Buying a home in the Silicon Valley Bay Area

We provide diligent marketing research services in helping you find the right home at the right price, as well as identifying the right price to make a competitive offer. This is critical in today’s environment. We will work with you and all parties in making the closing process as easy as possible.

How we support buyers:

Listen to and understand your needs and requirements
Describe market and micro market conditions
Research and tour properties and identify the right home for you
Write up and present your offer highlighting your strengths
Continual contact with your lender to ensure timely closing
Coordinate desired inspections
Communicate with title company throughout
Work with you through the closing process
Make you a happy lifetime client

Buyer’s Guide for Purchasing Real Estate

Get our complete buyer’s guide to create a step-by-step plan for purchasing a home and all the information you need as you go through the buying process. Includes: what you need to know about your credit score, hiring a real estate agent, ten things to consider when choosing a new home, securing financing, and a moving checklist.

Are You a First Time Home Buyer?

Get our 12 tips to help you prepare for and navigate the process of buying your first home.

DOWNLOAD TIPS

How to Best Prepare for Purchasing a New Home

Save for a down payment.

The minimum down payment for an FHA loan is 3.5% of the property’s purchase price. Depending on your personal credit and income to debt ratio your down payment could be different. Non-FHA lenders may require 5% – 20% down payment. This might be a good chunk of money for many home buyers, but don’t worry! If you’re not quite there, you can work on the rest of these steps while you continue to save.

Review your credit history.

The better your credit history (and the bigger your down payment) the more desirable your loan terms and interest rate will be.

Improve your credit.

Pay your bills and pay them on time! If you tend to be forgetful or too busy when the first of the month rolls around, set up automatic monthly payments.

Do not purchase any big-ticket items on credit.

This includes vehicles, furniture, or even a vacation. These personal loans increase your debt-to-income ratio which in turn will decrease your borrowing power.

Shop around for a home loan now, before you begin to shop for a home.

Many home buyers neglect this primary step toward purchasing a home. Shop around for the best loan offer. Comparing loan offers will expose big differences in loan terms and costs.

Get a written pre-approval.

A pre-approval letter sets you above other buyers in a competitive market. It tells sellers you mean business, and you have the money to back up your offer. A pre-qualification letter is not strong enough in this market.

Find a real estate agent you are comfortable with.

Buying a home is a huge deal. Selection is about when, where and what price, and includes a big financial commitment. You need an expert at your side to guide you through the process and help you make intelligent decisions.

A first-class real estate professional

“She worked all the details from communication, organization to negotiation to facilitation of escrow to the successful close of the transaction. She represented my best interests and worked out a great deal, despite very fierce competition. Over the years, she has become our family realtor. I highly recommend Donata without any hesitation. “

Jose-Luis S., San Jose, CA

Diligent, honest and trustworthy.

“I hired Donata to help me find an investment property. Donata is diligent, honest and trustworthy. She dove right in, not afraid to call agents, contractors and sellers. She has also been very flexible adapting to my schedule. She’s patient, because to her it’s important that I find the right property. You won’t find another agent who is more dedicated to their clients than Donata.”

Satheesh V., Mountain View, CA