A buyer receiving keys to a new Phoenix home

The Process

Steps to Buy a Home

Seven steps from pre-approval to keys, and what actually happens at each one.

Search Homes

Before You Start

Four Things That Make This Easier

Local Expertise

Ten years and 190 transactions across the East Valley.

Sharp Negotiation

Offers built on comps, not hope. Terms that hold up through closing.

Straight Answers

You will know what happens next before you have to ask.

A Trusted Bench

Lenders, inspectors and contractors who actually return calls.

Step by Step

The Seven Step Buying Process

01

Get Pre-Approved

Before we tour anything, you talk to a lender and find out what you can actually borrow and what the monthly number looks like with taxes, insurance and HOA included. In a competitive pocket a pre-approval letter is the difference between an offer being taken seriously and being skipped.

02

Search

I set up a search around what you told me matters, and we narrow it as you react to real homes. Most people's list changes once they walk three houses, and that is normal. We adjust.

03

Tour

We walk the ones worth walking. I point out what a listing photo hides: west-facing glass in July, a roof near the end of its life, a lot that backs the freeway, an HOA that is underfunded.

04

Make an Offer

We price it off real comparable sales, then decide on terms. Price is only part of it. Close date, inspection period, appraisal handling and repair limits all move the odds, and in a multiple offer situation terms often matter more than the number.

05

Inspections and Contracts

Inspection, appraisal, disclosures, title. This is where deals wobble, and where having someone who has done it 190 times earns their keep. If something turns up, we negotiate a fix, a credit, or we walk.

06

Closing Day

You sign, funds move, and the county records it. In Arizona you usually get keys at recording rather than at signing, so we plan your move around that and not around the signing appointment.

07

Settle In

Utilities, HOA registration, a contractor list for the first projects. I am still your point of contact after closing. Plenty of my clients call me years later, which is the entire point.

Step One

Let's Get You Pre-Approved

I can introduce you to a lender today, and it costs nothing to find out where you stand.

Get In Touch Search Homes

Find your perfect property with At Home AZ, your trusted partner for buying, selling, and investing in real estate. We deliver expert guidance and personalized service to help you make every move with confidence.