The document outlines an email series called 'be real wise,' designed to guide potential home buyers through the real estate purchasing process, covering key topics such as the benefits of homeownership, finance basics for first-time buyers, online home search, real estate commissions, viewing homes, making offers, and negotiating contracts. It emphasizes the importance of working with a mortgage professional and understanding the complexities of home buying. The series aims to empower buyers with knowledge and support throughout their home buying journey.

1. Email 1
Welcome to the “Be Real Wise” email series. Think of it as a roadmap to purchasing real estate.
The purpose of these emails is to provide anyone thinking of buying a home in [your area] with
the tools and information they need to make great real estate decisions. In the upcoming
months I’ll be sending you emails about the purchasing process.
This information is provided to you with no obligation on your part, although I would welcome
the opportunity to assist you in the process. If at any time you have questions please don’t
hesitate to contact me—I’m here to help.
Legal disclaimer: The homebuying process can be complex and there are inherent risks. These
emails should not be construed as legal advice.
Happy House Hunting!
The 3 Pillars of home ownership
To get started with the basics, let’s talk about some of the fundamental benefits of home
ownership.
Appreciation: As with any investment, there is no guarantee for appreciation or gain. Real
estate is no different, and be wary of any real estate consultant who makes promises of future
gains. Locally, appreciation in the [insert market] has been [insert statistic]. But on the other
hand, renting will never provide any opportunity for appreciation. Renting is a zero-risk, zero-
reward dynamic.
Principal Reduction: Each month when you make your mortgage payment the lump sum is
divided into a few different areas. Some of the money goes toward interest, some goes toward
taxes and insurance, and a portion goes toward the principal. Assuming your home does not
depreciate, the principal portion is like putting money into savings and that goes toward your
equity. Best of all, over time when the loan is eventually paid off you will not have a mortgage
payment. When renting the payment will never end.
Mortgage Interest Deduction: Since as early as 1913 in the United States the mortgage
interest you pay on your primary residence has been tax deductible. This means if you were to
pay $20,000 in mortgage interest in a given year you can most likely deduct that amount from
your taxable income. This can equate to a considerable reduction in income taxes and is
considered a big benefit to owning.

2. Email 2.
Benefits of homeownership, financial and beyond
Owning a home can be a big commitment, and it’s not for everyone. There are risks involved
with owning a home, but with these risks come awesome benefits that are not necessarily just
financial. You’ve probably already imagined yourself enjoying some of these benefits I’ll share
below.
Personalization:Ever since cavemen drew antelope on their cave walls, humans have had a
desire to make their home special and unique to them. When you own your own home the
opportunities to do this are almost unlimited (keeping in mind HOA and local regulations of
course). Want to paint your bedroom walls hot pink? Go crazy!
Sweat equity: If you are handy and enjoy DIY projects you can make many improvements to
your home. The benefits of improvements are two fold—you get to enjoy the upgrades, and you
will some day realize the increase in value if you sell or re-finance the home.
Pets: Let’s face it, we love our animals and with many rental properties they are not allowed.
Now you can have the falcon or toy pomeranian you’ve always wanted.
Stability: Most rental agreements are set in one-year intervals, and while you can possibly
renew your lease there is no guarantee you’ll be able to keep your place as long as you want.
Additionally, the price of your rental can go up periodically. When you own, as long as you have
a “fixed rate loan” your payment will never change unless your taxes or insurance rates change.
Stronger communities: Statistics show that communities where there are more homeowners
have lower crime, better performing schools, lower teen pregnancy rates, more civic
participation, and homeowners even report being happier overall after the transition from renting
to owning.*
*Source:Social Benefits of Homeownership and Stable Housing
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
Research Division
April 2012
http://www.realtor.org/sites/default/files/social-benefits-of-stable-housing-2012-04.pdf

