Buyer's Experience

Its important to understand the process before diving in. Below you'll find everything you need to know about your new home search.

A Step-by-Step Buyer's Guide

Whether it's your first time buying or you have purchased before, buying a home can be intimidating.  In order to ensure a stress-free experience and demystify the process, Audrey takes a customized approach with each and everyone of her clients. 

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Step 1: Research

We live in a digital age with the luxury of answers at our finger tips. 99% of buyers start their research online so you are in the right place. Ask your self-  where can you picture your self living? Is it a condo with amenities or a single family home with a back yard? What about your current house do you like and dislike?  Next- head to the home search to see what’s available on the market now? While scrolling make sure to make mental notes on what draws you into a specific listing and why. Also take note of any changes in asking prices- This could give you valuable insight into housing trends in specific neighborhoods and help you when the time comes to make an offer.

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Step 2: Decide on Your Budget

Notice I said to decide on your budget—not determine how much the mortgage company will give you. In many cases, a mortgage company will pre-approve you for more than you’re comfortable spending, which is why you need to determine the monthly payment you feel comfortable with before talking to a lender. This likely includes doing a full household budget and taking into consideration what changes other than a mortgage payment will occur once you move into your new home. If you’ve lived in an apartment or with roommates, you may overlook new expenses like garbage, water, or HOA fees that could easily blow your budget.

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Step 3: Get Prequalified

Just because you think you can afford a certain payment every month doesn’t mean the mortgage company will agree. Just as they may approve you for too large of an amount, they may also approve you for a lesser amount or deny you a mortgage altogether. Lack of time at a job, insufficient credit, past bankruptcies, or other financial issues can cause major problems when trying to secure a mortgage. Before you get your heart set on a home, talk to a mortgage professional to find out what amount you can qualify for. This will also be an advantage when you make an offer on a home, as some sellers won’t entertain offers from those who aren’t already prequalified for a loan.

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Step 4: Choose a Real Estate Agent

Can you shop for, look at, and ultimately make an offer on a home without a real estate agent? Technically yes, but why would you when it costs you nothing for an agent like me to take much of the stress off your shoulders? Not only will I help identify properties you might be interested in, arrange showings, and ultimately handle the offer process, but I also have a knowledge of the market that you don’t possess. I may be able to steer you away from certain homes or neighborhoods, suggest hidden gems, or give you pointers that will help you find your dream home for the right price.

My goal is to provide you with the most personalized service that is designed to help you buy your dream home.

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Step 5: Find the Right Home

This should be the most enjoyable step of the entire process (other than moving in!). I will arrange showings of homes you’re interested in that are within your price range. Take notes about what you like and don’t like, and make sure to pay attention to details. Turn light switches on and off, open and close doors, and run the faucets in various rooms. Don’t limit your inspection to the home itself. Make sure to take time to explore the neighborhood and keep an eye on traffic at certain times of the day, the parking situation, and how close it is to necessities like schools and grocery stores.

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Step 6: Make an Offer

Once you have selected the perfect home, work with your agent to craft a fair offer based on the value of comparable homes on the market. Depending on what the home is listed at and whether the current environment is a buyer’s or seller’s market, your offer may be below, at, or even above the asking price. I will be able to help you negotiate if you receive a counteroffer and reach an agreement. At this point, the house will go into escrow.

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Step 7: Have the Home Inspected

In most cases, your offer will be contingent on having the home inspected to ensure there is no major structural damage or large repairs needed. I can help you arrange this, and you can schedule it within days of making an offer. If there are no major issues, the process goes to step eight. If there is, you can renegotiate your offer based on what needs to be fixed, or you can withdraw it.

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Step 8: Simultaneously Work To Lock In Loan

Now is the time to go back to the mortgage lender who pre-approved or pre-qualified you and choose your mortgage. You will be presented with various options based on your unique financial situation, including fixed-rate, variable-rate, 15-year, 30-year, or special programs such as VA loans or FHA loans. Work with your mortgage lender to select the option, rates and points you feel the most comfortable with.

