We pride ourselves in providing personalized solutions that bring our clients closer to their dream properties and enhance their long-term wealth.
Buying a home is one of the most exciting milestones of your life. To prepare yourself for this moment, you need to know what to expect during the process. This step-by-step first time buyer’s guide created by your agent will help reduce the stress of buying a home and help you enjoy the journey as much as possible.
Do you already know where you want to buy? If you want a condo, townhome, or single-family home? Which features do you like and dislike? What’s available on the market now? If you answered no to any of these questions, now is the time to start researching. In addition to looking for homes that interest you, also take note of any changes in asking prices. This could give you valuable insight into housing trends in specific neighborhoods and help you when the time comes to make an offer.
Notice I said to decide on your budget—not determine how much the mortgage company will give you. In many cases, a mortgage company will pre-approve you for more than you’re comfortable spending, which is why you need to determine the monthly payment you feel comfortable with before talking to a lender. This likely includes doing a full household budget and taking into consideration what changes other than a mortgage payment will occur once you move into your new home. If you’ve lived in an apartment or with roommates, you may overlook new expenses like garbage, water, or HOA fees that could easily blow your budget.
Just because you think you can afford a certain payment every month doesn’t mean the mortgage company will agree. Just as they may approve you for too large of an amount, they may also approve you for a lesser amount or deny you a mortgage altogether. Lack of time at a job, insufficient credit, past bankruptcies, or other financial issues can cause major problems when trying to secure a mortgage. Before you get your heart set on a home, talk to a mortgage professional to find out what amount you can qualify for. This will also be an advantage when you make an offer on a home, as some sellers won’t entertain offers from those who aren’t already prequalified for a loan.
Can you shop for, look at, and ultimately make an offer on a home without a real estate agent? Technically yes, but why would you when it costs you nothing for an agent like me to take much of the stress off your shoulders? Not only will I help identify properties you might be interested in, arrange showings, and ultimately handle the offer process, but I also have a knowledge of the market that you don’t possess. Finding the perfect home can be a daunting task, this is where my expertise and wealth of knowledge come into play. Let me show you around some homes that meet your dream home criteria so you can find the one that's right for you.
My goal is to provide you with the most personalized service possible, meticulously designed to help you navigate the process of buying your dream home. I am dedicated to understanding your unique needs and preferences, ensuring that every step of the journey is tailored to achieve your ultimate home-buying aspirations.
This should be the most enjoyable step of the entire process (other than moving in!). I will arrange showings of homes you’re interested in that are within your price range. Take notes about what you like and don’t like, and make sure to pay attention to details. Turn light switches on and off, open and close doors, and run the faucets in various rooms. Don’t limit your inspection to the home itself. Make sure to take time to explore the neighborhood and keep an eye on traffic at certain times of the day, the parking situation, and how close it is to necessities like schools and grocery stores.
Once you have selected the perfect home, work with your agent to craft a fair offer based on the value of comparable homes on the market. Depending on what the home is listed at and whether the current environment is a buyer’s or seller’s market, your offer may be below, at, or even above the asking price. I will be able to help you negotiate if you receive a counteroffer and reach an agreement. At this point, the house will go into escrow.
In most cases, your offer will be contingent on having the home inspected to ensure there is no major structural damage or large repairs needed. I can help you arrange this, and you can schedule it within days of making an offer. If there are no major issues, the process goes to step eight. If there is, you can renegotiate your offer based on what needs to be fixed, or you can withdraw it.
Now is the time to go back to the mortgage lender who pre-approved or pre-qualified you and choose your mortgage. You will be presented with various options based on your unique financial situation, including fixed-rate, variable-rate, 15-year, 30-year, or special programs such as VA loans or FHA loans. Work with your mortgage lender to select the option you feel the most comfortable with.
Your lender will have your new home appraised so they have their independent value of it. The appraisal is to ensure that all parties involved are paying a fair price for the house.