3. Email 3.
A crash course in finance for the first-time homebuyer
As you read this, keep in mind it is critical to work with a mortgage professional who will take the
time to carefully explain and advise you on all your options. If you ever feel confused or nervous
about the financial commitment you are making your mortgage advisor owes it to you to make
sure you are 100 percent comfortable with your decision. Real estate financing is complex—it’s
okay to ask a lot of questions.
Rather than go into a lengthy explanation of the types of loans (of which there are hundreds),
let’s talk about what you should be doing to prepare to obtain a loan.
Step 1. Meet with a mortgage professional even if you’re not going to buy for a while. This is
critical. I have several people who I can refer and have a track record of success. I’d be happy
to set up an appointment for you.
Step 2. In most cases you’re going to need some cash to purchase. There are loans that cover
100 percent of the cost, but many lenders still want to see reserves in your checking or savings.
Bottom line, unless your mortgage advisor tells you to pay off an existing loan you probably
want to start saving as much as possible.
Step 3. Make every payment on time. Be sure any credit card, auto loan, or any other payment
you may have is on time. Having late payments or any negative credit reporting is not ideal
when getting ready to finance a house.
Step 4. Avoid taking on any new debt. This means no new cars or credit cards. Your ratio of
debt per month compared to your income per month is one of the most important factors in
obtaining financing.
Step 5. Wait to check your credit until you’ve met with your mortgage advisor. Credit scores are
somewhat mythical and there is a lot of theory and misinformation about how they are
calculated. Having your credit report pulled may lower your score, so make sure you do it at the
right time. Additionally, you may want to avoid applying for any other loans because they may
pull your credit too.

4. Email 4.
The online home search
There are a lot of things that need to happen before you can actually close on a home, but let’s
face it:shopping is the fun part! Obviously real estate shopping has moved online and there are
hundreds if not thousands of websites to choose from when it comes to searching. I have a few
suggestions for you as well as a few words of caution.
To begin, it helps to understand how this whole system works. Over 90 percent [insert your
percentage] of the homes for sale are listed by an agent (listing agent) whom the sellers choose
to assist them through the selling process. The listing agent places that home for sale on the
MLS, and this is where the listing information originates. The MLS is a private and cooperative
database used exclusively by real estate agents. The MLS is where we share with other agents
the properties available for sale. The MLS is a strictly managed system designed to promote
accuracy and protect the buying and selling public from misinformation. While the MLS is a
private database, it does share the data (listings) with third parties like Zillow, REALTOR.COM,
and Trulia. Those sites then publish the listings for home buyers like yourself to search.
[if you have your own website use this] So where should you search? One option would be to
use my website. It’s designed for my customers to do their home search. Because I am a
member of the MLS I have access and permission to display 100 percent of the information
contained within the MLS. This means you’re seeing the most up-to-date and accurate database
of homes for sale.
[if you don’t have your own website try this] So where should you search? Our MLS system has
a public version of the private MLS database where you can search for homes. The advantage
to this over the third party sites is that you can be confident you are seeing accurate information
about the available homes for sale.
Here’s some sage advice for homebuyers: There is a very good chance you’ll be looking at a
variety of websites to search for your home, and that’s okay. Just be aware that these third party
sites may not have the most up-to-date information. If you see a deal that sounds too good to be
true it could be an outdated or even fake listing. Let your agent know you are actively searching

5. and they can validate any listing you find to see if it’s still available. This is important because
getting your hopes up for homes that are no longer available can really cause unnecessary
buyer fatigue.
I’d be happy to set up an automated search for you. One of the best ways to shop is by having
your your search criteria programmed into the actual MLS database so that you know
immediately when a home matching your requirements becomes available. Most third party
sites have a delay and you don’t want to miss out on your perfect house.
Email #5
Real Estate Commissions
There should never be any mystery when it comes to the real estate commission. My goal with
the “Be Real Wise” email series is to empower you with information so you can make educated
real estate decisions with confidence. This includes making sure you understand how I get
compensated and what that means for you.
Real estate commissions are pretty simple really. When the seller hires their agent (the listing
agent) they establish a commission amount they are willing to pay their agent. Let’s say for
example they agree to pay the listing agent 6% of the sales price of the home. Once the home
is listed for sale the listing agent will offer a portion of that commission to any agent (the buyers
agent) who represents a buyer for the home. This is the co-op (cooperative) commission, and in
most areas there is a standard co-op commission amount. In the example above the co-op
would usually be one half of the 6%.
You may have noticed the good news with this arrangement is that as the home buyer you are
not responsible to pay your agent any commission! This is a long-established system which has
worked well in real estate transactions for years.
As with most things there are exceptions to every rule. The most important thing to keep in mind
is that I will always be up front about any issues arising related to commission. If we find a home
that offers less than my acceptable co-op commission fee we can discuss options. For example,
if we find a home that is for sale by owner, many times the owner is willing to pay a co-op
commission.
Here is the bottom line: Well over 90% of my transactions follow the typical commission
structure described above, in which the buyer’s representation is paid for by the listing agent via
the co-op. If something else comes up I’ll make sure you know your options.
Email #6

