Buying a home
Getting You Ready to Win a House
Most agents start by showing houses. I start by getting you ready to win one. Ready, Educated, Aligned, Locked, from a broker and attorney in Orange County.
Most Agents Start by Showing You Houses
Most agents start by showing you houses. I start by getting you ready to win one, because the house people lose is usually the one they were not ready to write on.
There are four parts to it, and they run in order.
- Ready. Pre-approved, and represented, before we tour anything.
- Educated. The real monthly number, not the purchase price.
- Aligned. A search built on what is important to you.
- Locked. Offer through close, run by my team and me.
None of it is complicated. It is the order that does the work.
Talk through your purchase with me
Or call 714-319-9751. You can also read how I do it, step by step
Ready
You are pre-approved and we have a signed buyer agreement before we tour anything.
California requires the agreement, and the pre-approval lets you write an offer when the right house appears. Those are not formalities. A buyer who finds the house on a Sunday and starts talking to a lender on Monday has already lost it.
Getting You Ready to Win a House
Educated
Working with your lender, we look at the real monthly number. Principal, interest, taxes and insurance, and how that sits inside the rest of your life.
Not the purchase price. The payment. Those are different questions, and the second one is the one you live with.
Aligned
A long conversation about what is important to you, then nine things you cannot live with and nine you cannot live without.
By the end we are both clear on what we are looking for, and the search narrows to homes that actually fit.
Before you stand in a house, there is work worth doing on your own. Look at the commute you will actually drive, at the hours you will actually drive it. Walk the block. Check noise, whether that is a freeway or the airport. And if schools matter to you, verify which one a specific address is assigned to, because boundaries change and the city on the mailing address does not tell you the district.
Locked
My team and I oversee the whole process from offer to close. Offer strategy and terms, the inspection and appraisal windows, the loan, and the closing itself.
Your deposit does not go to the seller. It goes to a neutral third party, an escrow company or a title company depending on where you are in California, and it is held there.
The standard California contract gives a specific number of days for inspections, appraisal, loan and other contingencies unless the parties change it. Those dates are where your leverage and your risk both sit, and we are watching them so there are no surprises.
What This Page Is Not
This describes how I generally work with buyers. It is not legal, tax or lending advice, and every transaction has its own facts.
I am a practicing California attorney. On your purchase I am acting as your real estate broker, not as your attorney. Tax questions go to your CPA and loan questions go to your lender.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to be pre-approved before you will show me houses?
Yes, and we also need a signed buyer agreement before we tour anything. California requires the agreement. The pre-approval is what lets you write an offer when the right house appears, and the house buyers lose is usually the one they were not ready to write on.
How do you work out what I can afford?
Working with your lender, we look at the real monthly number rather than the purchase price. Principal, interest, taxes and insurance, and how that sits inside the rest of your life. The purchase price is the headline. The payment is the thing you live with.
How do you narrow down what to look at?
A long conversation about what is important to you, then nine things you cannot live with and nine you cannot live without. By the end we are both clear on what we are looking for, and the search narrows to homes that actually fit.
What should I check before I see a house?
Drive the commute you will actually drive, at the hours you will actually drive it. Walk the block. Check noise, whether that is a freeway or the airport. And if schools are important to you, verify which school a specific address is assigned to, because boundaries change and the city on the mailing address does not tell you the district.
Keep exploring
Ready to make your move with Donovan Blatt Realty?