“How Am I Going to Buy a House?” with Diane McDermott

Diane McDermott is back to walk you through the ins and outs of buying your post-divorce home. After a stressful home-buying experience during her own divorce, Diane has focused her real estate business on guiding divorcing women through the home buying process.

Grab your free copy of Diane’s ebook for women homebuyers, The Badass Chick’s Guide to Home Buying.

You can connect with Diane at cbbuyersagent.com, dmcdermottcharlotte@gmail.com, and 704.516.3691.

Key insights from the episode:

2:10 – The first step to buying a house after your divorce

7:11 – Customizing a plan to find your ideal home

8:36 – The pros and cons of using online real estate search tools

9:45 – The average timeframe buyers spend searching for a home

10:33 – Get ahead by taking these steps before you start looking for a home

12:33 – Additional documentation divorced/divorcing homebuyers may need

12:57 – The important reason you should always speak with a family law attorney before buying a house during your divorce

16:06 – What you can expect after you have a house under contract

20:07 – What happens when the contract price is higher than the appraised value

25:02 – The average length of time it takes to close on a home

26:41 – Diane’s best advice for a positive home buying experience

Ready to discuss your family law matter now? Call 704-936-0062 to speak with an experienced Touchstone Family Law attorney today.

***

The insights and views presented in “Welcome to Splitsville” are for general information purposes only and should not be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. Nor does tuning in to this podcast constitute an attorney-client relationship of any kind. If you’re ready for compassionate and reliable legal guidance on your journey through divorce, contact Leigh Sellers and her team (NC & SC) at http://www.TouchstoneFamilyLaw.com

[spp-transcript]

Announcer:                            00:01                       Hello there. Going through a divorce? Considering one? Sorry to hear that, but here you are. Welcome to Splitsville. You’ll find Splitsville to be a pretty unique place. A new world, really with its own rules, it’s own expectations, and in many ways its own language. But don’t worry, you have a knowledgeable guide along the way. A family law attorney with three decades of experience under her belt. And now her she is. Your host and guide, Leigh Sellers.

Leigh Sellers:                         00:37                       Hi everyone and thanks for tuning into another episode of Welcome to Splitsville. I’m your host guide, Leigh Sellers founder of Touchstone Family Law, and in this episode I’ll be answering another question that many newcomers to Splitsville have. How am I going to buy a house? So, let’s dive in. So, we’re back today with Diane McDermott of McDermott Real Estate who has been here before and talked about being emotionally and financially ready to purchase a home, and today she’s literally going to go through the nuts and bolts of what you should expect from the moment that you find that you’re now ready. And you have your team together, what is going to happen as you go through this process to buy a home? And Diane, welcome back.

Diane McDermott:            01:35                       Thank you, Leigh. It’s a pleasure to be back. Thank you for having me.

Leigh Sellers:                         01:38                       Well, we talked about the last time that you are predominantly a buyers agent. That’s your specialty or your niche in real estate and we talked about the benefit of somebody actually making sure when they want to buy a home that they choose an agent who is predominantly a buyers agent or that enjoys the home buying process. More than the selling or the sell of the house, right? The listing of the house.

Leigh Sellers:                         02:10                       Walk us through what someone would expect if they came to you and said, “Hey, okay, I want you to help me find a house.”

Diane McDermott:            02:17                       Sure. When someone connects with me, whatever pathway they find me, the first step for me being so relationship-oriented as, “Okay, great, let’s meet. Let’s have a conversation. Let’s get to know one another.” And really start figuring out are we really a good fit? Does this really make sense, not just for one of us, but both of us? It is like a marriage of sorts. It’s a relationship to hire someone to represent you in any capacity, whether that’s in an attorney, a real estate broker, whatever the case is.

Diane McDermott:            02:50                       I’m really focused on let’s have a conversation. Let’s get to know how personality styles. Do we click? Do we both have the same core values? And things like that. Does it really make sense for us to have a working relationship going forward? And one of the first pieces of information that any buyer that connects with any real estate professional realtor in North Carolina should expect is to be shown and review the working with real estate agents brochure that’s put out by the North Carolina Real Estate Commission. And it’s a consumer protection brochure to make sure we as agents are explaining to consumers what they’re options are when it comes to working with a real estate broker.

