A step by step guide how to buy your home, by Desiree Goldman

1. BUYING YOUR
HOME WITH
DESIREE GOLDMAN

2. Refreshingly Authentic.
HOW I WORK FOR YOU AS A BUYERS AGENT
WHY A BUYER’S AGENT?
There is a difference having a dedicated Buyer’s Agent show you a home and
seeing homes with the listing agent or multiple properties with different agents.
§ A Buyer’s agent gives you continuity of thought. I will point out the pros
and cons of the different properties, pick up on the features that are truly
important to you and help you compare them.
§ A Buyer’s agent gives you a broad perspective, importantly about future
resale value. Being a local Realtor since 1998, I have seen the ups and
downs of the market and know what neighborhoods and types of homes
weathered the downturns the best. Even though we are currently in a market
moving in favor of sellers because of low inventory, not all areas react the
same.
OUR RELATIONSHIP IS BASED ON A BUILDING OF TRUST.
§ Right from the start you’ll know I am working for you. Whether you are a
returning client, a personal referral or someone who found me on Zillow,
Trulia or any other website. . . . my job is to get you the right home at the
best price.
A Buyer’s agent will not cost you any additional money. When sellers list their
home it is already factored into the price. If you go direct to the Seller’s Agent,
they will receive the full commission as a Dual Agent. A Seller’s Agent works for
the seller and will not represent your interests.
Our firm does not charge any transaction or special fees to our clients
unlike some of the other companies in the market.

3. Refreshingly Authentic.
THE BUYING EXPERIENCE-WHAT TO EXPECT
I am always willing to meet a new potential client to discuss whether we are a
good match and take you out the first time looking at homes to see whether you
believe I will do the best job.
Before this first meeting I highly recommend you get preapproved by a LOCAL
lender first.
In our highly competitive Real Estate market with multiple offers and good
properties can be sold in a day, you want to be in position to put your best
foot forward for your offer to be the one accepted.
Unfortunately, some big banks and online lenders will do a cursory
prequalification just by pulling credit report only to a week or so before closing
when underwriting gets involved change their mind of funding the loan. By this
time you have spent money on the Due, Diligence fee, inspections etc.
POTENTIAL LENDERS
This is the absolute FIRST STEP when starting to look for a home.
Here are three local lenders I have worked with that care about customer service and
will get the job done for the loan to close on time.
Whitney Bulbrook
Carolina Ventures Mortgage
w: 919-960-1506
c: 919-260-6020
whitney@carolinaventures.com
Andy Law
Corporate Investors Mortgage
w: 919-929-6116
c: 919-606-1158
alaw@cimginc.com
Bryan Parker
Academy Mortgage
c: 919-880-4226
bryan.parker@academymortgage.com

4. THE
BUYING
PROCESS
STEP-BY-STEP

5. Refreshingly Authentic.
HOW THE BUYING PROCESS WORKS
Here is a basic step-by-step plan for the purchase of your new home. I will make some
recommendations of vendors but I have no financial relationship with any of them.
1. Get clear on your criteria for your new home
§ This includes:
Ø area
Ø size
Ø number of bedrooms and baths
Ø yard size
Ø type of neighborhood
Ø price range
§ Sometimes it is best to break your new home into 3 categories:
Ø needs
Ø wants
Ø desires
2. Follow the market and view homes
§ I will always print out the MLS info sheets on all homes we see.
This is a good place for you to make any notes about the homes so
they do not blur together.
§ I will set up your personalized search which will give you the most
accurate information on the property and also you will be the first to
know when a new property hit’s the market
Ø While there are dozens of websites to set up a home search, the
most accurate is the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) Our MLS
service does not send listings to Zillow & Trulia.
Some brokerages are sending their listings but you could miss a
great home. Also it can take 24 hours before the listing goes
through syndication. The property could be under contract
before you even had an opportunity to see it.
So, please let me set up a search for you. You can control it
after that.

6. Refreshingly Authentic.
BUYING PROCESS: PHASE 2
After looking at homes, you are now ready to put in an offer! Here is what will happen.
3. When you’re ready to put in an offer
§ Once we find a property you like, we will write up an offer to
purchase. At this time you will be expected to put a nonrefundable
Due Diligence fee and an earnest money deposit. Both are negotiable
and get credited towards the purchase price and your down payment.
The Due Diligence fee pays for the opportunity to put the home
under contract and have a period of 3-4 weeks for us to do a home
inspection, pest inspection, appraisal, survey (yes a survey is
important) and any other investigation or quotes on renovations you
may like.
I always attend the home inspections even if my client lives out of
town and cannot attend. From the inspection reports we craft a
request for repairs if any. This is to be negotiated and agreed upon
prior to expiration of the Due Diligence date. The seller is not
obligated to make any repairs. You may withdraw from the contract
up to the Due Diligence date and have your earnest money (but not
the due diligence fee) returned. (I will provide you names of
inspectors I have used for years. You may choose one of them or
find your own. For my busy clients, they let me get it scheduled and
done to make the process the least time consuming on them possible.
Especially if they live out of town)
4. Contract accepted and inspections
§ As soon as we are under contract we want to get the inspections
scheduled and start the loan process ASAP. During the spring
market the good inspectors can be booked weeks out. We also want
to get on the calendar with a closing attorney. ( I will provide you a
list of closing attorneys and home owner insurance companies)
Throughout this process I will be managing the inspectors, lenders,
vendors to make sure they are staying on top of process to make the
transaction as smooth as possible.

