A guide to buying a home.
Buying a home is one of the most meaningful decisions you’ll make — and one of the most complex. This is what the process actually looks like, and how I help my clients through it.
Before the search
The work that happens before you ever tour a home is what determines whether the rest feels calm or chaotic. Most of my clients tell me this part — setting a foundation — is what they wish they’d taken more seriously the first time around.
Research the market
Whether you’re drawn to a condo, a townhome, or a single-family home, start by exploring neighborhoods, noting what’s available, and watching how asking prices move. The more you understand the market you’re about to enter, the better equipped you’ll be when it’s time to make an offer.
Decide on your budget
Not how much the mortgage company will lend you — how much you’re comfortable spending each month. A lender may preapprove you for more than you’d actually want to pay. Run a full household budget first, including the expenses that come with ownership: property taxes, insurance, HOA fees, utilities, maintenance.
Get prequalified
Before you fall in love with a home, talk to a mortgage professional. Prequalification tells you what you can actually borrow, strengthens your offer when the time comes, and avoids the disappointment of bidding on something that’s out of reach. In competitive markets, some sellers won’t even consider offers without it.
Choose your agent
This is where I come in. Beyond identifying properties and arranging showings, I bring knowledge of the LA market you can’t get from a listing app — which streets in a neighborhood feel different at night, which sellers are motivated, which homes have been on and off market for reasons worth knowing about. Representation is free to you as a buyer, so there’s no reason to go without it.
Finding the home
This is the part most people picture when they think about buying — and the part that moves the fastest. Clear preparation on the front end is what makes it feel exciting instead of overwhelming.
Find the right home
I’ll arrange showings for homes that fit your criteria and price range. Take notes. Open closets. Run the faucets. Walk the block at different times of day. Pay attention to parking, traffic, and the walk to schools or groceries. The home matters, but the neighborhood is what you actually live in.
Make an offer
Once you’ve found the home, we craft the offer together based on comparable sales, current market conditions, and what we know about the seller’s situation. Depending on whether it’s a buyer’s or seller’s market, that might be below, at, or above asking. I’ll handle the negotiation, counteroffers, and contingencies. When the offer is accepted, the home enters escrow.
Inspection
Your offer will almost certainly be contingent on inspection. We schedule within days of acceptance. If there’s no major structural or system damage, we move forward. If something turns up, we either renegotiate based on what needs fixing, or — if it’s bad enough — withdraw. My job is to tell you honestly which category you’re in.
Closing
The home is in escrow. Now it’s about logistics, paperwork, and timing. A good agent is most useful in these weeks — there’s always something unexpected, and handling it well is the difference between a clean close and a frustrating one.
Select your loan
Back to your lender to finalize the mortgage. You’ll choose between fixed and variable rates, 15- and 30-year terms, and any specialty programs you qualify for — VA, FHA, jumbo. Your lender walks you through the options, and I stay in the loop to make sure the timing aligns with our close date.
The appraisal
Your lender will have the home independently appraised to verify the purchase price is in line with market value. This protects both you and the bank. If the appraisal comes in low, we have options — renegotiate, bring additional funds, or challenge the appraisal — and I’ll help you decide which makes sense.
Close
The paperwork is substantial but straightforward — the lender and title company prepare everything, and we sign together at closing. A few days later, once funds clear to the seller, the home is yours. I’ll be there through the walkthrough, the keys handoff, and any questions that come up in the first weeks of owning the home.