Diane McDermott:            03:32                       Because there are buyers agents, there are sellers agents, and then the state allows something called “dual agency” where there’s one agent working for both buyer and seller. My first conversations with potential clients and connections are always here are the options, here’s what I allow, and here’s what I focus on, which of course is buyer agents. I do not allow my friend policy that dual agency is not allowed. I can’t sacrifice loyalty, so it’s just not an option. And so really going over what the loyalty that’s involved and the looking out for the clients’ best interest even above my own interests and making sure we have clarity on that.

Diane McDermott:            04:12                       If we decide mutually after our first meeting or so that we do want to work with one another, there is then what’s called a “buyer agency agreement,” that we would review. And then both sides both formalize our partnership.

Leigh Sellers:                         04:27                       So, it’s much like the legal field.

Diane McDermott:            04:29                       Yes.

Leigh Sellers:                         04:29                       Because I know we believe a consultation’s important to meet the person you want to represent you in your divorce and then it also involves representation agreement that outlines it. I didn’t realize it was so similar and that’s kind of sad. If I don’t remember actually going through that step, but I do buy my last home in 1999. The laws may have changed a little bit since then.

Diane McDermott:            04:51                       It has changed, actually even since 2004, so yes.

Leigh Sellers:                         04:54                       Well, good to know. What is going to be in your representation contract as the buyers agent? What should they expect to see in there?

Diane McDermott:            05:01                       There’s going to be a solid start. We have to have a start date and an end date. It depends on the buyer, but I make it anywhere from three to six months, the term of our agency agreement. It really just depends on what their plans are, but that can be adjusted if we need to later on, but there needs to be a definite start, a definite endpoint, but once you close on your home the agency agreement evaporates. You’re not tied to me for life. We’re not tied to one another for life. So, there’s a definite start and end period to our working relationship that ideally, obviously terminates naturally when you close on the home that you’re purchasing.

Leigh Sellers:                         05:37                       Now does this set forth how you will be compensated?

Diane McDermott:            05:39                       It does. As buyers agents, there are typically is not a cost to my buyer clients for my services. Any home that is listed for sale in our multiple listing system includes an offer buyer agent compensation. So, that’s where we look first for our compensation is to the listing firm. A listing agent know how hard buyers agents work and they’re usually happy to compensate for our services because they know that we’re handling a lot of the behind the scenes stuff, both with and for our clients, and moving the process along.

Diane McDermott:            06:11                       So, that’s typically where a buyers agent is gonna get paid is from the listing firm, not from their buyer client directly.

Leigh Sellers:                         06:17                       Now is there exceptions to that? Like right now we’re in a very strong sellers market. Could you have the potential that the seller would be like, “No, I’m not gonna pay for your realtor. I’m just paying for mine.”

Diane McDermott:            06:29                       When there’s a realtor involved, it’s not common for that to happen. That’s more common to come up if it’s say for sale and unrepresented seller situation, which my buyer would know if that were to come up I have a duty to let my buyer know that that is the circumstance as soon as I am aware of it. So, they can decide if they wanna proceed with this or not because if the seller or a listing agent is not going to cover the cost of my services, then my buyer client would technically legally be on the hook. They would be aware of that the moment that it becomes my knowledge that that’s the case. It’s not typical. It can happen, but it’s not the norm.

Leigh Sellers:                         07:11                       And what would be next after they’ve established both the agreed upon relationship and the legal relationship. What’s next?

Diane McDermott:            07:20                       Then we would have even more in-depth discussions on your kind of home search criteria. Because what I can do is go into on the backend of our multiple listing systems to set up what would be a customized for you home search. Yeah, beds and bath are important to have a minimum idea on that stuff too, but I wanna be having conversations with clients that go beyond that. I wanna go more into the what’s the most meaningful to you in a home.

