Home Ownership and The American Dream

Home ownership is such an incredibly large part of the American Dream. Here you can work hard, save your money, and buy a home- even when you think you can't. 

Meet my client Jill. And by client, I also mean mom.

Myself and my mom, aaaaand Cammie. :)

So, as you can tell already, this is definitely an important story. Mom thought home ownership wasn't in her cards, so as good daughters do, I decided to argue with that notice and I decided that it was. As you can see below, one year ago I wrote this goal in my BOLD class.

One of my November 2011 BOLD goals

And that is when we started the process. My mom worked her buns off for 12 months to save for a home in addition to building a rockstar credit score.

Last week it was official, mom signed and closed on her very first home (click here to see). Even better, it's 3 blocks from me.

Yesterday Brandon, his girlfriend Nicole, Dustin and myself gave mom and dad their house warming gift- a matching refrigerator to go with all her new stainless steel appliances, and the tears in her eyes are some I won't soon forget.

If I learned anything from this experience it's that 1. When you set a goal, they're quite wonderful to achieve and 2. When you're able to set a goal that empowers others, it's a million times better. 

Congratulations mom, I'm so stinking proud of you!

Rock the Vote!

It's Election Day! Have you received your voting sticker yet? If so, head on over to Circle K, where they're giving out a free fountain drink for anyone who has their sticker and shows them the image below!

Anyway, if you're like me you've been driving through neighborhoods filled with political signs in the yards of homeowners- how do home owners associations (HOA's) feel about this? Read about it here.

Have a wonderful day and make sure to get out there and vote!

Being BOLD One Day at a Time

The best and worst thing about real estate is that everyday is a new day. That means you can't really ride a great day too long, you need to make each day a great day- and that takes commitment. It also means that if you have a not so awesome day you can turn it all around the next day.

In my business I've been blessed with 10x more awesome days than lazy ones. Which takes a lot of work. And today was one of those hard workin' kinda days thanks to my current BOLD class.

Learn about BOLD from my video here.

Normally we have to contact 100 people in a week. This week I committed myself to contacting 100 people. in 1 day (called the BOLD 100). The first time I took this challenge was at my first BOLD experience, and I thought that was a piece of cake. Try counting how many people you talk to on the phone or face to face about your business in 1 day. it. is. tough.

So today I did it (and out of the 3 times I've done it these were the 100 most meaningful contacts- For you BOLD agents out there I did FSBO and expired calls, referral calls with KW agents, door knocking, and sphere calling)! Took about 10 hours to make 100 great contacts. And I know that from this day of work I'll gain a number of closings from it.

And yet the best part of the day was receiving a text message from my Regional Director for the Southwest Region, Kristen Cole- CONGRATULATING me on my hard work and telling me how proud she is of me. The woman has numerous states, tons of market centers, and thousands of agents to be concerned about, and tonight decided to take a moment to make contact with me. I'm the kind of person to be starstruck by the powerful and successful movers and shakers of the world, and to me, THIS was a big deal.

Now I'm pushing my business to a level to deserve a call from the big guns in Texas. Gary (KELLER if you didn't know), Mary, Mo, Mark or Dianna will do just fine. They say what you focus on expands you know!

Here is to a fantastic rest of the week! and here is to being BOLD.

What about New Builds?

For buyers we're in a competitive market, and that means you need a great agent to get you into your home. For picky buyers in a low inventory market who are looking for a grey house with white trim, a red door, viking appliances, cream granite, 5 bedrooms, a den, a play pool with color changing lights... you get the point- it's tough. When inventory is low and you're a picky buyer, there is something to take into consideration- New Builds! 

If you have a very exact picture in mind for your new home, new builds can be a great way to get exactly what you want (or at least as close as it's going to get). Want some even better news? Your Realtor can still represent you to make sure you're still getting the representation you deserve, and you don't owe them a cent (the seller pays buyer agent commissions in Arizona)! 

Priced from $175,000 on up, new builds can be in budget! 

