Beth's Buyer's Book

Guide To Buying Your Home

Busy Brunette Real Estate Team

Getting to Know Us

It takes years of experience to navigate the twists and turns of a real estate transaction. We have many years of business experience and adding in that we specializing in selling homes and getting those tough deals to the closing table. Let us put those years of experience to work for you. “Because who you work with matters.”

Terri is a dedicated and passionate professional in the real estate industry. Terri has developed a strong reputation for helping her clients achieve their real estate goals. Serving the Portland metropolitan area, Terri’s client base is primarily comprised of repeat and referral clients, a clear testament to the trust and confidence she inspires.

Terri’s approach to her work is guided by professionalism and integrity. She is known for her transparent and honest communication style, always striving to educate her clients about the intricacies of the real estate market. This commitment to transparency has earned her exceptional customer reviews, ensuring a positive and satisfying experience for those who work with her.

Terri’s success can be attributed to her strong background in customer service, project management, attention to detail, and innovative marketing techniques. Her clients can always expect exceptional results and personalized service, as Terri strives for excellence in every aspect of her work.

Terri’s remarkable dedication, coupled with her diverse skill set, ensures that her clients receive exceptional service and achieve their real estate objectives. With her unwavering commitment to excellence, Terri continues to make a positive impact in the real estate industry.

Outside of her real estate career, Terri is deeply committed to giving back to her community. She actively participates in her local Rotary, contributing to various community events, and charity auctions, When she is not working or giving back, Terri values quality time with her loved ones. She cherishes visits with her three out-of-state children and enjoys spending time with her mom. Terri also finds joy in being part of a book club, staying active through regular workouts, exploring wine tasting experiences, trying new restaurants, cooking, and attending concerts.

Terri Schneider

Oregon Licensed Principal Broker Master Circle, PMAR Diamond Member

Beth’s combined interior design and home staging expertise with her real estate knowledge allows her. To offer comprehensive services that extend beyond traditional real estate agents. This one of-a-kind service enhances. The overall experience for her. Clients and helps them. achieve their real estate goals. more effectively.

Beth’s goal is to ensure her clients, make informed decisions that align with their long-term real estate goals. By understanding her clients ‘needs, budget and preferences, she can provide personalized advice and recommendations tailored to their unique situation. Her. Expertise in both design and real estate allows her to. strike a balance between aesthetic and practicality; helping clients find homes that not only look great but also meet their functional requirements.

When you choose to work with Beth, you can expect seamless and enjoyable experience, underpinned by professionalism, creativity and unwavering dedication. The right home is out there and with. Beth by your side you can be confident that you are partnering with a professional who is uniquely qualified to help you find it.

She has a Degree in Interior Design and decades of solid experience including Design Sales with Ethan Allen, Design Consultant & Building Liaison at H&R New Construction Homes and as a Color Consultant and Project Manager at Absolute Painting for over 12 years.

Beth enjoys time with her husband Greg of 20 years and their two rescue doges. Her interest includes walking, wine tasting, spending time with friends, time at the beach and live music.

Beth Hall

Oregon Licensed Broker Interior Designer Colorist

The Home Buying Process

The Steps You Should Know

Whether you are a first-time homebuyer or a seasoned homeowner wanting to downsize, upsize, invest, or need information, we take pride in providing you with a wealth of knowledge and personalized, exceptional service.

Exceptional service begins with getting to know you, understanding your objectives, providing excellent consultation and representation, communicating all along the way and ending with you - a happy homeowner. Our goal is to be problem solvers and solution providers all along the way.

The steps to buying a house might seem complicated at first - particularly if you’re a home buyer dipping a toe into real estate for the very first time. Between down payments, credit scores, mortgage rates (both fixed-rate and adjustable-rate), property taxes, interest rates, and closing the deal, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. There’s so much at stake when buying a home.

Still, if you familiarize yourself with what it takes to buy your first home beforehand, it can help you navigate the real estate market with ease. So let’s get started.

In this step-by-step guide, you’ll learn what it takes to buy a home in the current market, from beginning to end.

Working With A Lender

Obtaining financial pre-approved for your loan

One of the first things a buyer should do is meet with a lender or mortgage broker to get pre-approved for a loan. Pre-approval is different from pre-qualified. Pre-qualification is a rough estimate of how much you can borrow. Getting pre-approved before shopping for a home saves you time from developing an interest in homes outside of your qualification range, and allows you time to select the best loan package available without the pressure of a deadline.