Diane McDermott:            07:47                       Are you more introverted? Solitary time? Is it a place to recharge? Or are you entertaining guru? I mean, lifestyle type conversations that are helpful for me as I’m going through and evaluating any search results. It allows me to get to know better what really matters to the client and so I can set up the customs search where you’re get automatic daily updates emailed directly to you so you can see any new listings, any price changes. You can see when things go under contract and when they may come back on the market, so you’re really get up to the date information. And our multiple listing system is the best resource for that information Zillow and Trulia our out to actually sell consumers information to the highest bidder and their content is just not fresh.

Leigh Sellers:                         08:36                       You bring up a good point because I know in the legal field we certainly have a lot of people who are marketing to try to provide direct legal services to consumers form-based situations and I know I have also found the products to not naturally meet the needs of the clients who are coming in to see me. But I have seen all of these ads for these various apps or programs, or online ones, and I was curious to see what the distinction was.

Diane McDermott:            09:05                       And especially in this market right now, I know buyers are looking on Zillow and Trulia I get it, but I know I have clients that send me a list of 10 properties and I’m like half of them sold last year. The rest are on contract. I mean, it’s literally the information is so outdated and things are changing so quickly. Our multiple listing system is the hub, it’s the center of our real estate market, information wise. That’s really the best most direct source.

Diane McDermott:            09:31                       I have an app that’s available with one of my mortgage lenders and that actually pulls directly from our multiple listings system. So, it’s got a direct feed to that, but a lot of these that are advertised do not have that level of access.

Leigh Sellers:                         09:45                       Is there an average amount of time that someone’s going to spend searching for a home?

Diane McDermott:            09:49                       It really depends. I’ve had clients where we connected and we found the house and they closed within two months of us deciding to work with one another. That’s really quick. More typical would be a three to six month type window, but it depends on what area you’re looking in. It depends on the type of home that really is going to be the best fit for you as far as even seasonally. Our market kind of we typically have the most amount of listings on the market until the spring months, but homes sell I’ve had closings happen December 31.

Diane McDermott:            10:25                       Home sell during the holidays, too. It just depends on what makes the most sense for you when you’re ready, when the timing all kind of clicks into place.

Leigh Sellers:                         10:33                       So, let’s assume your buyer found a house that they loved and they were hoping they could purchase it. What should they expect to happen?

Diane McDermott:            10:40                       Well, prior to actually making an offer, we need to have everything in line with your mortgage financing. That goes beyond filling out some online form and being pre-qualified. You’ve had conversations with your mortgage professional. They have your documentation. They literally got everything that they need from you and we’re just waiting for the address once we find the house.

Leigh Sellers:                         11:04                       And you know that is incredibly different from the experience that I had. Like I said, in 1999, so I can imagine that this could be quite an education if you have a buyer who has not bought a home in a long time. Because you did not start applying for the financing until you actually had a property and they were being very specific about lending you money for that particular property.

Diane McDermott:            11:31                       It is very much the other way around these days and we can thank in large part to the great recession of 2008 and 2009, and all of the mess that we kind of had to weed through with that. Even for people who may have purchased a home previously, but they did it in let’s say 2004 to 2007, the landscape was totally different back then. I’ve had buyers, again, it’s this normal kind of thing. They didn’t ask for any of this last time. What do they need? Like a DNA profile? I mean, it literally kind of feel invasive for people, but the lending standards have tightened dramatically. And if you are a self-employed home buyer, be prepared because they are going to need even more documentation from you.

Leigh Sellers:                         12:15                       And that’s why we talked about it in the last episode when you were here. That financial readiness piece was you need to go ahead and establish that relationship early on before you even get your heart set on a property.

Diane McDermott:            12:27                       Absolutely. I mean, know what they are gonna need from you, so you can start preparing for that, and then for anyone who’s divorcing or on the other side of divorce they are even additional considerations ’cause your mortgage lender is gonna need a copy of your separation agreement. They’re going to need those legal documents possibly your divorce judgment. I mean, your mortgage lender needs to be on the same page as far as what you’re experiencing divorce wise because that’s going to create additional documentation needs.

