Your real estate team
who does what
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”
- Helen Keller
A licensed real estate agent represents Buyers and Sellers during real estate transactions.
“Listing Agent”: The Realtor representing the SELLER. They “list” the home for sale.
“Selling Agent: The Realtor representing the BUYER. They help search for homes and write offers.
Typically commission for both Agents is paid by the Seller when the property sells.
A professional who helps you secure financing (a mortgage loan) to buy a property. They may work at a bank, credit union, or other financing entity.
“Lender”: A lender works for a financial institution that ‘loans’ you money.
"Mortgage Broker": A broker finds you a loan by shopping around at many different places.
You can shop around for the best interest rates and loan terms.
Many types of inspectors are available. Depending on the property you may want to hire multiple inspectors at the same time.
Home inspector: visually inspect the home inside and out.
Plumbers inspect sewer lines from the home to the street.
Roofers can check the condition and "age" of the roof.
Well inspectors can test how much water is flowing to the home.
Septic inspectors look at the system and pump the old sewage.
Title officers run thorough history searches on the property and pull records that could impact the sale of the home/land.
Title companies can find things such as liens against the property, recorded easements, CCRs and HOA info, property taxes, and more.
In Idaho, they won't provide these reports until escrow is opened. In Washington, they will run a "preliminary" title report if requested.
A third party person who remains neutral during the process.
They will hold/transfer all of the money and prepare all of the closing documents according to the agreement between Buyer & Seller as well as the Lender’s instructions. If anything goes wrong, they won’t pay out any money until both sides come to an agreement or legal action is taken.
*This is who you contact to sign your final documents with.
