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Gearing Up To Buy A Home: Key Factors That Go Into Writing An Offer
The following outlines the necessary elements of an offer to buy a house, helping you navigate this process with confidence and increase your chances of a successful purchase. Don’t get overwhelmed, just ask a lot of questions — now matter how small the question we can help.
Adam, Chase and I work as a team to make this experience as seamless as possible. Please connect us with your lender, if you are not working with one of our current partners, so we can position you for success when the time comes to present your offer. We will also refer insurance agents so when we enter into escrow you can obtain loan insurance for your new home.
The Offer:
- Purchase Price: The purchase price is the most critical element of your offer. It represents the amount you are willing to pay for the property. Determine a fair market value by considering comparable sales in the area. Depending on the number of offers being made comps will become irrelevant if you wish to beat out the competition. We will discuss appraisal and loan contingencies when contemplating the offer price
- Earnest Money Deposit: An earnest money deposit demonstrates your commitment to the purchase. It is a sum of money, typically 3% of the purchase price, held in escrow. Should the offer be accepted, this deposit is applied towards the down payment and closing costs. To insure confidence in the seller and seller’s agent we like to have funds wired within 24 hours, as per the default clause in the contract you have 3 days to wire funds to escrow which is to the title company who is the neutral 3rd party and takes instructions from both the sellers and buyers agents.
- Financing Contingency: Including a financing contingency protects you in case you are unable to secure a mortgage loan. This contingency specifies a timeframe within which you must obtain a loan approval. If financing falls through within the agreed-upon timeframe, you can withdraw from the transaction without losing your earnest money deposit. However, it is typical that a buyer in our competitive area, you may want to waive this contingency. This is one of the reasons we need to speak with your lender ahead of writing an offer. He/she will provide confidence in your ability to obtain financing and if he/she thinks you need this contingency or not. We can then share our confidence with the listing agent providing them a reason to take our offer over any others.
- Appraisal Contingency: Lender will lend up to 80% of the value of the home. If the home does not appraise a buyer will have to make up the difference in their down payment if there was not an appraisal contingency in the offer. We will discuss this each time we write an offer. If we are in agreement that the value is there a buyer will consider waiving this contingency. 90+% of our offers are non contingent.
- Inspection Contingency: Disclosures and Reports are typically provided ahead of time so this contingency (in our market) is typically waived in order to be competitive. On the contrary, in the LA area, agents/sellers do not provide inspections and/or disclosures ahead of time so there can be a renegotiation of price and credits. I prefer our area standards to theirs.
- Contingencies: Contingencies are conditions that must be met for the purchase to proceed. Common contingencies include a satisfactory home inspection, appraisal, and the sale of your current home if applicable. Clearly outline any contingencies you require, along with specific deadlines for completing them.
- Inclusions and Exclusions: Specify any items that you expect to be included in the sale, such as appliances, fixtures, or furniture. Conversely, outline any items you explicitly want to exclude. Being clear about inclusions and exclusions helps avoid misunderstandings during the negotiation and closing process.
- Home Inspection: Include a provision for a professional home inspection. This contingency allows you to hire a qualified inspector to assess the condition of the property. If significant issues are discovered, you can negotiate repairs, credits, or even withdraw from the offer, depending on the agreed-upon terms.
- Disclosures and Reports: Disclosures and reports are typically provided by the seller and their agent ahead of time —including property history, inspections, repairs, and any known issues. Review these documents thoroughly. Be sure to request the disclosure link for ANY property you are, or may be interested in, together we will be able to follow offer dates and obtain new information as it is made available.
- Closing Date and Timeline: Specify the desired closing date in your offer. This is the date when the ownership of the property will be transferred to you. Consider factors such as your financing timeline, the seller’s availability, and any other pertinent factors that may impact the closing date. A typical closing date is 21-30 days.
Interested in school information, local restaurants, cafes or activities? Need a doctor or dentist recommendation? We have you covered. We are also happy to make introductions to others who may help with school decisions, plus a myriad of other needs you may have as you target your search and settle into your new community. We are very connected and have a resource for anything you may need.
DiMaggio Betta Group
Debbi DiMaggio 510.414.6777 | Adam Betta 510.414.1250 | Chase Betta 510.418.3667
RealTrends + Tom Ferry The Thousand and America’s Best Lists Name The DiMaggio Betta Group
DiMaggio Betta Group | Realtors for the Generations
- 35+ Years of Experience
- Top 1.5% of Real Estate Professionals in the U.S.