Leigh Sellers:                         12:57                       For me, this goes without saying, but for the general public it doesn’t. So, if you are generally still legally married and you wish to go house hunting and you do not have a domestic family law attorney, they should go see one and talk to one. That’s right because the laws in North Carolina about home ownership and title, and what you can do to convey your interests or purchase new property, your marital status actually affects all of your those things, doesn’t it?

Diane McDermott:            13:24                       It absolutely does and I’ve seen it on both sides. I was the buyers agent for a couple that were actually Florida real estate realtors and the home they bought, the buyers lender needed a copy of the sellers marriage license because the seller had been single when she bought the house, later got married, and the lender’s going, “Who’s this other name on the purchase contract?” And the seller was furious and I went to the public records and pulled it up myself and got the buyers lender they needed the sellers marital status documentation.

Diane McDermott:            13:58                       So, yes it matters. Marital status matters when you’re selling and when you’re buying a home.

Leigh Sellers:                         14:04                       All of that is a good extra step from them to take before they get their heart set on that perfect house. So, when they do decide that it’s time to put down a contract and they do have their work done, so they know they’re pre-qualified for a certain amount of the mortgage. What steps are they going to be going through with you?

Diane McDermott:            14:21                       So, that is another legal document and the forms that we use are joint forms between North Carolina Buyer Association and the North Carolina Association of Realtors. So, they’re legal documents and us as agents they trust us just enough to fill in the blanks that keep getting smaller and smaller and smaller. I think it’s now 14 pages long. It’s an extensive contract and it really details. An offering contract isn’t just about price. There are terms in there that detail the property details. Any refrigerator, that’s considered personal property. Does that convey with the home details.

Diane McDermott:            14:57                       Due diligence states, deposit what you’re offering as earnest money and due diligence deposits. Details closing date, it details what the seller is representing how long they’ve lived on the property. What the buyer is planning on getting for financing or if they’re paying cash. It details literally every single term that realistically often comes up that would need to be addressed.

Leigh Sellers:                         15:20                       Great. Well, it’s a legal contract to buy a home.

Diane McDermott:            15:23                       It absolutely. It’s a legal process in North Carolina.

Leigh Sellers:                         15:26                       Right. They should expect to take some time and read it, and understand, and ask questions, and know that it’s not a handshake deal, of course.

Diane McDermott:            15:35                       It’s not. Back when we signed the buyer agency agreement, there are certain forms that we as agents are required to give sample forms of to our clients. They would have gotten a sample copy of the offer and purchasing contract. Now I don’t know if any of my clients have actually read every line, but I mean as we go through filling out that paperwork we kind of touch on the ones that are the key hot button points that are kind of the trickiest problem areas that could come up.

Leigh Sellers:                         16:01                       And don’t ever tell a lawyer that you didn’t read every line because that’s one of the things that drives us crazy. They’ve put the contract in. They’re reached agreement on terms that they can buy this house as long as they need meet these markets. Then you just what? Sit back and wait?

Diane McDermott:            16:15                       There is a bit of hurry up and wait for the contract to close process. It’s an official contract once everyone has signed, so no one’s made any changes. ‘Cause counter offering typically we do go back and forth in negotiation as with divorce settlements, I gather. Once we got an agreed upon contract, the next step, the mortgage process. Obviously, we kept the mortgage probably on the loop and they’re aware of what we found the property. Here’s the details, so they’re at the same point they kick into high gear.

Diane McDermott:            16:44                       Our next steps are related to inspections. So, during the due diligence period, which is kind of when you’re evaluating. Do I really wanna proceed with purchasing this home? We’re checking out the property condition, the appraisal will be ordered and sent out; that’s handled by the lender. The mortgage process moves along and we do our inspections. We get a copy of the inspection summary. The client and I will review that. The inspection is not what the seller must repair. It is an informational document for you to learn more about the reality of the condition of the home and the main systems in the home.