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Step 9: Get a Home Appraisal

Your lender will have your new home appraised so they have their independent value of it. The appraisal is to ensure that all parties involved are paying a fair price for the house.

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Step 10: Finish Paperwork

No one looks forward to all the paperwork involved in buying a home, but it’s a necessary part of the process. Fortunately, everything will be arranged by your lender and title company and, when you’re finished, you’ll know you are the legal owner of your new home.

Congratulations!

After signing the final paperwork to complete the purchase, you are now the owner of a new house. It may take a few days for your loan to be funded once the paperwork has been returned to the lender, but once that check is delivered to the seller, you’ll be all set to move into the home of your dreams. 

Please complete the following form to download the FREE complete collection of "How Tos", "Checklists", "Worksheets", and More!!

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My Testimonials

See why my clients love working with me.

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George Change

We had the pleasure of working with Audrey Alessi and Amber Delmonico of Alessi Real Estate Advisors this summer when we sold our house on Wilhelmina rise. After an extensive interview process, where we interviewed a number of ...
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Jenely S.

Audrey Alessi was my Realtor®, and she is honestly amazing. I was looking for a home for about 2-3 years. I was so wish-washy in the beginning, not sure what I wanted or even if I wanted to buy. But Audrey stayed patient with m...
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Dan W.

As a first-time homebuyer I did not know what I was getting myself into, and to be totally honest If Audrey and the team she assembled did not do such a fantastic job of helping me understand each step in the process- all while...
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Zech R.

Audrey Alessi was extremely helpful throughout my entire first-time home buying experience. Her impeccable organization, as well as, her timely manner helped me obtain everything I wanted in a first home and more. Her communica...
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Seller

Audrey was great! The market was crazy and she did everything she could to leverage us into a contract. After entering the contract, the property did not qualify for a loan with our bank. Audrey had a reliable team of loan agen...
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Claire K.

Audrey Alessi definitely exceeded our expectations for a Realtor®! She went above and beyond for us as we navigated our home purchase in Hawaii. Everything went smoothly as she coordinated all efforts, answered all of our many ...
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Nigel N.

Audrey Alessi was an amazing Realtor® who guided me to buy my first home. She stayed connected with the loan officers and seller agent even she wasn't on the island. She responded very quickly and stayed engaged throughout the ...
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Kameron P.

Audrey is one of the most responsive, careful, and compassionate people I've worked with. I've seen firsthand Audrey's realty skills and ability to handle new and challenging situations. It's rare to catch her on an off-day con...
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Yoshi A.

Audrey Alessi guided me through my first home buying experience to complete satisfaction. She took her time to get to know what I was looking for, earned my trust, and kept me happy and on track until I had keys in hand and the...
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Greg

"You must use Audrey Alessi as your next Realtor if you live on Oahu. Audrey represented us for our real estate transaction, and her professionalism and knowledge surpassed our expectations. She got us the offer we were looking...
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Lilinoe H.

Audrey Alessi is fantastic at her job and made our first experience in purchasing property so easy! She was quick, efficient, and very professional. We really appreciate her responsiveness, patience, and flexibility. We could n...
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Buyer

Audrey is amazing. She was knowledgeable and walked me through all the options throughout the whole process, and I honestly think that I would have abandoned the idea of purchasing a home had I been working with anyone else.
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Ken P.

We worked with Audrey to buy our first home and thankfully she was able to get our offer approved through her network. Audrey was easy to work with and knowledgeable! Highly recommended!
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Nick Z.

Purchased a condo with Audrey and she was great from start to finish. Very communicative and I'll be returning for any other Oahu real estate needs! Thanks, Audrey!
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Buyer

I was a first-time homebuyer. Audrey was so knowledgeable and worked hard to get me into my dream home. She’s the best!
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Lisa H

Audrey Alessi was the Selling agent for my Honolulu condo that closed 10/23. We had been on the market for 300+ days with another agent without success. She stepped in re-did everything from photos, to edits, to 'light staging,...
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Work With Audrey

Audrey chose a career in real estate because she realized her potential was being able to connect people to the opportunity to create wealth through real estate within the community, Audrey thrives by remembering this one thing every day. Contact Audrey today!