- 2023 RealTrends + Tom Ferry America’s Best Real Estate Professionals
Corcoran Icon Properties congratulates DiMaggio Betta Group named among the top 1.5% of real estate professionals in the U.S. 2023 RealTrends + Tom Ferry America’s Best Real Estate Professionals
We are honored to be selected among the 2023 RealTrends + Tom Ferry America’s Best Real Estate Professionals, which includes the highest-producing real estate agents in the country. Those ranked are among the top 1.5% of 1.6 million real estate professionals in the United States. It’s a true honor to be one of them.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to our colleagues at Corcoran, our clients, service providers, staff, family and friends for your continued support. We are here to help and navigate you through the real estate process so you too can achieve your real estate goals; and after 35 years we continue to be passionate about what we have the privilege of doing each and everyday.
Common Questions Asked By Home Buyers
Potential home buyers often have numerous questions as they navigate the process of purchasing a property. Here are some common questions asked by potential home buyers:
- Affordability: Buyers often want to know how much they can afford and what their mortgage options are. They may ask about loan pre-approval, down payment requirements, and estimated monthly payments.
- Neighborhood and Location: Buyers frequently inquire about the quality of the neighborhood, nearby amenities (schools, parks, shopping centers), safety, proximity to workplaces, and transportation options.
- Property Features: Buyers want to understand the specific features and condition of the property. They may ask about the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, square footage, age of the home, recent renovations or upgrades, and potential maintenance issues.
- Pricing and Negotiation: Buyers often ask about the listing price, recent comparable sales, and strategies for making competitive offers. They may seek advice on negotiation tactics and factors that can influence the final purchase price.
- Financing and Mortgage Options: Buyers may have questions about different types of mortgages, interest rates, and the mortgage application process. They may inquire about the best lenders or seek recommendations for mortgage brokers.
- Home Inspection: Buyers commonly want to know about the importance of a home inspection and what it entails. They may ask about potential issues that could be discovered during the inspection and how to handle them.
- Property History and Disclosures: Buyers often inquire about the history of the property, including past ownership, renovations, or any known issues. They may also want to understand the seller’s disclosure obligations and what information they should expect to receive.
- Closing Process and Timelines: Buyers may ask about the overall timeline for closing on a property, including the steps involved and any potential delays or contingencies that could arise.
- Homeowners Association (HOA): If the property is part of an HOA, buyers may inquire about HOA fees, rules and regulations, and any special assessments or upcoming projects.
- Future Potential: Buyers may have questions about the potential for property value appreciation, the resale value, and any planned developments or infrastructure projects in the area.
These are just a few examples of the common questions that potential home buyers often ask. Each buyer’s situation and priorities may vary, so it’s important to address their specific concerns and provide relevant information to assist them in their decision-making process.
We are ready to assist you with your personal real estate goals.
Common Questions Asked by Home Sellers
Real estate clients who are interested in selling their property typically have various questions and concerns. Here are some common topics they may want to know about:
- Market Analysis: Clients often want to understand the current market conditions in their area, including recent sales prices, average days on market, and trends affecting property values.
- Pricing Strategy: Clients seek guidance on setting the right price for their property. They may want to know the fair market value, comparable sales in the neighborhood, and factors that can impact the listing price.
- Marketing Plan: Sellers want to know how their property will be marketed to attract potential buyers. They may inquire about online listings, professional photography, open houses, virtual tours, print advertising, and social media promotion.
- Repairs and Staging: Clients may ask about necessary repairs or improvements that can enhance the appeal of their property. They may also seek advice on staging, decluttering, or depersonalizing the home to make it more marketable.
- Timing and Timeline: Sellers often want to know how long it may take to sell their property and the best time to list it. They may inquire about seasonal market fluctuations and the average time properties stay on the market in their area.
- Negotiation and Offers: Clients may have questions about the negotiation process, including how to evaluate and respond to offers. They may want to understand contingencies, inspections, and potential counteroffers.
- Costs and Fees: Sellers often want to know about the costs associated with selling their property, such as real estate agent commissions, closing costs, and potential expenses related to repairs or staging.
- Legal and Documentation: Clients may have questions regarding the legal aspects of selling real estate, including required disclosures, contracts, and any local regulations or permits that may apply.
- Tax Implications: Sellers may seek information on the tax consequences of selling their property, such as capital gains taxes or tax exemptions that may be applicable in their situation.
- Moving and Relocation: Clients may inquire about resources for moving services, storage options, and assistance with the logistics of relocating to a new property.
These are just a few examples of the questions and concerns that real estate clients typically have when considering selling their property. Each client’s situation may vary, so it’s important to address their specific needs and provide personalized guidance throughout the selling process.
Interested in specifics for your home or move, just reach out. The DiMaggio Betta Group looks forward to speaking with you.