No one looks forward to all the paperwork involved in buying a home, but it’s a necessary part of the process. Fortunately, everything will be arranged by your lender and title company and, when you’re finished, you’ll know you are the legal owner of your new home.
After signing the final paperwork to complete the purchase, you are now the owner of a new house. It may take a few days for your loan to be funded once the paperwork has been returned to the lender, but once that check is delivered to the seller, you’ll be all set to move into the home of your dreams.
Kris made selling my house a painless and enjoyable experience. From our initial meeting until the close of escrow, she was always on top of things. Her impressive knowledge of the local market was evident, and she responded qu...
Kris is an amazing professional. She knows so much about the area and the homes that are available and really customizes the search to meet your demands. She really listened to our needs and was super patient. We spent numerous...
Kris was our listing agent and was always enthusiastic about the property but very realistic about the client who would appreciate its unique qualities. She was always responsive when we needed to reach her on any issue. At the...
The best! Look no further! I have both purchased and sold homes with Kris, and she was an expert at making both transactions incredibly easy and stress-free! I will definitely access her network when purchasing my next home.
We were so fortunate to have Kris Johnston and Rodney Smeester as our agents. We owned a home on leased land and were involved in a three-way negotiation. Everything had to be coordinated for simultaneous closings. It was no ea...
Kris is an amazing agent to work with! She is always very responsive and organized and from our perspective, those are essential qualities for a true, professional realtor. We always look forward to our transactions together.
We relocated from the Chicago suburbs to Santa Barbara. Kris Johnston was a consummate professional. Her commitment to finding us the right home was matched by her unparalleled industry knowledge. As a direct result of our comp...
We were completely amazed at what an incredible job Kris did in both personal efforts and in marketing our property. When it appeared as if visibility may begin to waver she bounced back with a new wave of marketing including o...
In my years of buying and selling my homes, never have I experienced the kind of care and determination I received from Kris. She went to places that all others only contemplated when it came to marketing and expose. The old at...
Kris recently represented us in both the sale and purchase of Santa Ynez Valley properties. Of the many properties we have bought and sold over the years in Santa Barbara County, these deals with Kris were the smoothest, with t...
Sandy Collier is professional, detail-oriented, and attentive, and responsive to her client's needs. Sandy's calm demeanor, sense of humor, and integrity make her a pleasure to work with. We highly recommend Sandy and will use ...
Sandy went out of her way to work in close coordination with me, the Buyer's lender - Which is super unusual in my experience, especially when we are several counties apart. We made a great team and managed to work around a cli...
As a Mortgage Professional, it's always a great experience for everyone when you have a high-level agent like Sandy working on the transaction. It was great from start to finish working with Sandy, and she is very knowledgeable...
Sandy could not have been more helpful in helping my husband and me find our dream property. With a constantly friendly and professional attitude, Sandy helped provide a breadth of knowledge on each property we viewed. When we ...
I have worked side by side with Sandy for years and have come away from each transaction filled with admiration for her integrity, sincerity, tenacity, and complete desire to please her clients and find a way to work toward the...
Sandy was recommended to us by our financial advisor. Sandy went out of her way to think for us every step of the way. Her professionalism is amazing and was matched by her wonderful personality. If we ever decide to venture in...
Sandy and Kris are the best real estate team I've ever met. Extremely engaged, thoughtful, and proactive they took care of us at every step of the process - making it extremely efficient and enjoyable. Nobody knows the Santa Yn...
What started out as a very complicated transaction became my awesome new home, because of Sandy's professionalism and diligence! Throughout my recent real estate purchase Sandy kept me informed every step of the way, about what...
We have recently completed the sale of our home in Los Olivos, having Sandy Collier of Engel and Voelkers as our listing agent. My husband and I were immediately impressed with Sandy’s knowledge of the process and her explanati...
I met Sandy at a clinic in Paso Robles. I learned that not only was she a great clinician but she was a realtor based in Santa Ynez. We had been thinking of buying property in the valley for a while. Sandy immediately got to wo...
