The process is different if you are buying a home as compared to selling a home. Here is the La Quinta Real Estate buying process.

Buyers

1. The first step is to decide what your dream home characteristics would be. How many bed rooms? In a gated community? On a golf course? With a swimming pool? Casita? Is a mountain view a must have? Then, of course, within the parameters of your budget, I will lead the way in the most efficient manner towards the purchase of your ideal home. If you are not familiar with the Coachella Valley, I, too, can direct you to the neighborhood, golf community, school system that best fits your needs. I listen to YOU! The more details of your likes and dislikes that you can think of will help me to decipher exactly what you want so that when you arrive, we can zoom in on the best of the best. Whether you would be buying your first home, a 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo to the most elegant luxury home, I know them all.

2. Write down a list of criteria. It does not have to be a long list. Certainly the top 5 items that you must have in your new home. Spare bedroom? His and her showers? Two or three car garage? Gourmet kitchen?

3. I will email you or communicate the listings to you that I believe fits your needs. We will go over the list together to make sure the properties have your important criteria and then we can schedule a time to go see them.

4. We narrow your selection down to a few and then we begin the visiting process.

5. The first visit of that first property is when we really begin our search for your dream home. Once we have seen enough properties from which to get a good idea of what is out there for you we then have to decide which property you want to make an offer on. We go through the pros and cons of each property and decide together how to make an offer.

6. We write the offer together. Maybe you will want the washer dryer included. We look through hundreds of items of interest one at a time. Then we negotiate the best price. In negotiating the best price, I look at the market trends and the prices of the homes in the area that were recently bought or sold in order to get a range we want to start with in the negotiating process.

7. Open escrow. My team follows up closely daily with escrow, inspectors, appraisers, disclosures. We choose a licensed inspector that will go over every aspect of your home to make sure everything is in working order. If at that time, any discovery is made that something needs our attention, we will address it with the seller and request that it be repaired. If a loan is needed, we will make sure that the appraiser has all the information he needs to place a proper value on the property.

8. Close escrow. We meet at your new home and I give you the keys.

9. Immediately we contact a locksmith to change the locks for you: we may want to go with medico locks. I will provide you with a list of shopping centers in your area (food, furniture, electronic items) and a list of installers for any items you may want to purchase (IE a new refrigerator or entertainment system). I will also provide you with a list of landscapers and pool service people (in the event you need to take care of these issues).

10. Enjoy paradise.

Rethinking your home search — if it takes longer than six months, it is time for compromise

Most home buyers claim that they are picky. And why not? The real estate they buy will be their home. It needs to provide more than just a roof over their head. It needs to satisfy emotional needs that are not easily quantifiable. The home is a reflection of the self, which makes the quest for the right place to buy complicated.

Since the home-buying experience is intermeshed with the psyche of the person in pursuit, there is a psychological component to consider. For example, if you have been searching for the right home for years. You have not seen too many properties that fit the bill, and have only made an offer or two during that timeframe. The property you really loved turned out to be entirely too expensive. You lost out in a multiple-offer competition on a property that was listed too low. You have come close to making an offer several times, but have backed away after reconsidering. Each property had defects in terms of your ideal wish list. You were NOT willing to compromise.

HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Buyers who find they have been looking for the right house for more than six months should pause to consider whether their expectations are in line with reality. It may be time to compromise. In order to decide how you will compromise, you need to research the local housing stock to discover what is realistically possible. In other words, you need to do your homework. The perfect house will not just magically appear. To save time, use the Internet to whittle down the list of homes for sale until you find the ones that suit your needs. Then make a point of visiting these in person, either with a real estate agent or at an open house.

Buyers with pressing needs usually have less of a problem finding the right home to buy. For example, if you live in an area with a school district you do NOT like and you have children who are about to enter school, you need to move if you can not afford private-school tuition. You have an urgent reason to move that preempts the desire for a perfect house. You will likely settle for the right number of bedrooms and baths, a yard and a good school district. You may be willing to give up on the Old World charm or character that you were hoping to find. These are some of the compromises I am talking about.

You may be getting out and seeing the listings that might work for you and still are not having success. In this case, you could be suffering from approach-avoidance. This syndrome can keep you from making a decision, even when you see the right house to buy. You come close to making an offer but never carry through.

Buying a home can be frightening, particularly if you are doing it on your own. It is a big time commitment, perhaps to a lifestyle that you are not used to. It is helpful to consult with advisors when you find that you are getting nowhere. Talk to a trusted financial advisor to see if you are looking in the right price range. If you are over your head financially, scale back to a level that feels comfortable.

THE CLOSING: It can be useful to reconsider your wish list in terms of what you have learned about your local market and what to expect. By realigning your expectations and readjusting to a comfortable price range, you may feel more comfortable moving ahead. When in doubt call me.