Partnerships Are Key To Selling Luxury Homes
Here are 5 top avenues the DiMaggio Betta Group utilizes partnerships for the success of the clients they serve.
Leveraging the exposure of our listings through our partnership with Haute Residence gives us the platform not only to market our listings in a high level international platform but also gives us the ability to network with other Realtor professionals who also serve the high end market. Haute Residence also showcases our luxury brand allowing us to meet potential clients.
Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate is another platform we utilize to connect with other Realtors around the country, and like Haute Residence LRE is a platform to showcase our listings.
Partnerships with like-minded Realtors locally, nationally and internationally provides us the opportunity to refer our clients to other trusted advisors while receiving qualified referrals that we can assist.
Auction House Partnerships
Professional Collaboration
5 reasons a seller should stage
- We get one chance to make a good first impression, and selling a home is no different
- Photographs look better and will draw in more Buyers and provide more marketing opportunities
- The home will sell faster
- Buyers can visualize themselves in the home easier
- Staging is an expense, thus a tax write-off for the Seller
Allow us to help you prepare your home for market. Step Inside
Piedmont, Our Small Town Community
Piedmont, CA | Family, Home, Events and Lifestyle | A Personal Perspective
A personal perspective: Debbi grew up in Piedmont, attended Wildwood Elementary School, Piedmont Junior High (in 1979 it was renamed and regraded to Piedmont Middle School) and Piedmont High. Debbi graduated in 1982 from PHS and from UC Berkeley in 1987. For all the same reasons she enjoyed and benefited from Piedmont are the same reasons she and husband and partner Adam Betta decided to move their family to town.
– The excellent school system tops the list. One must live in town to attend the top-rated Piedmont schools. The high school is similar to a private school with just under 800 students, grades 9-12.
– Piedmont is a tight community where everyone knows one another and watches out for one another. Many of the children have known each other since they were toddlers hanging out in the Piedmont Park. With that noted, the Piedmont kids are also very welcoming to new students and look forward to meeting the new kids on the block.
– Piedmont is a place where kids can grow up in a small town environment, yet not be isolated. Piedmont is situated near the cultural diversity of Oakland and Berkeley and convenient to shops, cafes, boutiques and a variety of restaurants.
– Transportation and alternative routes – Piedmont is just a 20 minute drive of San Francisco and can be accessed via BART, bus, car or the informal car pool. The East Bay has easy access to both San Francisco and Oakland, International Airports. The San Mateo Bridge, the Bay Bridge and the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge provide alternative routes to other favorite destinations, unlike, for instance, in Marin County where public transportation and alternative routes are limited and the 101 freeway very congested. (A beautiful place, however.)
– Easily accessible to world-renowned and Debbi’s personal favorites for day trips or weekend overnights: Lake Tahoe, Napa, Sonoma, Pebble Beach, Carmel, Monterey, Big Sur and with the Oakland airport so close, Park City, Utah, Scottsdale, Arizona, Las Vegas, Beverly Hills, even Cabo San Lucas plus many other cities are just a hop, skip and a jump away on Southwest or Alaska Air.
– Another personal favorite Debbi points out is the giving back and community service aspect. Piedmont families and students are very active in giving back to the schools, community and others less fortunate in the neighboring communities, hospitals and organizations. Students have a variety of opportunities to participate in philanthropy. One of the most popular high school volunteer program is the Mexico Trip. The Piedmont Community Church offers this program once a year and fills up immediately. The students spend one week building homes for families just outside of Tijuana giving up their Spring Break to help others. It’s an incredible and moving experience for these affluent kids to experience. Or young woman can join NCL, the National Charity League, a mother-daughter organization who support and volunteer their time to various organizations. Piedmont has an incredible number of boys involved in Boy Scouts, many who have become Eagle Scouts. These are just a few of the many opportunities offered to our Piedmont kids and young adults.
In Piedmont, kids and families are involved, no matter what it is, they are active, giving and compassionate citizens.
Click the Highlighted Links Below:
Piedmont, West Coast Mayberry with Great Schools
Fun For Kids | Piedmont Rec Department
Study Smarter | SAT Prep
Piedmont District Calendar
- Piedmont K-12 District Calendar
- Piedmont High School Website
- Piedmont – Millennium High School
- Piedmont High School Sports
- Piedmont Middle School
- Havens Elementary – Ask Debbi and Adam what they think, their children attended Havens.
- Wildwood Elementary School – Debbi attended Wildwood. Ask Debbi to learn more.
- Beach Elementary – The smallest of the three elementary schools, Havens being the largest.
Piedmont Portal | Connecting Community and Schools | Truly, what Piedmont is all about.
Family Fun
Piedmont Neighbors + Newcomers Club | Great for kids and adults of all ages!
