Contact Us for a Non-Obligation Phone Consultation
We understand that buying a home is a big financial and emotional decision, so you want a trusted expert by your side. Get in contact so we can learn more about your home buying goals and answer any questions you may have about Bay Area home buying, and how Unlocked can help you. We want to ensure that your home buying process gets off on the right foot.
We can help you figure out your budget, including introducing you to the best mortgage officers at the top banks, and hone in on the best opportunities that fit within your budget. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to Contact Us.
Get Pre-Approved
A great first step is to get pre-approved (if you require a mortgage). The Bay Area real estate market is very competitive and moves quickly, and waiting until you’ve found a home before applying for your mortgage may result in you missing out. Getting pre-approved will also give you a realistic guide of your budget, as well as the monthly mortgage payments at different mortgage amounts.
We generally recommend starting with banks that you already have a banking relationship with, as most banks offer special rates and terms for ‘preferred customers’ or ‘existing clients’. You should also check if your employer has special rates and terms negotiated with any banks - most large Bay Area tech employers do.
If you would like, we’d be happy to recommend the best mortgage officers at the major banks who we have worked with in the past and have done an excellent job for our clients.
Assessing the Market and Honing In
Unlike traditional agents, we don’t rely on ‘gut instinct’. Unlocked's partners have previously worked at the top management consulting, private equity and law firms, and leverage those experiences to bring data-driven analyses, transparency and insight to help you understand and navigate the Bay Area real estate market.
After you’ve gotten your pre-approval and have a budget in mind, let us know and we can help you narrow down where to focus on your home search. We are one of the most active brokerages in the Bay Area, so can give you insight about the current market based on real transaction data.
Learn About The Communities
Websites like NewHomeSource make it easy to find communities that match your search criteria. You can filter communities based on location, price, size and other property characteristics.
You can then go onto the builders' website to get more information about the specific communities, such as floorplans, site maps and photos of the interior of the homes.
If you have any questions about any of the communiities your're interested in, please feel free to contact us. More than likely, we've already helped an Unlocked client buy at that community, so can give you more information like build quality, amenities and flexibility in price.
Send Us a Short-List
When you’ve found a community that you are excited about, please feel free to contact us.
We'd be happy to answer any information you have about the community, as well as give you more details about availability, pricing and move-in dates.
Note, it is important that you pre-register your Unlocked agent as your agent prior to your first visit to a community's sales office. Some builders will not pay a commission if the buyers’ real estate agent was not registered before the first visit
Custom Valuation Report (CVR)
“What is this home worth and what is the best price we can buy it for?” is a question we get asked a lot. While other real estate agents seem to pluck a random number out of thin air (usually a very high number), we bring data and analytical rigour to valuing a home.
For each community you’re interested in, we provide data on what comparable new homes have been selling for, and the price range that we think the home can be bought for.
Disclosure Review Summary (DRS)
Builders will prepare a packet of disclosures about the home and the community. These disclosure packets contain a lot of vital information. Unfortunately, they are long (200+ pages) and dense, which doesn’t make for fun, relaxing reading.
Unlocked helps you understand the disclosures through our Disclosure Review Summary (example DRS). We diligently read through the entire disclosure packet and catalog every issue we see, as well as give our assessment as to the level of risk of each issues (and provide the page number so you can reference).
We also summarise our risk assessment of the six major reports in the disclosure packet, allowing you to quickly hone in on the key issues.
Offer Strategy
When you’re ready to submit an offer, we’ll help you put your best foot forward. We’ll help you understand the level of demand for that community, and discuss with you the right offer price and terms based on how desirable the community is to you.
We are one of the most active brokerages in the Bay Area, so we have often recently negotiated deals with the same salespeople at the community our clients are interested. We use that insight, as well as other data signals specific to the community you’re interested in, to give you guidance on your likelihood of success at different price points.
Seamless Offer Process
Everything we do is done to make the home buying process simple. We’ve optimized the offer submission process so that it is as seamless as possible for the buyer.
All offer documents are signed electronically via DocuSign, meaning that you can sign your offer documents quickly and from anywhere in the world.
Compile and Submit Your Offer
When you are ready to submit an offer, we’ll send you a template for the key offer terms for your purchase agreement. If you have any questions about the offer terms (e.g., what are offer contingencies, etc.), or if you’d like our advice on how to make your offer more competitive, we’ll be happy to jump on the phone to discuss.
Once we have your key offer terms, we'll submit your offer to the community's sales office.
In addition to your Purchase Agreement, we’ll also need to provide your pre-approval letter (sometimes the builder will have rules about being approved with their internal lender).
Post-Offer Negotiations
In today’s Bay Area new construction market, it is not uncommon for there to be post-offer negotiations, particularly if we've submitted your offer for below the builder's list price.
If and when you’re in such a situation, we’ll help you navigate the negotiations, providing expert advice and diligent representation through the final stages, ensuring you end up with the best possible outcome.
Smooth Closing Process
Once your offer has been accepted, Unlocked will guide you through the closing process. We’ll work with the escrow officer, your mortgage agent and the sales office to ensure that all of the necessary steps seamlessly happen, and you’re able to close your purchase on time.
With You to The Finish
Unlike other brokerages, we won’t hand you off to an assistant for the closing process. We understand that the closing period can be very stressful and time-pressured, so your Unlocked agent will continue to be at your side throughout the closing process.
Welcome Home!
Congratulations! You did it - you have successfully bought your new Bay Area home. You now get to move into and enjoy life in your new home.
We’ll send you a wire or deliver a check for your Unlocked 1.5% cash back rebate. We’ll also drop off a Welcome Home package to ensure you can celebrate the purchase of your new home.
Send us a message anytime and we'll get back to you ASAP!