What it Takes to Buy a Home in East Bay of San Francisco Bay Area
Actually, none of those things happened to Isaac and Maria Toscano, who moved into their home in July. Instead, a combination of the right real estate agent, the right mortgage broker, and the right attitude came together in a way that took them from would-be homebuyers to successful homeowners.
Part of the equation was the Toscanos’ firm belief that owning a home was something that had to happen, and had to happen soon. “Owning a home had been a dream for the past 10 years,” explains Isaac Toscano, “but we postponed it.”
The realizations that their family was growing up, and prices going up, spurred them into action. “Our kids were growing, so we decided we would do what we had to do. We were looking at the market, and seeing it rising motivated us to do whatever we had to.”
But making that resolution did not necessarily make things any easier for them. “This was a rollercoaster for us. The fear was there. If we bought a house, we wondered, could we pay for it?,” Toscano explains.
Those concerns weren’t immediately allayed when they sought a loan. Lender after lender said a loan would be high, but didn’t offer specifics or propose a way to work on the problem. “They’d say our credit was bad, and a loan would have a high interest rate,” Toscano explains.
That changed when they met with mortgage consultant Shelley Puentes. “The information from Shelley was, ‘There are ways to get you a loan.’ She came back and said, ‘Your scores are this much, but you need to get them this high.’ Then she gave us homework we had to do,” he explains.
Having worked on their credit scores, and armed with the knowledge of what they could afford, they met with real estate agent Martina Wolter. Likewise, Martina was encouraging. “Martina told us, ‘There is a home out there for you.'”
But being prepared and being well supported didn’t always make it easy. “We made proposals and had offers rejected. I’d say, to anyone looking, that you’ll probably get four or five turndowns,” Toscano explains.
Still, it is that kind of support that got them where they are now, a cozy home in Alameda County. Although he did some online research, once the house-hunting began in earnest, Toscano largely eschewed much of technology, saying he preferred the personal touch, meeting with their real estate agent and mortgage broker in person rather than exchanging phone calls and emails. “Maybe it’s old-fashioned, but in this kind of purchase, I like to deal with people on a person-to-person basis,” he says.
And the personal contacts they chose, Toscano notes, were key to successfully buying a home.
Wolter, however, says that working with eager buyers, such as the Toscanos, made a big difference.
“They were motivated. They wanted to move soon,” Wolter notes. “Sometimes, people research for months before anything happens.” Their drive to get into a home as soon as they could made a large difference.
That eagerness translated into quickly responding to anything that would move the process forward. “They were quick to look at properties and quick to respond whether they were interested, as well as quick to turn in paperwork,” she notes, writing a letter to accompany every sales offer to give them an extra edge.
“They were also flexible,” Wolter says. “That is particularly important for first-time homebuyers. It helps to be realistic about the size, location, and amenities of their first home,” she says.
Puentes also says the Toscanos helped themselves quite a bit, too. “They were willing to do whatever it took, and they were very easy to work with,” she says.
Perhaps that is the best advice to would-be homebuyers in a nutshell.
