A Buyer’s Guide To

Home Ownership

THE POWER OF QUALITY SERVICE

You can expect us, your RE/MAX equity group REALTORS® to go the extra mile to deliver you extraordinary service in helping you purchase your home.

At RE/MAX equity group, we work with

integrity, in a spirit of cooperation, and

always with the clear vision of providing

you with a rewarding and satisfying real

estate experience that is convenient,

comfortable and exceeds your expectations.

What you can expect when you work with

us, your RE/MAX equity group REALTORS®:

Dependable, continual, timely

communication

Active listening to your needs and

concerns

Clear, understandable explanations of

each step of the process

Personal attention, making you and your

goals our priority

Confidence that you are being fully

informed and advised with integrity

Superior problem-resolving skills based

on proven experience and knowledge

A real estate professional you can trust for all your real estate needs throughout

the stages of your life.

Deciding who to represent you is the most important decision you will make during your

home buying process, next to actually choosing a home. As your RE/MAX equity group

Buyer’s Agent, I will help you in the following areas, critical to a successful and satisfying real

estate experience:

Serve as your Trusted Advisor

Discuss your financing options with you.

Help you to become pre-qualified for a loan. Not only will this allow us to search for homes

within a price range that will keep your payments at a comfortable level using the most economical type of financing for your particular situation, it will also allow us to move

quickly when we find a home meeting your needs.

Determine your Housing and Community Needs

Determine your wants and desires in a home that is located in the area you would like to

relocate to.

Help you find the amenities that each community and neighborhood offers within your

chosen area.

Act as your Property Specialist

Help you prioritize your housing wants and find homes that meet your needs and budget.

Review new or changed listings for suitability to your needs.

Eliminate marginal or unsuitable properties, and adjust your search criteria accordingly.

Help you preview properties using our website.

Take you on private tours of homes within your criteria and help you evaluate them.

WHY YOU NEED A BUYER’S AGENT...

...WHY YOU NEED A BUYER’SAGENT

Serve as your Experienced Negotiator

Research and review comparable sales to determine the approximate fair market value

from recent sales in your area.

Prepare the written sales offer for presentation to the seller’s agent, giving special consid-

eration to your specific needs.

Explain the contract to you in detail.

Represent your best interests in all negotiations, including any counter offers between you

and the seller.

Act as your Transaction Coordinator

Help you finalize the arrangements for the financing option you have chosen that is specifi-

cally tailored to your needs.

Oversee the entire closing process and handle complications that may occur throughout

the process, eliminating stress for you.

Provide you with updates all along the way through closing.

Examine all closing documents for accuracy.

Help you and the seller arrange the closing and assist in synchronizing the transaction.

Review and explain all documents to help you better understand the closing process.

Schedule and conduct a final walk-through inspection on the property you are buying.

Our job is to determine your needs, assist you in your search, and manage the transaction for you, working full-time to help you get the home that is right for you.

Tracy Norris—503-701-5972

Principal Broker

Rosemary Willis—503-702-2287

Broker

thewillisteam@comcast.net www.WillisTeamHomes.com

Lic. In Oregon

THE PROCESS OF BUYING A HOME

PRE-QUALIFY with a lender

to find out your

true buying power

DETERMINE your home

and area needs.

VIEW and EVALUATE

available homes

SELECT a home and

PRESENT an offer

NEGOTIATIONS BEGIN

SUBMIT a loan application

SCHEDULE a home

inspection

A final WALK-THROUGH is

taken

All closing activities are

COORDINATED

DOCUMENTS are reviewed,

LOAN is accepted

Even if you have bought or sold a home before, the process

can still be confusing. This chart will help you better

understand the steps involved in your transaction.

My job is to tie them together as smoothly as possible for you

and to keep you informed every step of the way.

Decision

to Move

Make Your

Move

Transaction is FINALIZED

and CLOSED

The offer is ACCEPTED!

CONTRACT with me,

your REALTOR® , to

represent you

MY HOME WARRANTY TEAM

Why A Home Warranty?

Purchasing a home is a major investment. Many of a home’s systems are hidden from view and

are easily taken for granted—until something goes wrong. That’s when your investment can

take an unexpected turn! An American Home Shield (AHS) Warranty provides for the repair or

replacement (for one full year) of an existing home’s covered mechanical systems and major

appliances that break down due to normal wear and tear.*

Service

Why settle for less than the best? AHS founded the home warranty industry in 1971 and has

since brought responsive, high-quality protection to more than 6 million customers nationwide.

On every key measure of service, from total dollars paid for repairs and replacements to the

number of service calls, we continue to set the standard. AHS serves customers handles more

than 2.3 millions service calls per year—an average of 6,000 per day. You have the assurance

of knowing you can call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for service requests and get reliable

service from the nation’s largest network of pre-screened, licensed contractors.

Technology

AHS offers a full service website: www.ahswarranty.com.

*Please read contract for specific coverage, exclusions and limitations.