Take a look at these beauties! 

oh hey there cute craft room

I die- precious. 

Is it time to start thinking of new builds? Call me! 602 518 2293 or email at KellyLFast@gmail.com

Buying a Home: You have an accepted offer, now what?!

We've been discussing the process of how to buy a home, see our previous posts here. 

Congratulations! Now that you have an accepted contract, you're moving onto the next steps in owning a home. 

First, an inspection. Your Realtor can suggest one for you, but a good inspector should have something that sets them apart. For me and being an agent in Arizona, an inspector who has infrared cameras is important so we can make sure the home is correctly insulated. 

infrared picture- the yellow shows where insulation was missing in the home. Because we found this info we were able to ask the seller to repair the missing insulation- WIN!

Then, depending on the results of your inspection, comes the appraisal. This is where you find the appraised value of the home. The appraiser views the home you're buying and does research on similar homes in the area and what they're offering at various prices. From this information they can determine the value of their home- which is very important info for you, but especially your lender (if you're getting a financed home). 

If all goes according to plan, financed offers go into underwriting. This is your lenders process of you final loan approval. At this stage in the game your lender will be coming to you with any last minute documentation needed. 

Once you're past this stage it's onto signing final docs! Stay tuned for the last installment in buying a home! 

Buying a Home: Making offers

Hey all!

Welcome back to our mini-series on buying a home. We're talking about all the details to help you buy a home so when you're ready to buy your little slice of heaven, you already know all the ins and outs! You can view step 3 here if you're not caught up on our series!

After you've found the home for you, it's time to make an offer! A common misconception is that making an offer involves a phone call or maybe e-mail with the price you'd like to offer. While that would definitely be easier there is a lot more involved in making an offer! (and we're going to be talking about offers in 95% of buying situations- HUD homes and some other homes have different processes)

Making an offer involves writing up the entire contract that would dictate all details of the transaction. In Arizona our contract is very standardized, so while you can add or delete anything you like, you're really going to be looking at a few main key points- which are below.

Price point- What are you going to offer for the home? I can guide you on what the market says you should offer, but in the end it's up to you to offer, and the seller to agree.
Earnest Money Deposit- This is a sort of holding funds for the home. This is your commitment to buying the home. The standard changes as to how much this amount should be based off price point. A good rule of thumb is at least 10% of the purchase price if it's a cash deal, and then it goes up in increments from 1,000 for a 100,000 home and up. In short, this goes to the amount you need to bring to the table and can be refundable (come back for more on this).
Close of Escrow- This is the day you'll officially own the home. It's important to know how quickly your lender can close on a home. If you're cash this is typically about 10 days out, if your getting financing you're looking at about 30 days.
Personal Property- If there is a refrigerator in the home that you would like to own, it definitely needs to be listed on the offer. Same goes for anything else you'd like to own.
Title Company- Most of the time you may not have a preference for title companies, so I would ask your agent to refer you some great names.
Home Warranty- Lets say you own a home, and your hot water heater busts, and ruins your carpet. Your home owners policy will definitely pay for your carpet to be replaced, but a home warranty company pays for the hot water heater. I definitely suggest making the small investment and your agent can point you in the way of a good home warranty company.



Those are the main points of making an offer. When you go to write one up your agent should go over all the details of the offer, these are just the big ones that you'll be working out with them.

Come back and visit for the process of closing on a home!

This is in no way the entire process of writing an offer for a home and a professional real estate agent should be contacted for all details. This is meant to be an outline and give you an idea of the process. 

The best of the best!

I think it's definitely important to be proud of your work as a professional, and the company your name hangs with, whatever profession you're in. It's important to choose a company with great morals, educational tools, culture, and so much more. Keller Williams has all that I could have been looking for and I am so excited to announce that we've won not 1 but 2 JD Power and Associates awards this year! woo!

Highest Overall Satisfaction For Home Buyers 

and Home Sellers Among National 

Full Service Real Estate Firms