"Let me make it easy for you"

Your full service Realtor for Savannah, Ga., Savannah Ga homes, Savannah condos and townhomes as well as Pooler, Richmond Hill, Rincon, Tybee Island and surrounding areas.

Tom Tolbert - Realtor

Thomas Tolbert

Office (912) 352-1222

Direct (912) 308-6839

E-Mail Me

Coldwell Banker Platinum Partners Real Estate

Abercorn / Midtown

6349 Abercorn St. Savannah, Ga. 31405

A Basic Outline of The Home Buying Process from start to finish.

First get Pre-Approved

This is the most important step because as a buyer you need to know what price range you should stay in to keep your payments where they need to be and know just how much you are working with before you begin looking for homes.

A pre-approval is just a basic check by a lender of your debt to income ratio and your credit which will give you a good idea of what your interest rate would be in the current market and give you an idea of whether you will need a down payment and if so, what percentage rate you may qualify for.

Another reason to get pre-approved is so that when you are ready to make an offer on a home, an offer to purchase that is accompanied by a pre-approval letter is taken much more seriously by a seller. It tells them that you have taken care of the preliminaries and

are a serious buyer.

Remember, a pre-approval is not a true commitment from the lender but rather a general check of basic information. A true commitment cannot be given until a loan is actually sent to and approved by the underwriter handling the loan.

Get representation from your own Realtor

In this age of computers and instant information, home buyers feel like they can just search the internet and find a home on their own. That's true to a point but can cost you in so many ways.

As real estate professionals, a local Realtor belongs to the local Multi-List Database

and has access to all homes listed for sale, as well as many new construction homes that are not listed on many real estate web-sites.

A Realtor can help you with school information and find homes within a specified school district. Isolate an area according to drive time to work and recreational activities and recommend areas with a better rate of appreciation to offer you the best investment. Negotiate on your behalf to get you the best deal, help you find the best lenders and financing options to suit your needs and guide you through the inspection and closing process from beginning to end.

Remember, the listing agent usually represents the seller and so the seller is their client.

They must therefore act in the best interest of their client to sell their home in the most favorable terms to the seller, not the buyer.

As a buyer working exclusively with your own agent, you will have someone on your

side looking out for your best interests to get you the price and terms that are most favorable to you, not for the seller.

Start Looking

Now that you have determined your ideal price range and have found a Realtor you are

ready to begin looking for your new home. Your agent will send you homes to look at that are tailored to your price range and needs in the areas you prefer. Once you are ready to begin to preview homes in person, your agent will make all appointments and begin showing you properties until you find the home that's right for your needs.

Make an Offer

Now that you've found a property that you would like to purchase it's time to put together an offer. Your agent can pull comparables of recently sold properties to give you a basis on fair market value in which to base your decision. You may want the seller to contribute to your closing cost, perhaps a reduction in price or both. You may ask that the seller pay for a home warranty for extra piece of mind. Your agent will guide you every step of the way and offer valuable information and experience needed to put together an offer that you will be happy with.

Inspection Period

I always recommend that my clients ask for an inspection period in which to have an independent home inspection done by a home inspector. The cost of a home inspection is nominal and a good inspector can point out any obvious problems with the home that need to be addressed. Once your inspector has delivered his report you can decide what if any repairs you would like to ask the seller to take care of at the seller's expense, or if the inspector finds problems that cause you to reconsider your offer to purchase then you may decide to terminate the offer. If you feel that you would like additional inspections during this time frame now is the time. Your realtor can furnish you with a list of home inspectors to choose from.

Financing Contingency Period

In the state of Georgia most purchase and sale agreements include a financing contingency period. The time frame for this contingency is open to negotiation. You want to allow sufficient time that should underwriting of your loan be a problem, that you would still be able to get back your earnest money deposit on the property and terminate the agreement.

Application for Loan

Although you have already been pre-approved for a loan, now is the time to compare lenders and make a formal application for a loan . Once you have determined which lender you want to go with the true application process begins. You will then make application for your loan for the specific property you are buying at this time. Your lender will provide you with a good faith estimate of closing costs so you will know how much if any you will need to write a check for at closing.

Closing

In Georgia real estate transactions are handled through a closing attorney. The closing attorney works for the lender if a loan is involved. The closing attorney handles the title work, title insurance, property tax escrow, hazard insurance escrow, etc., prorated as of the date of closing. The attorney prepares a HUD statement of closing costs which is gone over in detail at the closing showing what both the buyer and seller are each contributing to the transaction as well as all fees and who is paying for what.

Why You Should Use A Buyer's Agent

One of the biggest mistakes made by a new or veteran home buyer is to purchase a listed property without the use of a buyer's agent.  Many buyers incorrectly believe that if they don't use a buyer's agent they can get a discount in lieu of paying the full commission to the listing agent.  This is almost always wrong!  The seller enters into a listing agreement with the listing broker for an agreed upon amount or percentage.  Once the property is listed in the MLS, that fee, is shared with the agent who sells that property.  If the listing agent sells the property, they keep 100%.  That means not only do you not get a discount equal to the shared fee,  but you also are letting the seller have an advantage over you in the negotiations.  On the other hand,  having your own buyer's agent can save you a bundle.

Buyer's agents are agents who work with home buyers to look out for their best interests and get their client, you the buyer the best deal.  They are paid by the seller or builders listing agent but owe no loyalty to the seller in negotiations,  only their client, the buyer.

Here's an example.  Let's say that you are in the market to buy a very a very specific car and walk into a dealership to find one.  Guess who those friendly sales people work for?  The dealer of course.  They're all trying to get you to buy using every tactic in the book.  Do you feel comfortable?  Of course not.

Now,  what if you could hire an independent consultant to find you the vehicle you are looking for from among all of the dealers in that region.  Someone to handle all of the negotiation, at your direction.  Someone who knows the market and the costs associated with this vehicle as well as how long a dealer typically takes to sell this car.  All of this information is vital to getting the best deal.  To get all of this at no cost to you,  you simply sign an agreement with that individual that outlines the following:

That the consultant is to look out for your best interest (they are legally bound to do so).

You agree to allow your consultant to be paid a pre-determined fee from the dealership in which you decide to buy.

That the consultant will help you find the best deal.  Performance based compensation.  If they don't find you what you want they don't get paid.

You agree to work exclusively with that consultant.  (This ensures that there is no pressure on you to buy because that consultant knows that they will eventually be rewarded by their efforts to help you.

You agree to buy from dealerships that pay your salesperson a finders fee.

Now, substitute the car for a house and the consultant for a real estate buyer's agent and you've

accomplished the same thing,  which in real estate is known as buyer's agency.

Services that Buyer's agents offer to their clients:

The original purchase price of the house.

Evaluating improvements that the sellers may have made.

Comparative market analysis for similiar houses in the neighborhood.

Knowledge of their local market and experience negotiating the best deal for their client.

Knowledge of special promotions and buyer's incentives.

Information on property taxes.

The average drop in list price to sold price and the average days on market.

Introduction to reliable mortgage lenders, home inspectors, closing attorneys, etc.

If new construction they can keep you up to date on the status of your home as if goes

through various stages of completion.

You worry about deciding on the perfect house....they take care of the details.

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