Diane McDermott:            17:22                       If there are things, certainly we can have another negotiation in due diligence if there are some things that you want addressed by the seller and that would be an additional agreement. All the due diligence agreement that we would complete at that point and we need to get that done prior to the due diligence that because if you go beyond the due diligence date and don’t have a due diligence agreement on anything that is important to you, the chances of agreeing are kind of next to none beyond that date.

Leigh Sellers:                         17:46                       Now are there people who just don’t do inspections?

Diane McDermott:            17:49                       I have never encountered a client of mine who didn’t do one.

Leigh Sellers:                         17:53                       It’s pretty important process. It’s really understanding what is the condition of the home that you’re buying. You’ve had disclosures that the seller made that they are required by law to make, but this is the things that may not been something you can ascertain from walking through.

Diane McDermott:            18:10                       Exactly and the sellers, the state’s disclosure, honestly they are a checklist. You’re relying on someone else’s knowledge and perspective. I personally would not be comfortable relying on that and not having a home inspection done. I mean, every home I bought I’ve hired a home inspector.

Leigh Sellers:                         18:29                       And who pays for the home inspector?

Diane McDermott:            18:30                       That is a buyer expense and most home inspectors these days do want that to be paid at the time of inspection.

Leigh Sellers:                         18:37                       And about what would you expect to pay for them?

Diane McDermott:            18:39                       It’s really based on the size and sometimes the age of the home. So, it’s based on square footage. It could be anywhere from 350 to 500 or 600. It really depends on the size.

Leigh Sellers:                         18:52                       This could be something you would have discussed with them well before. It’s not something sprung on them.

Diane McDermott:            18:58                       No.

Leigh Sellers:                         18:58                       Right. Let’s say that you get these are the things that can happen that make it fall apart. You can’t reach an agreement as to who’s going to pay for what repairs. It’s basically, “Okay, you’re walking away and starting over.”

Diane McDermott:            19:14                       Yep and what’s on the line is the due diligence fee. Whatever that dollar amount that was agreed upon on the contract. That’s what you’ll lose if you terminate within that due diligence period. I tell clients, “You gotta be willing to lose that money.” Whatever that fee ends up being that we agree upon with the sellers. You gotta be willing to lose it ’cause that’s on the line. That’s gone no matter what. That goes directly to the sellers pocket. They can send it the next day they get it. That’s really what the buyer would lose and that’s why we need to be very aware of that due diligence date and you are satisfied before we move beyond that date.

Leigh Sellers:                         19:48                       Okay. Because the sellers have the property off the market once it’s under contract. Essentially not have [crosstalk 00:19:56]

Diane McDermott:            19:57                       Technically, there is a category called “under contract show,” but as a buyers agent if I see something under contract why am I wasting my time to go take you to look at it? There’s already a contract in place.

Leigh Sellers:                         20:07                       What about the appraisal? What happens if the appraisal doesn’t come back favorably?

Diane McDermott:            20:12                       If the appraisal came in, say the contract price was $300000, and the appraisal comes in at $280000, they are a few options. The buyer can choose to pay the difference, which is not an option I recommend because the lender’s not going to lend more than the appraised value of the property. So, the buyer could choose to pay the difference. Again, that’s one I would actively discourage them from pursuing. That’s just throwing money away, in my opinion.

Diane McDermott:            20:42                       We could adjust the terms of the contract ’cause we do have an adjustment. We have forms that we can use if certain terms need to be changed once we gotten a contract in place. So, we can adjust the price to the appraised price and the sellers would need to agree to that. That’s best case scenario and those are really the two options. You take it and you pay the difference. You pay the extra for it ’cause you really want it, but the best case scenario would be for the sellers to be made aware it becomes material fact once an appraisal is received that has to be disclosed once the agent is aware of the material face. We have a duty to disclose that. Ideally, the seller agrees to adjust the terms of the contract to the appraisal.

Leigh Sellers:                         21:21                       Well, let’s just assume everything went well and the repairs that the seller were willing to make were negotiated, and the appraisal comes back properly. What’s the next step?