Bill Hurlbutt

West Portland

1.800.800.8880 x6837

bmhurlbutt@mindspring.com

Ed Wood

East Portland

1.800.800.8880 x6642

ewood@ahslink.com

UNDERSTANDING ONLINE SEARCH

The internet has made a wealth of information about current homes for sale available to

potential home buyers at the click of a mouse. Now nearly 90% of homebuyers begin their

home search online.

How Homes For Sale Get Online

The majority of real estate brokerages agree to share their listing information through the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and to share their listings on each other’s public websites

through an agreement called Internet Data Exchange (IDX).

Brokerage and agent websites and a few select other websites such as Realtor.com receive a

daily IDX feed of currently available homes for sale directly from the MLS.

Third-party sites such as Trulia, Zillow, or Homes.com do not receive an IDX feed. Instead, they get their data from individual agents, brokerages, virtual tour hosting companies,

magazine and newspaper sites, data aggregators, and other sources. As a result, they may

not have the most complete or up-to-date information about available homes for sale.

THE POWER OF

The RE/MAX balloon is the most widely recognized symbol in real estate, and one of the

most widely recognized trademarks in North American business.

What does this mean for you?

By choosing to work with me, a RE/MAX affiliate, you are choosing to work with real

estate’s best.

You will be working with a company recognized as the industry leader which is dedicated

to providing me with the finest resources and education available.

THE POWER OF MOBILE

Access to property information anytime, anywhere is no longer optional so remax.com has

been optimized for viewing on mobile devices. Apps specifically for iOS and Android devices are

also available to help buyers:

Instantly search nearby homes for sale based on current location

Customize searches using advanced search filters

View properties using the dynamic map search

Quickly zoom and navigate neighborhoods with interactive "balloon view" maps

Generate turn-by-turn driving directions from current location

Save searches and favorite listings to smartphone or tablet

Easily share properties for sale with friends and family via email

Determine the best financial options, loan amounts and monthly payments with the

integrated mortgage calculator

FINANCING YOUR HOME

Whether this is your first home purchase or you are trading up or scaling down, finding the

right loan package can be time consuming. There are many options available, and this is where

together your loan officer and I can help you make the right decision.

Equity Home Mortgage, LLC

Equity Home Mortgage has a Senior Loan Consultant for every RE/MAX equity group office to

answer your questions about the loan options available to meet your specific needs.

They also provide ON-SITE FastTrack Pre-Approval. Equity Home Mortgage is a fully operational

mortgage “banking” company with LOCAL processing, underwriting and funding. This means

that you get answers that really apply to your specific needs. The following pages provided for

you were prepared by in conjunction with Equity Home Mortgage. They are designed to help

answer some questions you may have about financing your home.

FINANCING YOUR HOME

Monthly Payment

The major factors that help determine this amount are known as the qualifying ratios. Your PITI

(principal, interest, real estate taxes and homeowner’s insurance) should not exceed between

25% and 29% of your family’s gross monthly income. Your total monthly mortgage payment

plus other monthly debt obligations, such as a car payment, charge accounts, etc. should not

exceed between 33% and 41% of your family’s gross monthly income. Guidelines vary

depending on the loan type and the amount of down payment.

Down payment

How much is your down payment going to be? The down payment is the up-front cash you will

pay toward the purchase of your home. Generally, the larger the down payment, the lower

your monthly payments are going to be.

Although down payments of 25 percent or more are common, home buyers can put down less

than that. However, charges for Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) usually will be added to

loans with less than 20 percent down, and this will increase your monthly payments.

Mortgage Application

Applying for a mortgage is much like applying for any other kind of loan. Because of the

amount borrowed and the lengthy term of the loan, however, the approval process is more

complicated than for other types of loans and it usually takes more time.

Your loan application will be evaluated based on three factors:

your income and assets,

your credit history and

the appraisal of the property you plan to buy.

While verifying your application, your lender will request a credit history and a property

appraisal to help in the decision-making process.

FINANCING YOUR HOME

Qualifying

Which comes first, the home or the loan? Shopping for a home is easier when you know how

much you can spend. Today’s lenders offer a wide variety of programs that will fit specific

needs, so familiarize yourself first with the various loan options available. Ask yourself a few

questions:

How quickly would you like to repay your loan? Within 15 years, 20 years, 30 years?

How long do you expect to live in the house?

How do you expect your income to evolve in the next few years?

Pre-qualification

A preliminary estimate of your ability to obtain a loan, based on the

information you provide. Pre-qualification will let you know how much

you may qualify for, and will enable me to show you homes we know you

can afford. Pre-qualification is based on unverified verbal information of

your monthly debt, income, length of employment, etc. This is not a loan

approval and information provided is subject to verification. Depending

on your situation, your loan consultant might also want to run a credit

report. This would require the completion of an application form and

submission for pre-approval.

