Berkeley Home Buyers Guide | Gertrude Villanueva

A Step-by-Step

First Time Buyer's Guide

Buying a home is one of the most exciting milestones of your life. To prepare yourself for this moment, you need to know what to expect during the process. This step-by-step first time buyer’s guide created by your agent will help reduce the stress of buying a home and help you enjoy the journey as much as possible.

Step 1:

Research

Do you already know where you want to buy? If you want a condo, townhome, or single-family home? Which features do you like and dislike? What’s available on the market now? If you answered no to any of these questions, now is the time to start researching. In addition to looking for homes that interest you, also take note of any changes in asking prices. This could give you valuable insight into housing trends in specific neighborhoods and help you when the time comes to make an offer.

Step 2:

Decide on Your Budget

Notice I said to decide on your budget—not determine how much the mortgage company will give you. In many cases, a mortgage company will pre-approve you for more than you’re comfortable spending, which is why you need to determine the monthly payment you feel comfortable with before talking to a lender. This likely includes doing a full household budget and taking into consideration what changes other than a mortgage payment will occur once you move into your new home. If you’ve lived in an apartment or with roommates, you may overlook new expenses like garbage, water, or HOA fees that could easily blow your budget.

Step 3:

Get Prequalified

Just because you think you can afford a certain payment every month doesn’t mean the mortgage company will agree. Just as they may approve you for too large of an amount, they may also approve you for a lesser amount or deny you a mortgage altogether. Lack of time at a job, insufficient credit, past bankruptcies, or other financial issues can cause major problems when trying to secure a mortgage. Before you get your heart set on a home, talk to a mortgage professional to find out what amount you can qualify for. This will also be an advantage when you make an offer on a home, as some sellers won’t entertain offers from those who aren’t already prequalified for a loan.

Step 4:

Choose a Real Estate Agent

Can you shop for, look at, and ultimately make an offer on a home without a real estate agent? Technically yes, but why would you when it costs you nothing for an agent like me to take much of the stress off your shoulders? Not only will I help identify properties you might be interested in, arrange showings, and ultimately handle the offer process, but I also have a knowledge of the market that you don’t possess. Finding the perfect home can be a daunting task, this is where my expertise and wealth of knowledge come into play. Let me show you around some homes that meet your dream home criteria so you can find the one that's right for you.

My goal is to provide you with the most personalized service that is designed to help you buy your dream home

Schedule A Consultation

Step 5:

Find the Right Home

This should be the most enjoyable step of the entire process (other than moving in!). I will arrange showings of homes you’re interested in that are within your price range. Take notes about what you like and don’t like, and make sure to pay attention to details. Turn light switches on and off, open and close doors, and run the faucets in various rooms. Don’t limit your inspection to the home itself. Make sure to take time to explore the neighborhood and keep an eye on traffic at certain times of the day, the parking situation, and how close it is to necessities like schools and grocery stores.

Step 6:

Make an Offer

Once you have selected the perfect home, work with your agent to craft a fair offer based on the value of comparable homes on the market. Depending on what the home is listed at and whether the current environment is a buyer’s or seller’s market, your offer may be below, at, or even above the asking price. I will be able to help you negotiate if you receive a counteroffer and reach an agreement. At this point, the house will go into escrow.

Step 7:

Have the Home Inspected

In most cases, your offer will be contingent on having the home inspected to ensure there is no major structural damage or large repairs needed. I can help you arrange this, and you can schedule it within days of making an offer. If there are no major issues, the process goes to step eight. If there is, you can renegotiate your offer based on what needs to be fixed, or you can withdraw it.

Step 8:

Select Your Loan

Now is the time to go back to the mortgage lender who pre-approved or pre-qualified you and choose your mortgage. You will be presented with various options based on your unique financial situation, including fixed-rate, variable-rate, 15-year, 30-year, or special programs such as VA loans or FHA loans. Work with your mortgage lender to select the option you feel the most comfortable with.

Step 9:

Get a Home Appraisal

Your lender will have your new home appraised so they have their independent value of it. The appraisal is to ensure that all parties involved are paying a fair price for the house.

Step 10:

Finish Paperwork

No one looks forward to all the paperwork involved in buying a home, but it’s a necessary part of the process. Fortunately, everything will be arranged by your lender and title company and, when you’re finished, you’ll know you are the legal owner of your new home.

Final Steps Before Moving In

Congratulations!

