Leslie Carver

Be the best buyer you can be...if you are going to get a loan to purchase, get pre-approved with a letter of pre-approval BEFORE you go out to view homes. If you need to get money out of a 401K or cash in some CDs, get that done before you make an offer, then you have the money to use for your earnest money deposit and down payment. If you are purchasing in the name of a trust, make sure you have your trust documents and can give a copy to your Real Estate Agent to provide to the Title Company. Be realistic. If you are buying a home that's been lived in, it's not going to be in new condition, it's going to have a few flaws, so expect that when you do your inspections. Lastly, work with an Agent who has some years of experience behind them and one who is quick to answer your calls and emails.

You live in your home and know it's issues. Given this, fix all those issues before you put your home on the market. There is nothing more frustrating than having had a bunch of showings and finally getting your home under contract, just to have a Buyer terminate because the inspection found a major issue (or many minor ones), and the Buyer got scared! Also, work with an agent who is a listing specialist and closes many listings a year (above 50)! This way, you know you're getting someone who has come across every issue imaginable and yet still manages to close on most of them. Also, you want someone that has a strong team behind them who can answer your questions, and can help you navigate through the transaction.

I've worked with all types of clients since I was licensed in 1996! I've helped people who are in need of a home that's $200,000 up to many millions of dollars. I believe all my clients should get the same high quality level of care and attention regardless of their home price.

We just recently closed on a home we had listed in the mid $300's with a very nice couple who was moving out of state. The home was in great condition, and was only on the market for a few days before the Sellers accepted a full-price offer. The transaction went very smoothly, so all parties were caught off guard when on the day of closing, the lender pulled their loan and said they wouldn't be funding! As you can imagine, it was extremely stressful! But we worked closely with the Buyer's Agent, who was able to get the buyers over to his preferred lender, who did a quick check with their underwriters, and were told that they shouldn't have a problem doing a loan for these buyers in as fast as 18 days. As it ended up, it closed in 21 days, but the Buyers and Lender worked together to get everything done as soon as possible. Our Sellers trusted us enough to go with our recommendation to extend the contract, and they were very happy that they did. In fact, they gave us a 5 Star rating afterwards!