Once, pre-approved then the lender will provide you with a pre-approval letter. For an offer to be seriously considered by a seller in today’s market, a pre-approval letter must accompany an offer. It’s an assurance to the seller that you are a serious buyer.

Loan Process

Once the loan process has begun, it’s best to keep a rein on your finances. Don’t apply for new credit, make a large purchase such as furniture or a car or close credit accounts. Also, best to stay current on any existing accounts.

Let The Showings Begin!

Do you have a wish list of wants and needs?

Home shopping can be both exciting and exhausting, but doing some preparation beforehand will help tremendously.

Buying a home is a long term commitment. The home you buy should offer the size, features, and amenities you and your family want, yet be affordable. We can set you up on a Keller Williams app, as well as send emails from the RMLS with homes that fit your basic parameters. We will watch for price drops on properties that you like but were more than you wanted to spend.

Make a Wish List

Make a list of must-have to help you narrow your home search. Features such as:

• Location

• Bedrooms

• Baths

• Garage space

• Style

• Levels

• Backyard

• Age of home

• Remodeled or fixer

All of this can add to the enjoyment of your home. Just as important is how the house is designed and the layout should suit your needs.

Social Distancing

Your saftey and the saftey of others is a concern to us. We want you to feel comfortable going into homes. We have steps in place for showings homes that you are interested in.

Writing An Offer

What happens when an offer is submitted?

You found the home that you want to live in, so now it is time to write an offer. The location, the price, how long it has been on the market, and other variables will play into what your offer will look like. We will work together to make the offer competitive.

Your formal offer will be documented in writing on a purchase contract.

The offer will include:

• Sales price

• Earnest Money amount / downpayment

• Seller-paid concessions

• Contingencies

• Personal property

• Inspections

• Possible other terms

Extending an offer

Once the offer is written and presented to the seller by their listing agent, the seller can accept, reject, or counter the offer to purchase. The offer can be countered back and forth several times until both seller and buyer come to a mutual agreement, or one of the parties wishes to reject the offer or counter offer.

Offer to Purchase

1) Accepted

2) Rejected

3) Counter offer

Your Offer Is Accepted

Now what?

Congratulations, your offer has been accepted! Now we get to work together on getting to the closing table.

Getting an offer accepted is one of the most exciting moments of the home-buying process. But it’s also when things get more serious. By now, you’ve probably heard the terms “closing” and “escrow” thrown around, but a lot happens between offer acceptance and closing escrow. The accepted offer dictates the timing of how and when things will be accomplished, through closing. During the closing process, you’ll put down an earnest money deposit, perform any necessary inspections, negotiate for repairs, get your home appraised, lock down your loan and, if necessary, cancel the deal without losing your deposit.

Earnest Money

Earnest money is a deposit in the range of 1% of the purchase price. It shows good faith that you are serious about purchasing the property and will follow the agreed on terms. These funds will go towards your down payment or closing costs. Earnest money is usually deposited into an escrow account with the title company within three business days of mutual acceptance

Lender Documents

As soon as you have an executed sales contract on a home, we will communicate with your mortgage lender to make sure they get a copy of the fully executed contract. As soon as they receive it, they will start the mortgage process for your transaction. To begin this process, your lender will start asking for a myriad of paperwork. Be prepared to provide the requested documentation throughout the transaction. It is best to get the requested documentation to them ASAP to limit any problems with their timeline. Gathering and organizing all of these documents can quickly become overwhelming if you are not prepared; not providing them to your lender on time can slow their process down and could ultimately result in a delay to the closing date.

Opening Escrow

A Title Company moves you toward closing

Our title partners are here to help us through this process. They are trained professionals that supervise the transaction to closing. They will make sure that no funds or property change hands until all terms and instructions in the purchase and sale agreement have been followed.

Once an offer on a property is mutually agreed to by buyer and seller, the transaction is then placed into “escrow.” Escrow is a term that describes neutral third-party handling of funds, documents, and tasks specific to the sale of the property.

A record of all real estate sales and events on all properties is filed in public archives. The title company will do a title search of the records to see if there are any issues such as liens, levies, or encumbrances associated with the property. Title insurance is different than casulty insurance in that it is a one-time fee.