After signing the final paperwork to complete the purchase, you are now the owner of a new house. It may take a few days for your loan to be funded once the paperwork has been returned to the lender, but once that check is delivered to the seller, you’ll be all set to move into the home of your dreams.

Testimonials

Pam S.

Our family has known Gertrude for 10 years. She has helped us purchase one property in SF and sell one in SF and one in Berkeley. Gertrude is very knowledgeable about both areas; especially the East Bay. We recently sold our ho...

Kevin Moore

I have been working with Gertrude Villanueva Itchon for over 20 years purchasing and selling investment property throughout the Bay Area. Gertrude is a diligent and consistent real estate agent. She is absolutely wonderful to w...

Jeff J.

Gertrude helped us to find our dream home she's a pleasure to work with and very seasoned in the San Francisco market. She's a great listener, very knowledgeable, and responsive. For us, we felt very comfortable with our close ...

Rose N.

Gertrude is professional, experienced, smart, diligent, confident, dedicated, and hard-working. Gertrude helped us with the sale of our condo and the purchase of our home. From establishing our marketing plan to coordinating re...

Solomon B.

I don't say this lightly: Gertrude is truly excellent. We were in the market for a new home in the competitive Yerba Buena area, which Gertrude handled amazingly. Gertrude is professional, yet tenacious; having interacted with ...

Claire K.

I met Gertrude through a referral from my ex-mother-in-law's realtor. My ex-husband and I were desperately searching for our first home on and off for about a year with another realtor and were very unhappy with the way he did ...

Buyer | Seller

It took us 6 months to find the right place. Gertrude never gave up on us (we almost lost hope to find the right place) unlike the previous agent that disappeared after 3 weeks (saying we won't find a place with our budget in o...

Jocelyn K.

Gertrude was an incredibly valuable partner in assisting my family with purchasing income property in San Francisco. The complexities of buying not only a property, but one that has tenants in place already, are intimidating, b...

Evelyn C.

Gertrude was awesome! I had worked with 3 other agents in the past and felt like they either didn't quite understand what I was looking for, kept showing me properties that were way out of my budget or their enthusiasm waned af...

John P.

The quest to buy a home in the Bay Area can be bewildering and discouraging. But Gertrude knows the way. Her experience, advice, and connections gave us an edge that finally helped us buy a house in San Francisco. This housing ...

Seth M.

Gertrude guided me through the house buying process in 2005 when I was a first-time buyer and through the house selling process in 2010 when I was a first-time seller. In the five years in between, she was always available as a...

Stace G.

I worked with Gertrude in 2012 on a purchase for a condo in the city. My clients (the buyers) were preparing to buy their first home here in the states and I was their loan officer. Although the loan proved to be a bit difficul...

Grace N.

We loved working with Gertrude! She helped us sell our condo in San Francisco within just a few days for the price we wanted. She was very accessible, anytime we called texted, or emailed her she was always available. And since...

Jeffrey C.

Gertrude gets my highest recommendation. She handled the sale of income property in San Francisco for us flawlessly. It was a complicated transaction and Gertrude covered all bases throughout. She is always highly professional,...

Marianne G.

Our family recently bought a home in San Francisco with Gertrude. I have never known a better realtor! She truly cared about our needs and searched endlessly to find us our perfect property. She made the process painless and en...

Monique M.

My husband and I have been using Gertrude for many years for our real estate needs. She has always made herself available to all our phone calls and many house tours. I realize this is their job as a realtor however Gertrude do...

Rajiv K.

We really believe Gertrude is the best agent to work within SFO! She has helped us with multiple apartments and we keep using her help again and again. We bought a new apartment with her at Mira and sold an apartment in Lumina....

Patti S.

Gertrude Villanueva was simply the best, most patient, most effective realtor I have ever worked with through five property purchases I have made in my life. She moved very quickly on helping us purchase a short sale property. ...

Marcus J.

I used Gertrude as my agent in purchasing a peice of property in the soma/mission bay area. She is truly excellent and I would recommend her to anyone in need of a broker or listing agent. She knows her stuff and won't back dow...

Kong

Gertrude is a pleasure to work with and very knowledgeable about real estate in the city. I am super happy with her service to find me a house here in San Francisco. If you are looking to buy or sell a home in the city, I highl...

Work With Gertrude

Buying and selling a home is one of the most important financial and emotional decisions you will ever make, so I can appreciate the magnitude of what is entrusted to me. Clients have reaffirmed their trust and loyalty by referring friends and colleagues.

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Buyer's Guide