7. Refreshingly Authentic.
BUYING PROCESS: PHASE 3
Once the contract is accepted and inspections are scheduled, we need to handle potential
repairs and get ready for the closing!
5. Repairs and re-inspection
§ Once we have confirmation of repairs completed we will do a re-
inspection of the repairs agreed upon. Depending on the level of
repairs you can choose to look them over yourself or hire your
inspector to come back and check they were done properly.
6. Get ready to move in and change utilities
§ Provide contact info for utilities for you to have them transferred in
your name for the day of closing.
7. Walkthrough
§ We will do a walkthrough the day before closing or the day of
closing to make sure now the sellers have moved out, the home is in
the same condition as when we went under contract. No holes in the
walls, items unexpectedly removed.
8. Disclosure statement
§ A few days prior to closing we will get the closing disclosure
showing the allocation of all the money and what amount of cash
you need to bring to the closing. This is usually done by wire
transfer but can also be a certified check. I will attend closing with
you.
9. Make sure you switch everything over!
§ While this process is going on I have a great service called
www.updater.com that can assist you in coordinating your move.
Very helpful in making sure nothing gets dropped out like changing
your mailing address.

8. Refreshingly Authentic.
BUYING PROCESS: PHASE 4
This is it, the final steps!
10. CLOSING!
§ After the closing has been recorded with the County (usually that
day) you will get the keys to your new home! Yeah!!!
11. But that’s just the start
§ Our relationship does not stop here. I am always available for
referrals and helping you learn about the area. Need a good
drycleaner, hairdresser, you name it. I am fortunate that many of my
clients have become friends and I believe in keeping a long-term
relationship with all my clients. I do like to keep my clients informed
by sending out newsletters.
12. Share your experience
§ I am positive you will be satisfied with my service and will be
willing to write a review for me on Zillow.
So you can see that buying a home is a complicated process. It’s my job to
simplify it without cutting any corners. From finding the right home at
the right price, to getting it closed, I will be your eyes and ears, leader and
counsel. Most of all, all my work will be done “with a focus on you.”

9. In this crazy market, we feel very fortunate to be holding the keys to our lovely new home. Desiree
made this happen for us. Firstly, she spotted a house that we had basically overlooked. When to our
surprise we really liked it, she moved swiftly to help us put together an attractive offer late in a multi-
ple-offer situation...Desiree moved fast and our offer was accepted- just 6 hours after we viewed the
home. She also helped us with plans for updating, dissuading us from one ill conceived idea for floor-
ing....She also gave us suggestions for yard work, tree trimming, countertops, painters and a handyman.
This was a great relief, as we are new to the area and have very few contacts ourselves. Thank you
Desiree for your efforts, knowledge and experience, and for guiding us to our wonderful new home.
-New Buyer, 1/17
If you want someone who will relentlessly work on your behalf to find the best home for you, choose
Desiree as your real estate agent. I just purchased my 8th home and I had the pleasure of working with
Desiree to make that happen. She’s amazingly knowledgeable. I had lived in Chapel Hill 10 years ago,
so I thought I knew the area, but much is changing and Desiree knows what’s happening now and what’s
proposed. ..She’s super responsive. And she has a strong network of home repair contractors which
makes the entire home buying process so much easier. She’s a breath of fresh air! I’m so glad I found
Desiree on Zillow and I highly recommend her to anyone looking to buy or sell their home!Desiree on Zillow and I highly recommend her to anyone looking to buy or sell their home!
-DL, 4/17
We really enjoyed working with Desiree. She not only helped us find the perfect first home for my
husband and I she helped us learn about our community. We highly recommend Desiree if you are
looking for a home in the orange county area. -MACurtis, 1/17
Desiree is amazing. We have bought and sold several properties in different areas of the country and
had very bad experiences in the past, so I was very cautious in choosing a realtor for our new home.
Desiree has superb knowledge of the market in the area and was a real advocate for us when we
chose our new home. I am so grateful that I happened to come into contact by chance and she very
quickly really impressed me with her real estate knowledge of Chapel Hill. I would recommend her to
any and all of my best friends and family and we will look to her for any other real estate needs in the
future! -Zsuser, 4/17
Desiree is amazing. We have bought and sold several properties in different areas of the country and
had very bad experiences in the past, so I was very cautious in choosing a realtor for our new home.
Desiree has superb knowledge of the market in the area and was a real advocate for us when we
chose our new home. I am so grateful that I happened to come into contact by chance and she very
quickly really impressed me with her real estate knowledge of Chapel Hill. I would recommend her to
any and all of my best friends and family and we will look to her for any other real estate needs in the
future! -Zsuser, 4/17
What People Say.