Pre-approval

This is the smart way to shop for your home. Underwritten pre-approval

will define exactly how much the lender is willing to loan you, so you can

begin your house hunting with the assurance your financing is ready and

waiting. It is like shopping with cash in hand.

The best time to think about home financing is before you find a house to buy.

Filled-out loan application form

Copy of sales contract with original signatures

Applicant’s place of residence for at least the last

two years

Employers’ names, addresses and year-to-date

pay stubs

Information and account numbers on all cash assets: savings accounts, certificates of deposit, stocks, bonds, and cash values of life insurance

policies

Copies of verification of additional sources of

income including pension, Social Security, alimony,

child support, disability benefits, etc.

Divorce decree, if applicable

Social Security number

Tax returns, including all schedules

Information on liabilities: charge accounts, car

loans, student loans & credit union loans

If you are a veteran, discharge papers (Form DD-

214) or certificate of eligibility

FINANCING YOUR HOME

Remember, you can speed up the process by collecting and organizing in advance all the

documents necessary to process your loan.

Items needed for application

The information needed to process a loan application varies from case to case and with the

type of mortgage. The following list is an example of what is typically needed; however, more

information may be required (consult your lender). Remember, by bringing a complete set of

documentation you may be able to speed up the loan application process:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What Is Home Owner’s Insurance?

Your mortgage lender requires you to have minimum insurance coverage to insure their

investment and yours. One year’s prepaid homeowner’s insurance must be obtained prior to

closing. The original copy of the policy and the paid receipt must be presented at or before

closing. Many people choose to buy broader coverage than the minimum. You will want to

investigate additional coverage with your insurance agent.

Will I Need Flood Insurance?

The lender may require you to buy flood insurance if the property is located within a designated

flood plain as determined by flood plain maps or the Department of Housing & Urban

Development.

When Do I Arrange For Utilities?

About two weeks before closing you will need to call the utility companies to have the gas,

electric, water and sewer, garbage, telephone services, etc. turned on as of the closing date.

The seller usually will have turned some utilities off by the closing date, and you will want hot

water, heat and electricity when you move in.

When Is The Final Walk-Through?

A few days prior to closing, we will schedule a final “walk-through” of the property for you to

determine that everything is in working order and in the same condition as when the contract

was signed.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

When Is The Actual Closing?

Closing is the act of transferring ownership of a property from the seller to the buyer. The title

company or escrow agent will see to it that all terms and conditions of the transaction are met.

Once all the conditions have been met by both parties and all contingencies satisfied and

verified by the escrow agent, the closing begins.

Before signing the final papers, I will notify you of the final dollar amount you will need to bring

to the closing. The title company will provide me with these figures which I will review with

you. The money must be in the form of a certified check, cashier’s check or bank draft.

What Does the Closer Do?

Accept & coordinate the flow of documents

Prepare a closing statement of entire transaction

Arrange recording of the deed and mortgage

Collect closing costs & down payment funds

Make sure all documents are signed correctly

Secure title insurance or title option

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Adjustment period: The frequency at which the interest rate of an ARM loan changes, e.g.,

every 6 months, once a year, once every 3 years, etc.

CAPS: Consumer safeguards limiting the amount of payment increases and adjustment

periods over the life of the loan, regardless of future market conditions.

Conversion option: Refers to the ability of many ARM loans to be converted to a fixed rate mortgage.

Cost of funds: Monthly average cost of borrowings reported by members of the Federal Home Loan

Bank system, calculated on either a national or regional basis. The COFI (Cost of Funds Index) is one of

the indexes that a lender can use to determine the rate adjustments on ARM loans.

Fully indexed accrual rate: The sum of the index plus the margin.

Index: ARM rate adjustments track the fluctuations of a nationally known barometer or index,

which is a measure of prevailing economic conditions. The index is an independent, published

interest rate figure, easy for a borrower to verify and beyond a lender’s control. (See “Cost of

Funds” and “Treasury Securities.”)

Margin: A premium, typically between 2% and 3%, that is added to an ARM’s index to

establish the loan’s actual interest rate.

Negative amortization: What occurs when mortgage payments are not enough to cover the

amortization of the gradual reduction of principal over a set period of time. When this happens,

the mortgage amount increases causing “negative amortization”, and the borrower owes more

money than at the beginning of the loan. Our ARM loans do not have negative amortization.

Qualifying ratios: Equations used to evaluate family income, existing debt and credit history

in determining the amount of loan for which a borrower qualifies. Some ARM loans require the

borrower to be qualified at a higher rate than the initial teaser rate. You will be notified what

your payments will be from year to year, and exactly when those payments will change.

Teaser rate: An ARM typically begins with a discounted, low initial rate which is not to be

confused with the fully indexed accrual rate. While a “teaser rate” might be 6%, the fully

indexed accrual rate at the same time might actually be 8%, or 5% index plus 3% margin.

Treasury securities: Treasury bill yields are another index that a lender can use to determine

the rate adjustments on ARM loans.