Interested in other activities, advice or recommendations, just reach out.
Between the DiMaggio Betta Group we have you covered.
Piedmont, CA
The City of Piedmont is a charter city of approximately 11,000 residents located in the beautiful Oakland Hills, overlooking the San Francisco Bay. The city, which is virtually built out, consists of established, high-quality single family homes on quiet tree-lined streets. Piedmont is centrally located within a few minutes from Oakland and San Francisco on the West and Concord and Walnut Creek on the East. Within Piedmont’s 1.7 square-mile area there are five city parks and numerous landscaped areas which offer wooded paths, tennis courts, children’s playgrounds and picnic facilities.
Best of Oakland 2023
Honored to be nominated in Best of Oakland, in the category — Best Real Estate Agents.
Please vote for Debbi DiMaggio, DiMaggio Betta Group.
Click Here
Thank you so much for your time.
Live On 5! with Debbi DiMaggio and Randy Baruh
LIVE on 5! Linkedin Live with Debbi DiMaggio and Randy Baruh
Conversation Recap and Takeaways
What is the mindset you have around your job or career?
For me it has always been — Real estate is NOT a job but a Lifestyle
Change out the word Real Estate with your Job and complete the sentence. FILL IN THE BLANK ____________ is Not a Job but a Lifestyle
Here are 5 Top Tips to help you embrace a similar mindset. No matter what career you are in you can make it fun by following these 5 Principles.
#1 Be Authentic | When you are doing what you love you are not only having fun but you are connecting with like-minded people who share a common interest.
#2 Be Creative | In Randy’s former life he was an actor and art director. Randy takes that same passion and love into his work as a real estate agent by creating entertaining and inspiring video content. Below is one of his most viewed YouTube videos.
#3 Create Opportunities | Rather than working from home or sitting behind a desk in the office, get out, be present and engage. When you are out in the world, or your community that is when opportunities arise. Randy strikes up conversations at his children’s sports games, standing in line at the grocery store and other places that are part of his daily routine. I don’t think this next one was intended but the outcome was unexpectedly fruitful. He was having his first colonoscopy and just was coming down from the anesthesia when the doctor, sitting in wait, across from Randy asked if Randy could help with him with a real estate need. Now that is truly an unexpected business opportunity! Randy leaned over, delirious, and grabbed a pen and paper and jotted down the contact information and details.
#4 Seek Inspiration | I find inspiration scanning fashion and design websites, movie sets, magazines, Pinterest, even Google images. The quickest way to spark creative and inspiring ideas is to Google what you are seeking to see what others are doing, then explore from there.
#5 Ask Questions | Most Realtors and quite frankly, anyone with a brand, product or service to sell is certainly more of a people person than one with an engineer type personality. One of the many aspects that keeps me so interested in real estate is working with a variety of personalities and people from around the globe. For over 30 years I have had the opportunity to meet new people, make new friends and hear interesting stories. Engaging with others by asking questions is fun for me, so it’s easy to develop authentic relationships. I am truly interested in hearing other people’s stories. Randy shared a technique he uses called the FORD Method which includes question categories to ask when getting to know someone based on the FORD Method, an easy way to get a friendly conversation going.
To recap our TOP 5 Takeaways from Live On 5!
Be Authentic
Be Creative
Create Opportunities
Seek Inspiration
Ask Questions
One thing of many I will implement from our conversation today with Randy is to create videos and photographic content showing someone in the home, cooking in the kitchen, watching a movie in the media room, sipping a cocktail in the living room, reading a book on a comfortable chair in the den.
Love it Randy! Thanks for the inspiration!
Thank you to our guests and you, for stopping by, and allowing us to share what we love! We hope we may inspire you to feel the same — Real Estate or FILL IN THE BLANK ____________ is not a job, but a Lifestyle
Seeking to buy, sell, lease or invest in real estate in Manhattan or Brooklyn reach out to Randy Baruh.
Looking for the same but in the San Francisco East Bay Area-or-Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, LA contact Debbi DiMaggio. If you are seeking to buy, sell, invest or lease in anywhere else in the world, just ask us for a referral so we can connect you with a local, experienced, knowledgeable and passionate Realtor.
Linkedin Live on 5!
East Coast Meets West, A Real Estate Conversation with Randy Baruh (NY) and Debbi DiMaggio (CA)
Join Debbi and Randy on Linkedin Live this Friday, May 5th (Cinco de Mayo) — 11 AM PST and 2PM EST where they will break down the #BeCorcoran2023 Real Estate Conference hosted in the vibrant city of Nashville! Randy and Debbi will share marketing tips and more!
Come with questions or email ahead!
Debbi.DiMaggio@CorcoranIcon.com