6. Looking at houses
This is one area where you really get a lot of value from me as your agent. Maybe you’ve
identified four or five houses that you’d like to see, or I’ve picked some homes I think meet your
needs. I’ll map out the homes and schedule the showings through the listing agents or their
office. Because I’m an agent I’ll be given a code to access the lockbox, which will get us into the
home. You now have the opportunity to see the home without the homeowner or their agent
present. This means you can speak freely about your likes and dislikes. If you have questions
about the home or the neighborhood I can answer them or get you the answers you need.
I pride myself on being available to show you homes on short notice, but I’ve learned over time
that buyers have a better experience when we can schedule more that one home at a time in
advance. This gives you time to settle into a routine of comparing all the features of various
homes. It also gives us the opportunity—usually between homes—to talk about the market, your
situation, and your criteria as it evolves.
There are a couple things you should know about looking at homes. Some buyers will find the
perfect home right away and for others it takes time. Some people know within 15 seconds of
walking into a home that it’s “the one” for them, while others may agonize over two or three
favorites. It’s my job to help you identify what is working for you and help you identify the
emotional vs. logical decisions that come with every home purchase.
This whole process can be stressful. It’s a big decision and I certainly don’t take that lightly.
[insert any special services that you offer your buyers.
- Logging all homes viewed and note taking.
- Photo catalog of homes or features they like.
- Maybe you pack a brown bag lunch for them on long showing days]
Email #7

7. Making an offer
This is the stage when things are starting to get exciting. You’ve found the right home and it’s
time to make an offer. The biggest question in your mind is either “How much should I offer?” or
“How much will they come down in price?” We all want to get a good deal, and I’m here to help.
Time is of the essence. Whether a home has been on the market four hours or 40 days you
never know if another buyer is feeling the same way about this particular home and thinking
about making an offer. If there are no other offers on the house that is a good thing—we want to
get our offer written and submitted in hopes we don’t have to compete with any other buyers.
For all of my buyers I prepare a market analysis on the home in consideration. This will give you
an idea of what other homes have sold for as well as another very important factor: the
relationship between asking price and sales price. In my analysis I will be able to show you how
much the other sellers in the area negotiated on the price of their home. This can sometimes be
a surprising statistic. It’s not uncommon to see sellers getting 98% or 99% of their asking price.
Ultimately the price you offer and settle on is always up to you, but this is the kind of information
which can help you make an educated decision.
It’s my job to do everything I can to help you achieve your goals, which does not necessarily
mean squeezing every penny out of the seller. Many of my clients—through the education and
information I provide—realize that good homes receive very close to asking price. At this point
they are more focused on finding the right home and making sure they get it.
If your goal is getting the lowest price possible then I will help you achieve that. Just be
prepared to be patient. It may be a while before we find the motivated seller who is willing to
come down in price.
Email #8

8. Negotiations
After the offer is made some negotiations may or may not happen. There are so many different
scenarios that can unfold. For example, maybe you are competing with other offers and you
make the highest offer and it gets accepted “as is” without any further negotiation. Or maybe
you are competing against other offers and they accept another offer and you don’t get the
chance to negotiate at all. In either of these scenarios I will work hard to make sure you
understand all your options. Depending on how much you like the house there are various
strategies we can implement to do our best to have the winning offer.
Another scenario may be a home that doesn’t have any offers. This gives you the opportunity to
possibly make an offer that is less than their asking price (in my last email I discussed some
things to consider when making an offer like this). Once you’ve made your offer the seller’s
representative (listing agent) will present that offer to the seller and they may start negotiations
with a document called a counter offer. The exciting thing about a counter offer is that you now
have control of the situation. At this point the seller has told you what they are willing to do and if
you accept the counter offer you’ll officially be under contract.
The negotiations stage of the process can move quickly or slowly. Some listing agents are very
formal with written counter offers and some are very informal, preferring to negotiate verbally.
You should know that I will always stay in close communication with you and all negotiation
decisions are made by you.
Email #9

