with for monthly payments. Further, the meeting will assist with helping You prepare Yourself financially down the road. Perhaps You will determine during this meeting that You need to delay Your home search while You work to improve Your credit (which Your REALTOR and loan officer can consult with You on) or save up additional downpayment funds, if necessary.
   

3. Analyze Your Needs / Wants Consultation – You will let me know what You absolutely need in a home (e.g., three bedrooms, located within 10 minutes of Portland), as well as features You would like (e.g., a good size yard for the dogs). Our "Needs / Wants Consultation" will save You a great deal of time and energy, as I do the searching for You. At this point, You don't need to be searching Realtor.com over and over again, and wasting countless time looking at the same homes. After I listen to Your needs and wants, I analyze the homes meeting your criteria and narrow down the inventory on the market to only homes that I feel You will appreciate and fit Your criteria and price range. Trust me, You will thank me for the time You have saved. 

4. Set You up on MLS Notification and Select Properties – You will receive notification of properties meeting Your specified criteria as soon as they become available to market, so that You can review the property details, pictures, and perhaps do a drive-by of the property. The set up saves You the time and energy of scanning every listing out there. You will only be notified by email when a home meets Your criteria and You can then rule the property "in" or "out" from Your search. Trust me, You will thank me for the time saved here too.

5. House Hunting / Previewing – You now have found homes that You would like to preview and You let me know when You would be available to preview them. At this point, I schedule the private showings of the property for You and I to take a closer look at Your convenience. We take our time previewing the homes to ensure they meet your needs, are in a suitable condition for You, and represent the value You are looking for in a home.
   

6. Writing an Offer – You have previewed some homes and found the one You feel is Your New Home - I will work with You to understand the true value of the home, using the comparative sales and current properties on the market to ensure You are most prepared to make a great offer and receive the best deal possible. Together we will prepare the offer, as I guide You through the areas of a purchase and sale agreement, including; offer price, financing terms, down payment amount, earnest money deposit, inspections to be performed, any personal property included, the closing date, as well as other conditions unique to each property.

7. Negotiations / Counteroffers – Once we have presented Your offer to the Seller, there may be some terms or conditions that need to be negotiated or modified to come to an agreement between You the buyer and the seller. To work towards contract acceptance there may be some "gives and takes" between You and the seller. As a Negotiator on Your side, I will strive to deliver Your needs, meet Your expectations, and ultimately work on Your behalf to come to agreement between both parties for contract acceptance. Once both parties agree to terms we are considered under contract and can move forward with inspections of the property.

8. Inspections – You the Buyer have the right to hire a third-party professional Home Inspector to inspect the home upon contract acceptance at Your cost. Having the home inspected is extremely important to understand whether the home is right for You. Note: the inspection may uncover items that were not visible upon our original preview of the property. You now have the opportunity to consider Your offer null and void if there are concerns uncovered during the inspection that are not acceptable to You, or You can return to negotiations with the Seller to remedy inspection issues / contingencies (i.e., request that the Seller pay for major items to be resolved). Note: I can recommend home inspectors for You that my clients have had great success with in the past.

9. Complete Mortgage Application – Assuming all inspection issues / contingencies have been removed, and both You the Buyer, and the Seller have accepted the offer, You now will work with the lender to complete Your mortgage application. Your lender will review Your credit report again, order an appraisal of the property, and verify the information you provided during the pre-approval meeting through documentation You provide (employment history, W-2, rent checks, etc.). Further, behind the scenes the lender is working to secure underwriting and obtain loan approval for You to purchase Your home.As I will remind You during the process, it is very important to provide information requested from Your loan officer in a timely manner so that paperwork can be reviewed and processed in a timely manner and the timeline of the home buying process can stay on track.
   

10. Schedule the Closing - Once underwriting is secure, the Title Company will notify You and I of the scheduled closing, and provide a HUD-1 Settlement Statement for review prior to close, which will advise on the final amount due at closing to purchase the home (if applicable). About a week before closing, You will contact the utility companies to ensure the utilities will be in Your name upon closing and that there will be not disruption in service.

11. Final Walkthrough - Twenty-four hours prior to closing, You the Buyer, have the right to perform a final walkthrough of the property with me, to ensure the property is “broom clean” and has remained in the same condition as when You submitted Your offer to agree to purchase the home.
12. CONGRATULATIONS!  You close on Your New Home – (I can already see You smiling with excitement!) The keys are yours and you can now move in!

JeffMateja.com provides buyers and sellers a great resource of information regarding Greater Portland Maine and the Residential Real Estate located throughout the Greater Portland Maine area. JeffMateja.com delivers guests the ability to search ALL residential property listings (condominium, single family, multifamily, investment property, bank owned property, REO property, and short sales) located in Maine. Further, JeffMateja.com includes  links to information related to Portland Maine area businesses and service providers to become an all-in-one resource for visitors. Thank You for visiting JeffMateja.com.

http://www.JeffMateja.com
http://www.ILovePortlandMaine.com
http://www.MaineFirstTimeBuyers.com
http://www.CallMaineYourHome.com
http://www.MaineFirstTimeBuyer.com

"Trust Jeff To Do Your HOMEwork"