Buy

In San Francisco, the average home buyer writes 5-7 offers. We rarely write more than one.

It’s not an accident that 86% of our buyers get into contract on the first or second offer.

As experienced buyer agents we know what sellers want to see in an offer, and we use proven systems to streamline every step. That means you’ll spend less time visiting properties, reviewing paperwork, and having your heart broken, and more time enjoying your new home.

We can even spot a place with potential and help you visualize it into a magazine-worthy residence. As they say, you make money in real estate when you buy. We’re here to help you make the decision that serves you now and sets you up for the future.

Our systems and expertise are keys to your success, but ultimately, buying a home is a personal decision. We’ll never rush you. We’ll teach you what you need to know, and we’ll be by your side as long as it takes.

Our 2021 Performance

Our team is extremely active. This level of activity allows us to keep our finger on the pulse of this dynamic market, especially as it ebbs and flows during the year.

What our clients have to say

“Ruth helped us get into our new home at a price that worked for us in a very unusual real estate market in April 2020. Her depth of experience and many relationships in the San Francisco real estate scene, not to mention her honesty and thoroughness, definitely worked to our advantage during our home buying experience.

She helped us navigate these unprecedented waters at every turn. She guided our initial offer in a way that maximized its attractiveness to the sellers while minimizing our own exposure to risk, and then when it became clear it was a competitive situation, she helped read the selling agent’s poker face and pointed out the modifications to our bid that would position it to win.

We can confidently say that if you are looking for an experienced agent to help maximize your chances of submitting a winning bid for a great property, we think you’d be hard pressed to find a better partner than Ruth.”

J.R. and M.R.

"Ruth and her team helped us find two properties. We had very narrow criteria. When we talked to other agents, they all had the same narrative that it should be easy for us to find a home within our budget. Ruth was the only one that gave us the practical view that became reality – that our criteria would be extremely hard to fit within our budget. Had it not been for this advice I think we would still be spinning our wheels"

S.C., Buyer

“Ruth is a master negotiator with a deep understanding of the market. During the purchase process, Ruth helped us to negotiate an extremely fair price on our dream home without us having to get into a bidding war with other buyers. Without a doubt, her insight, creativity, and experience were vital in ensuring that our chances of getting in contract were being maximized. She somehow knows the price where every property on the market is going to clear and has a huge list of strategies at her disposal to get her clients the very best price possible."

M.K., Buyer

Want to know how we get clients into contract in the first 1 - 2 offers?

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Process: Steps to Buy a House

We handle all details to help you realize your dream of home ownership. As your Realtors, we always go the extra mile to ensure that we not only help you find the home you want, but we can win it for you!

01
Getting Pre-Approved with a Lender
02
Visiting & Touring Open Houses
03
Submitting & Accepting Offers
04
Managing The Escrow Process Through Closing

Buyers Resources

Homebuyer resources

Home buying process in detail

Advantages of a dedicated buyer's agent

Your home search

Best time to buy a home

Benefits of all cash offers

Which Neighborhood is Right for You?

Rent vs Buy

“Renting can make sense as a lifestyle choice or because of income constraints. As a means to building wealth, however, there is no practical substitute for homeownership.” – New York Times, “Homeownership & Affluence,” op-ed article

We thought you might have a little fun playing with calculations. You may perform calculations based upon your own specific financial situation and future projections and also see the definitions for all the terms used in this analysis:

Javascript Mortgage Calculator by MortgageCalculator.org

Please Note: Rent vs. buy calculations can be performed a variety of ways, and results will depend on your own financial circumstances and economic projections, which you should review with your accountant. The below calculations represent just one scenario.

This rent vs. buy analysis compares the monthly housing cost of buying a San Francisco home at the Q4 2019 median sales price of $1,600,000—adjusting for tax deductions and principal pay-down of the mortgage—with the cost of renting a San Francisco 2-bedroom apartment at the Q4 2019 median asking rent of approximately $4750/month (as of 10/19 per Zumper.com). It also attempts to compare—while adjusting for inflation and other factors—projected asset appreciation between investing the down-payment monies (instead of buying a home) and using them in one’s home purchase.

Assumptions: 20% down-payment ($320,000); 30-year fixed-rate loan at an APR of 3.8%; and closing costs; property taxes; ongoing insurance and maintenance costs; annual inflation (2%), outside investment returns (3% after taxes) and home appreciation rates (5%) – all at what seems to us to be reasonable projections. We’ve used a combined income tax rate of 25% for the mortgage interest and property tax deduction. When projecting variable economic factors over long periods of time, many of these figures will simply be best guesstimates.

Buy