Buying Your First Home
If you are a first-time homebuyer or buying your first Wichita, KS area home, you may not be familiar with the process. Below is a general timeline of how we'll go from Start to End. As you click on each section, you'll learn more about how each step of the process can work. If you have a question about any step or how it applies to you, feel free to Email Me your question!
Obviously you've made the first step - thinking about buying a home! Owning your own home has many benefits, though it's not for everyone. Some of the great benefits are:
- You can do what you want with it, within code and covenant limits. If you want a lime green bedroom, by all means go ahead!
- No neighbors sharing walls means less noise, more privacy. Condos and twin-homes may still have some noise, but a single-family detached home is its own island.
- Tax deductions - there are so many things you get to deduct, from the interest you pay on your mortgage to the real estate taxes you pay. Right now, your landlord is getting these benefits.
- Building your credit - a mortgage is a huge thing and managed responsibly it becomes one of the large pieces of your credit history.
- Building equity - when you stop renting, you just leave. When you're tired of your home, you can sell it, and often cash out equity.
The Buyer Counseling Session - what on earth is this?
The counseling session is basically a meet-and-greet, information sharing, goal setting session where I will meet with you to discuss how the process works, get a feel for what your style is in homes, discuss what you're looking for, and see if we're a good fit to work together. It can run from 30 minutes to an hour, depending on how many questions you have, how far along you are in the process on your own, etc. At the end, we'll see if we want to move forward together and sign off on a Buyer's Representation Agreement - which allows me to act as your agent in a purchase, thereby allowing me to give advice, advise on things such as value, how to proceed, interpret market data, etc, that I'm not allowed to do by law without an agreement. Don't worry - if you end up not liking me, it's cancellable with no penalty!
In Kansas, there are several types of agents and you need to be aware of them, so that you know what agent works for what party. Typically the name you see on a sign in front of a house is acting as the Seller's Agent in that situation - meaning that they are to do everything in their power (and legal!) to get the seller the best deal possible. So any information that you tell these agents about you and your finances gets reported straight to the seller - it's their job as the Seller's Agent!
A Transaction Broker is a facilitator between parties. This is how agents are supposed to act when they have no signed agreements with either the buyer or the seller. This role is to provide information and put together forms. They are not allowed to interpret data, give advice, or advise you on any situations that may occur. 
And lastly, but most certainly not least, there's a Buyer's Agent. This role is relatively new and came out as a result of Seller's Agents taking advantage of essentially unrepresented buyers. Now the state has passed legislation allowing Buyers to have their own agent. The job of a Buyer's Agent is to assist the buyer in their home purchase, giving advice, interpreting data, advising on strategy, protecting the buyer's confidentiality, and more.
The best part of the whole deal is that you don't typically pay a Buyer's Agent anything. When a seller lists a home, they agree to list with a Seller's Agent or Listing Transaction Broker for a certain fee. To put that home on the Multiple-Listing Service, which is how most homes are sold, the Seller's Agent decides on how much of that fee they will provide to the Buyer's Agent for their work on selling the home. And that is how Buyer's Agents get paid. When no Buyer's agent is involved, the Seller's Agent gets to keep the whole fee.
The only exception being For-Sale-By-Owners, who may or may not agree to pay a Buyer's Agent fee. If you wish representation on your own, you may possibly have to pay for it, or have to build it into the price of the home. With the liability involved in a FSBO, you really should consider having representation.
The Forms Involved in Obtaining Representation
For more detail on the types of agents in Kansas, please click here to read over the types of agents and their duties to their represented parties:
To preview the Buyer's Agent Agreement that you'll have to sign for representation:
Click Here For Next Stage of Buying - The LOAN