9. Going under contract
[This verbiage, as with all of the content in the emails, may be different in your locale and should
be updated accordingly]
You’ve probably heard the term “under contract” or “in escrow” before, but you may not be clear
on exactly what that means. In essence it means that the buyer and seller have agreed to the
purchase price of the home, as well as other terms such as a closing date and other deadlines
for the transaction. This agreement is in writing in the form of a purchase contract, and includes
other documents such as the counter offer, signed by both buyer and seller. Because a home
sale is an intricate and important process with a many moving parts, the “under contract” time
period allows everyone involved to get their respective tasks completed.
Here are a few of the events that may take place during the under contract period:
For the buyer:
● The lender can now begin to process the loan for that exact home and based on the
terms of the contract.
● Schedule and perform a home inspection
● Review home owner association documents
● Review title and title insurance documents
● Deposit the earnest money
● Have the home appraised
● Perform a survey
● Final walk through of the property
For the seller:
● Order the title insurance policy
● Provide the buyer with the required documents regarding the HOA or other relevant
information
● Make repairs based on the the buyer’s requests (if agreed upon)
● Pack and clean for move out date
This is a brief explanation of a fairly involved process that usually takes anywhere from 15 to 45
days. Having worked with many buyers and sellers I realize there are also a lot of things that
must happen in your personal life when you move. It’s my mission to make the process as easy
as possible and keep you informed at all times.

10. Email #10
Closing Day
[This process can vary widely from state to state. Be sure to put this into your own words based
on your local procedures]
It’s finally time to transfer ownership of the home from the seller to the buyer. This is a big day
when everything comes together with a lot of paper signing and hopefully a very happy buyer
and seller. Depending on whether the seller lives locally they may or may not be present at
closing. It’s not uncommon to have the buyer, seller, lender, both agents, and the title company
representative all in the same room for closing.
At closing the buyer usually has the lion’s share of papers to sign because you are agreeing to
the terms of your loan. Based on the loan you receive there are usually government forms as
well as all your loan documents to sign. If the real estate agents have any documents that are
missing signatures they often get those taken care of at closing.
The seller has documents such as the title or deed to the home which they are going to convey
over to you, the new buyer.
All of this signing is usually handled by a title or escrow company. They function as an impartial
third party to help facilitate the transfer of the sale. The title company also makes sure that all
the documents required by the lender are executed property. They will also make sure that any
required documents are recorded with the proper local entity such as the county assessor.
I will be at closing with you to answer any questions you may have as you work through the
documents. Once everything is completed you may or may not get the keys to the house. The
reason you may not get the keys is because the seller may have requested a few days to move
out after closing. This would have been agreed to at the beginning of the process. In either case
you are now a homeowner!
Email #11

11. After closing
You have now closed on your new home and the seller has moved out, so you can begin to
move in. As stated in my last email, sometimes the seller gets a few days to move out after
closing.
Obviously you have a lot to do when you’re moving in to your new home and probably moving
out of your existing residence. I’m still available to help with anything you need as you get
settled—maybe you have questions about utilities, or maybe the seller left something behind at
the home. Give me a call, I’m here to help. Need a good landscaper or other contractor to get
started on some projects? Give me a call, I have some great service providers I can
recommend. Have a question about your home owners association and what it does? Give me
a call, I will do my best to get you answers.
At closing you were bombarded with a lot of information, and one important detail was when
your first mortgage payment will be. Because of the way mortgages are structured and paid in
arrears your first payment may be more than a month away. This can be helpful when juggling
the expense of moving, and we can work with the lender to structure your transaction so you
have that buffer if it is something you’re interested in.
Congratulations! You are officially a homeowner!
Email #12

12. Additional Resources and agent selection
I hope the “Be Real Wise” email series was a useful roadmap for buying a home. As I
mentioned, my goal is to empower my customers with information throughout the entire
process.
I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss your goals, concerns, and
questions about your personal home buying needs. I genuinely enjoy working with first time
home buyers and I want you to know if you choose to work with me I will make you a top
priority.
Here are some other things I do to make my services stand out from the competition:
[List those things here]
[additional ideas]
● All my clients receive complimentary professional cleaning service. You can use this to
have the property you are moving out of cleaned (even if it’s your rental) or you can use
it for your new property.
● All my clients receive a home warranty, or if you are buying a new construction home
that already has a home warranty you receive a $250 hardware store gift card.
● I have a prefered vendor list for services like landscaping, handyman work, and
entertainment systems, where they offer various incentives or discounts to my clients.
● I have a full time customer service specialist that will address your questions or concerns
when I’m not immediately available.