Diane McDermott:            21:32                       In addition, typically when I order or when we’re at the home inspections we’ll be working on a closing attorney, so they can go ahead and get the title work started, and that process can start moving forward. We are an attorney state in North Carolina, so it’s typically a real estate attorney’s office who’s going to handle, coordinate the closing process. The paralegals are the ones who are in communication with both agents, the lender, and everything just like they’re the central point where everything kind of coalesces and comes together, which cumulates in a closing meeting where you sign a ton of paperwork. Most of it is related to the mortgage and then it’s not officially closed until it’s recorded downtown at the registrar of deeds office.

Diane McDermott:            22:17                       That is when the property is officially transferred. All of the funds have been collected by the attorney’s office in their trust account. And then once the deed transfers recorded you actually own and it’s considered closed.

Leigh Sellers:                         22:30                       Now you talked about the title search. What does the title search do? I mean, obviously I know as an attorney, but it’s actually an important step.

Diane McDermott:            22:43                       It goes back and I’m not an expert on title search. I kind of know enough to be dangerous, but it basically goes back through the property ownership. And just make sure that there’s nothing that is kind of cloudy or an issue in the property history. That there’s nothing like no forgotten liens or errors, or nobody can claim to it that it really has been a clean transfer. Nobody can claim to the property that you’re not aware of.

Leigh Sellers:                         23:15                       Right. When you own it, you 100% own that property, and nobody else can try and say that they own a fifth of it or a tenth of it. Or that they had a lien that the prior owner was supposed to pay, that was secured by that house, and therefore because they have this lien they can make you pay it or sell your house. I think people think that it’s a hoop to jump through, but it’s totally for the buyers safety.

Diane McDermott:            23:40                       It really is. You will typically, your lender will order a title insurance policy, which insures your interest in the property from the day that you close, and it’s recorded. But still it’s nice to know that it’s a clean title. You don’t want something unforeseen come in six months later or you don’t wanna get a surprise like that.

Leigh Sellers:                         23:59                       I would listen to people sometimes talk about the bank wants this and the bank wants this. I always like to clarify, it’s not usually the bank that’s asking for these additional pieces of information. It’s generally the title insurance company because they’re the one on the hook if it’s not clean title. A lot of times they will not issue a title insurance policy to the bank unless they’re happy with it and the bank isn’t going to lend the money if they can’t get title insurance.

Diane McDermott:            24:28                       Everything is related. Everything kind of ties together and I could write a book things I don’t tell my buyers. Because do they need to know that level of depth as far as what’s going on behind the scenes? No, not unless there’s an issue.

Leigh Sellers:                         24:43                       They do need understand it’s going to take some time to do all of this.

Diane McDermott:            24:48                       It is and there’s a lot of moving parts to the entire process and everyone is kind of doing their part in the process with the goal obviously of coming together with a successful closing and transfer of the property.

Leigh Sellers:                         25:02                       So, is there an average range of the amount of time it takes between sending a contract for purchase and actually being closed on the property?

Diane McDermott:            25:10                       Average I would say 30 to 45 days, but some of that does come back to, again the lender, which that’s again why it’s so important for the lender piece and your mortgage readiness to be set upfront before we go out and evaluate any properties. The lenders timeline is going to obviously dictate how quickly we can go because some lenders are outstanding I mean to the point where they can probably under 30 days if we really needed them to.

Diane McDermott:            25:37                       As long as your lender has a streamlined process that they can get everything done. The mortgage piece is definitely the biggest time holdup.

Leigh Sellers:                         25:47                       How available does this buyer need to be to you to answer questions and sign documents, and meet with you during this process?

Diane McDermott:            25:54                       I need to be able to get ahold of you. I will not negotiate via text. We can have a phone conversation, in many cases we are going to be face to face for every single communication. I need to be able to get to you because they are going to be things that come up that either I need to inform you about or I need to get your feedback on. I need to be able to reach you. I’m not accessible 24/7, but I need you to get back to me. I don’t expect instant communication back from you, but within a few hours especially when we’re at time-sensitive parts of the process.