Title insurance is the best way to protect yourself against title defects that have occurred in the past, which may not appear until after you’ve taken ownership of the property. In Oregon, the seller provides title insurance for the buyer and the buyer provides the insurance for the lender.

Home Inspection and Appraisal

What you need to know

A home inspection is designed to give a buyer a better understanding of the systems and overall condition of the home they are purchasing. There may be items that the buyer will ask to have repaired. These can all be negotiated, and we will help you with perspective in this area.

Whole House Home Inspection

A home inspection covers the major systems of the property:

• Exterior, porch, and deck

• Foundations and walls

• Chimneys and roof

• Windows, doors, and attics

• Electrical components and plumbing

• Central heating and air conditioning

• Basement/crawlspace and garage

Radon

Radon is a naturally occurring gas found in many areas of the Portland Metro area. If levels are over a certain amount, mitigation is advised.

Sewer Scope

A sewer scope inspection checks the sewer lines to make sure there are no problems with tree roots, pooling, cracks, holes, or pipe separation.

Additional inspections

Depending on the property, the buyer may decide additional inspections are warranted. These can include roof, mold, oil tank location, well tests, foundation, and others. Buyer inspections should not be invasive, and should not damage the house.

Appraisal

Once the negotiations for the inspection are complete and agreed upon, the buyer’s lender will order an appraisal. The house must appraise for the purchase price of the home for the lender to approve the loan.

Signing and Closing

We can see the sold sign coming

We are getting closer to the finish line now. As a buyer, you will be able to sign documents usually one or several days before closing. This typically will happen at the title company. We will be working with the title company and seller’s agents to make sure everyone is on track to close your purchase on time.

Signing

Closing disclosures (CD) will be provided by the lender at least three days before any documents are signed by the buyer. The CD will contain a detailed description of all costs associated with the transaction, including the exact dollar amount a buyer will need to bring to the signing table. Once the loan documents are sent to the title company, date and time will be set for the signing of documents.

Funding/Closing

Once the title company receives funding from both the buyer and the lender, the lender authorizes the title company to release the property to record with the county. Once the property records, it is considered closed. You, the buyer receives the keys and possession at the contracted time.

Time to Celebrate!

Why Keller Williams?

KW is the largest franchise real estate company in the world!

My affiliation with the fastest growing and largest Real Estate company in North America is no accident. I wanted to affiliate my real estate services with a company whose values closely matched my own, a company that offered exceptional tools for their agents to in-turn provide an exceptional home-buying experience to each client, and a company that listens to suggestions from it’s agents on ways to improve the company -just like I listen closely to my clients’ wants and needs.

Technology

Leading-edge tech tools and training give me the edge in effectively marketing your property online, 24 hours a day, seven days a week! Through KW’s exclusive Keller Williams Listing System (KWLS), your property is fed to more than 350 online search engines and available on KW’s Web network of more than 76,000 sites. Best of all, because of Keller Williams Realty’s “My Listings, My Leads” philosophy, every single Internet inquiry on your property will come directly to me so that I can follow up quickly on potential buyers for your property.

Teamwork

Keller Williams Realty was designed to reward agents for working together. Based on the belief that we are all more successful if we strive toward a common goal rather than our individual interests, I’m confident that every Keller Williams professional shares the common goal of serving you, my client, in the best way possible.

Knowledge

Keller Williams Realty helps me stay ahead of trends in the real estate industry through its comprehensive, industry-leading training curriculum and research resources. It’s what prepares me to provide you with unparalleled service.

Reliability

Founded on the principles of trust and honesty, Keller Williams Realty emphasizes the importance of having the integrity to do the right thing, always putting your needs first. It reinforces my belief that my success is ultimately determined by the legacy I leave with each client I serve.

Track Record

I’m proud to work for #1 Real Estate Franchise in the World, by agent count! It’s proof that when you offer a superior level of service, the word spreads fast.

Our web network boasts 2.6 million unique vistors a month

Among the features specifically designed to give consumers all the real estate information they want are local featured listings on the landing page and a mobile optomized version of the site.

Keller Williams associates enjoy the benefit of receiviong text messages directly from consumers through their listings.

Listings have increased open house visability via a real-time open house search.

“There’s no place like home” Dorothy - Wizard of Oz