Diane McDermott:            26:30                       If we’re up against due diligence and that’s coming like tomorrow, you can’t ghost and I cannot hear from you when we’ve got a big timing deadline coming up.

Leigh Sellers:                         26:41                       Well, what would be your best advice to give a home buyer to make sure that they have a positive home buying experience?

Diane McDermott:            26:51                       Pack a sense of humor. It is a stressful process. There’s a lot of unknowns. There’s a lot of things that are gonna feel very unfamiliar that may start having you question is this normal. Really lean on your team of professionals that you’ve chosen to surround yourself through this process. They will be able to listen when you need to vent. You can yell to me, you can’t yell at me, but I know it’s emotional. I know there’s gonna be frustrations that come up and I’m willing to listen, and that’s certainly a strength of mine.

Diane McDermott:            27:23                       Pack a sense of humor because things are gonna come out of left field that you weren’t expecting that look different than anything you’ve seen before and really lean on your team of professionals. They will be there to really guide and support you.

Leigh Sellers:                         27:35                       And there was something you said during the last time we met that I think it probably stands, bears repeating is you talked about you trusting your gut.

Diane McDermott:            27:44                       Absolutely. If it doesn’t feel right even if you cannot logically explain why, trust that. Because if it feels in any way heavy, this is one of my evaluation tools that I use in my life in general now. Does it feel light or does it feel heavy? If it feels in the least bit heavy now, it’s only going to get heavier as time goes on. So, trust yourself.

Leigh Sellers:                         28:08                       And would you suggest that they disregard the peanut gallery?

Diane McDermott:            28:13                       The process of buying a home is very much like the process of divorce. Everyone is going to have an opinion about what they think you should do. The only opinions that matters are yours.

Leigh Sellers:                         28:26                       And that is true because this is a big commitment and it’s an exciting commitment, but it is big. It’s important and it has some pretty long reaching consequences on your life after you’ve made it.

Diane McDermott:            28:38                       It does, but it is also an absolutely incredible opportunity especially moving beyond the divorce situation to really create what the foundation in your home base of the next chapter of your life is going to look like. That truly can be very exciting because it’s really all about what you want and what matters most to you.

Leigh Sellers:                         28:58                       Okay. Well, Diane, tell people where they can find you.

Diane McDermott:            29:02                       My website is cbbuyersagent.com. You can Google and find me probably on Googling Charlotte’s best buyers agent and the website again is cbbuyersagent.com. Email is probably the fastest way to get ahold of me, which is my first D, my last name McDermott, M-C-D-E-R-M-O-T-T charlotte at Gmail.com.

Leigh Sellers:                         29:26                       All right and you have also written an eBook, which goes through the steps and the various expectations that people should have when they’re going into home buyership and that can be found on your website as well, correct?

Diane McDermott:            29:38                       That is available to free downloadable PDF resource on my website. It’s called the “Bad Ass Chick’s Guide to Home Buying.” Certainly, smart men might gather some wisdom from it, too. Certainly, that would be of assistance to anyone of interest, feel free to check it out.

Leigh Sellers:                         29:53                       All right. Well, thanks again for coming back. We really appreciate your time.

Diane McDermott:            29:56                       This was so fun, Leigh. Thank you so much for having me.

Leigh Sellers:                         29:59                       So, there you have it. Another neighborhood of Splitsville explored. There’s still so much to learn here. So, I hope you tune in to the next episode. While Splitsville is not a fun place to be, thankfully it is full of helpful people, valuable resources, and sound advice if you know where to look. See ya next time.

Announcer:                            30:23                       The insights and views presented in Welcome to Splitsville are for general information purposes only and should not be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation nor does tuning into this podcast constitute an attorney-client relationship of any kind. If you’re ready for compassionate and reliable legal guidance on your journey, contact Leigh Sellers and her team at touchstonefamilylaw.com.

[/spp-transcript]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *