Buyers

Buyers’ Resources

The Wiley Team provides all of the expertise, resources, and relationships necessary to help you succeed in our highly competitive marketplace. Buying a new home is a financial and emotional journey that requires life-changing decisions and we will help make this process easier for you. Experience pays dividends in our market and the Wiley Team delivers with patience and proven performance.

As a buyer, you do not pay any fees for your agent’s services; the commission is paid by the seller. Because we will be investing many hours of time and making available to you all of our expertise, your loyalty is of the utmost importance.

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The Power of Negotiation

Strong negotiating skills are absolutely vital when representing clients in one of the most competitive real estate markets in the country. Kim and Todd are proven expert negotiators, just ask their clients!

Local Knowledge

We have a solid working knowledge of the San Francisco Real Estate market and local neighborhoods. Both Todd and Kim have lived in San Francisco for over 30 years. Liking a neighborhood is one thing, but knowing those markets well enough to match aspirations and purchase capabilities will save you countless hours.

Relationships

Relationships are built on trust and respect. Agents work with other agents whom they trust and know will close the transaction. When you are honest, reliable, and provide excellent service a good reputation follows easily. These inter-brokerage relationships can mean the difference between success and failure in our highly competitive marketplace.

Success and Expertise

The Wiley Team is a top producing team and has been since the beginning in 2013. We work closely together and our combined experience and skillsets complement each other for the benefit of our clients.

Ready to Buy?

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Buyer Profile Questionnaire

Thank you for your interest in working with us! We really appreciate you investing the time upfront to complete this buyer profile worksheet so we can learn a little bit about you and how to help you through your potential home buying experience. We look forward to learning more about your real estate goals. Please call or email if you have any questions.
All of your information will remain confidential and never be shared with or sold to a third party.
Check all that apply

Complete Our Buyer Profile Questionnaire

Buyers Tools

Free San Francisco Home Buyer's Guide

Ready to make a move? If you are searching for a home in San Francisco or just thinking about it, reading the San Francisco Home Buyer’s Guide is a great place to start. Many of the details you will need to know about buying property in San Francisco are included. Just fill in the form below to receive a free San Francisco Home Buyer’s Guide.

All of your information will remain confidential and never be shared with or sold to a third party.

A handy reference to chart monthly loan payments at various loan amounts and interest rates. The monthly loan payments below represent initial principal and interest amounts for a 30-year loan. Don’t forget, you will have other housing costs, including taxes, insurance, and homeowner’s fees (for condominiums). Payment amounts will change if you have an adjustable rate loan. This is not a loan commitment or a commitment to rates or fees. Annual Percentage Rate (APR) figures are not included.

Your monthly loan payments:
$300,000.00 1,347 1,520 1,610 1,703 1,799 1,896 1,996 2,098 2,201
$400,000.00 1,796 2,027 2,147 2,271 2,398 2,528 2,661 2,797 2,935
$500,000.00 2,245 2,533 2,684 2,839 2,998 3,160 3,327 3,496 3,669
$600,000.00 2,694 3,040 3,221 3,407 3,597 3,792 3,992 4,198 4,403
$700,000.00 3,143 3,547 3,758 3,975 4,197 4,425 4,657 4,895 5,136
$800,000.00 3,592 4,053 4,295 4,542 4,796 5,057 5,322 5,594 5,870
$900,000.00 4,041 4,560 4,831 5,110 5,396 5,689 5,988 6,293 6,604
$1,000,000.00 4,490 5,067 5,368 5,678 5,996 6,321 6,653 6,992 7,338
$1,250,000.00 5,613 6,334 6,710 7,097 7,494 7,901 8,316 8,740 9,172
$1,500,000.00 6,736 7,600 8,052 8,517 8,993 9,481 9,980 10,488 11,006
$1,750,000.00 7,858 8,867 9,394 9,936 10,492 11,061 11,643 12,236 12,841
$2,000,000.00 8,981 10,134 10,736 11,356 11,991 12,641 13,306 13,984 14,675
$3,000,000.00 13,471 15,201 16,105 17,034 17,987 18,962 19,959 20,976 22,013
$4,000,000.00 17,962 20,267 21,473 22,712 23,982 25,283 26,612 27,969 29,351
$5,000,000.00 22,452 25,334 26,841 28,389 29,978 31,603 33,265 34,961 36,688

Although who pays for various closing costs is negotiable between the buyer and seller, the following is the customary division in San Francisco County. Closing costs are the various charges made by the lender, the title company, real estate agents, and other service providers necessary to complete a transaction.

The BUYER customarily pays:

  • Title insurance premium for lender and buyer
  • Escrow fee
  • Notary fees
  • Contractor’s and pest inspection fees
  • All new loan charges (points, appraisal, document processing fees, etc.)
  • Interest on new loan from date of funding to 30 days prior to the 1st payment date
  • Home warranty (if specified in contract)
  • Homeowner’s insurance for 1st year
  • Earthquake insurance (optional)
  • Private mortgage insurance (typically 2 months) if required by lender
  • Private mortgage insurance impound account (1 year) if required by lender
  • Property tax impound account if required by lender
  • Move-in fee (for condominiums)
  • HOA account transfer fee
  • Miscellaneous charges

This list is a general guideline of charges and may not be wholly inclusive for your transaction.

Your property tax is based on the assessed Full Market Value of
your home at the close of escrow, which is typically the sales price.

Property taxes are charged on a fiscal year beginning July 1 and ending June 30. Hence tax years are referred to as 2013/2014 or 2014/2015. Taxes are billed in two equal installments. Tax bills are sent to homeowners in the last week of October. The first installment, which covers the period from July 1 through December 31 is delinquent if not paid by December 10. The second installment, which covers the period from January 1 through June 30, is delinquent if not paid by April 10.

In most cases, the assessed valuation in your first year of ownership will be same as the purchase price. It may be increased by up to 2% per year for each year you own the property.

If you own and occupy a dwelling on March 1 as your principal place of residence, you are eligible to receive a reduction of up to $7,000 of the dwelling’s taxable value in the form of a Homeowners’ Exemption. To receive this exemption, you must file a claim with the Assessor. Once you receive the exemption, it is not necessary to file each year as long as you own and occupy the residence.

Mello-Roos districts are designated areas which have issued bonds for community facilities, e.g., earthquake retrofitting of schools, and for which annual tax levies are collected as a part of the property tax billing. There are two districts in San Francisco. One encompasses the entire city and the other is a small area South of Market. The cost for the Mello-Roos Community Facility Bonds in most parts of San Francisco is $32.10 for a single family residence.

Upon change of ownership, the Assessor’s Office will reappraise the property and will bill the new owners for any difference in taxes resulting from a higher assessed value. The Assessor will issue you a supplemental assessment bill which is prorated based on the number of months remaining in the fiscal year ending June 30.

Example: The San Francisco Tax rate for 2012/13 was set at $1.1718 per $100 of property value.

The resulting property tax for an owner occupied property with an assessed valuation of $1,000,000 would be as follows:

Assessed Property Value = $1,000,000 Homeowner's Exemption Adjustment = $7,000 Adjusted Assessed Property Value = $993,000 Multiplied by the Tax Rate Factor x .011718 Estimated Annual Tax Calculation = $11,636

Please note: Tax Calculation figure has been rounded. This example does not include an adjustment for the “Mello-Roos” annual payment. For more detailed and accurate figures, please see your CPA.

Buyer Transaction Process

The Flow Of Real Estate Transactions: A Buyers Guide To Obtaining Real Estate For The Best Possible Price

Initial Consultation

  • Understand your needs, priorities and time frames
  • Examine local market conditions
  • Discuss financial qualifications
  • Define agency relationship
  • Discuss buying process
  • Explain how we will work together

Loan Pre-Approval

  • Discuss lenders and lending options
  • Determine budget and price range
  • Consult with your tax advisor to understand benefits and ramifications of prospective purchase

Searching for Property

  • Discuss then tour properties that meet purchasing profile
  • Monitor market inventory
  • Identify off-market, for-sale by owner and expired listings matching your criteria

Presenting an Offer

  • Review comparable sales and discuss appropriate offer strategies
  • Review and sign all available disclosures and reports
  • Prepare and present detailed complete offer package including purchase contract
  • Negotiate the best possible price for your new home!

Accepted Contract

  • Open Escrow, deposit buyer funds into escrow account
  • Order and review preliminary title report
  • Submit purchase contract to lender for processing
  • Lender schedules appraisal
  • Confirm contingency removal and loan condition dates

Inspections

  • Schedule buyer inspections: property, pest, roof, chimney etc.
  • Conduct second review of disclosures
  • Review homeowner's association documents (if applicable)
  • If new critical issues are discovered during inspections, negotiate repairs or renegotiate the price!

Underwriting and Appraisal

  • Underwriting file review
  • Appraisal completed and reviewed by lender
  • Select home insurance coverage
  • Submit insurance information to escrow

Remove Contingencies

  • After property inspections and confirmation of loan document approval, remove contingencies

Final Walk-Through

  • Confirm property condition and completed repairs, if any.
  • Property condition should be consistent with condition on date of ratification

Moving Details

  • Setup utilities: electricity, water, garbage, phone, internet, alarm etc.
  • Schedule move

Signing and Loan Funding

  • Review all closing and transaction costs
  • Sign loan documents
  • Provide cashier's check or send wire for down payment and closing costs
  • Lender sends balance of funding to title company one business day prior to close

Record and Close Escrow

  • Deed is recorded in person at City Hall by Title Company
  • Obtain keys to your new home!

Organizing

  • Change all locks on doors and update security system
  • Complete any planned repairs or improvements

Updating

  • Change mailing address for all bank accounts, bills, doctors offices, magazine subscriptions
  • Update estate plan and trust
  • Consider meeting with financial planner or tax professional to update financial plans

Planning

  • Note upcoming property tax payments and supplemental property tax bill updates
  • Refer to the San Francisco Real Estate Group for any resources you may need or property related professionals

Settling In

  • Check out events happening in the area
  • Get acquainted with your new neighborhood and community
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Testimonials From Our Clients

Kim and Todd Wiley are wonderful agents. We live in San Diego and needed an agent in SF. A young couple we know in SF bought their first home through Kim. We sold a hoarder home in SF and Kim arranged everything for us. She hired a fiduciary (Ashley fantastic) to look through hundreds of boxes. They found cash took photos immediately contacted us and secured it until we arrived in SF a month later. They repurposed everything to thrift stores, churches, schools and arranged all the recycling. Who does that for their clients?? A professionalteam and that is The Wiley Team. They are knowledgeable, kind, get back to you immediately and just made such an overwhelming task seem easy.

Jim and Joanne M
San Diego

I inherited my house in San Francisco, and a lot of people would think I am very lucky... but. San Francisco to me is not the same as it was 20 years ago for me. I decided to sell my house back in June/July, and looked into different approaches. The road to selling my house was certainly bumpy, luckily I had Todd to smooth it all out for me! I was referred to him by my estate lawyer (Alma Soongi Beck) and like anyone else I was skeptical at first... but that went away quickly. At first I was just going to sell to a private buyer, but after talking to him I was convinced that listing my home would be better for me in the long run. We started back in August, the road was not easy....

Tiffany L.
San Francisco

Earlier this year I was referred through a law firm to work with Todd and Kim Wiley for a challenging trust sale of my mother’s four unit building on 16th Avenue in the Richmond District of San Francisco. They have worked tirelessly since I hired them in May to bring us to an eminent sale this December. Because I was the trustee of my mother’s estate and I live in New York City, this sale was especially challenging due to my distance and matters involving a beneficiary who refused to move so that we could settle the estate...

Paul W.
New York, NY

As an executor of an estate, I had two properties in San Francisco to sell both of which had long term tenants. Todd had the expertise needed to negotiate this complicated process. He knew how to market the properties and to whom. You will be hard pressed to find someone who matches his knowledge of tenant and rent control issues in San Francisco.

Joan M.
Santa Rosa, CA
More Testimonials

Glossary

This glossary is offered to help understand terms used in the probate field. Be careful, words can take on different meaning, depending on their context. Please see California Probate Code § 20, et. seq. for more precise definitions to many terms used in the probate field.

The purpose of this glossary is to provide general information on the law, which is subject to change. It is not intended as a substitute for legal advice. If you have legal questions, you should consult an attorney.

Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM): A mortgage where the rate changes over time in line with movements in an index. ARMs are also referred to as AMLs (adjustable mortgage loans) or VRMs (variable rate mortgages).

Adjustment Period: The length of time between interest rate changes on an ARM. For example, a loan with an adjustment period of one year is called a one-year ARM, which means that the interest rate can change once a year.

Amortization: Repayment of a loan in equal installments of principal and interest, rather than interest-only payments.

Annual Percentage Rate (APR): The total finance charge (interest, loan fees, points) expressed as a percentage of the loan amount..

Assumption of Mortgage: A buyer’s agreement to assume the liability under an existing note secured by a mortgage or deed of trust. The lender must approve the buyer in order to release the original borrower (usually the seller) from liability.

Balloon Payment: A lump sum principal payment due at the end of some mortgages or other long-term loans.

Binder: Sometimes known as an offer to purchase or an earnest money request. A binder is the acknowledgment of a deposit along with a brief written agreement to enter into a contract for the sale of real estate.

Cap: The limit on how much interest rates or monthly payments can change, either at each adjustment or over the life of the mortgage.

CC&Rs: Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions. A document that controls the use, requirements and restrictions of a property.

Certificate of Reasonable Value (CRV): A document that establishes the maximum value and loan amount for a VA-guaranteed loan.

Certified Residential Broker (CRB): To be certified, a broker must be a member of the National Association of Realtors’ Managers’ Council, have two years of experience as a licensed broker manager and have completed five required management courses.

Certified Residential Specialist (CRS): To be certified, an agent must be a member of the National Association of Realtors’ Residential Sales Council, have completed at least 50 residential transactions and have completed five required Residential Division courses.

Condominium: A form of real estate ownership where the owner receives title to a particular unit and has a proportionate interest in certain common areas. The unit itself is generally a separately owned space whose interior surfaces (walls, floors and ceilings) serve as its boundaries.

Contingency: A condition that must be satisfied before a contract is binding. For instance, a sales agreement may be contingent upon the buyer obtaining financing.

Conversion Clause: A provision in some ARMs that enables you to change an ARM to a fixed-rate loan, usually after the first adjustment period. The new fixed rate is generally set at the prevailing interest rate for fixed-rate mortgages. This conversion feature may cost extra.

Co-operative: A form of multiple ownership in which a corporation or business trust entity holds title to a property and grants occupancy rights to shareholders by means of proprietary leases or similar arrangements.

Closing Statement: The financial disclosure statement that accounts for all of the funds received and expected at the closing, including deposits for taxes, hazard insurance and mortgage insurance.

Due-On-Sale Clause: An acceleration clause that requires full payment of a mortgage or deed of trust when the secured property changes ownership.

Earnest Money: The portion of the down payment delivered to the seller or escrow agent by the purchaser with a written offer as evidence of good faith.

Escrow: A procedure in which a third party acts as a stakeholder for both the buyer and the seller, carrying out both parties’ instructions and assuming responsibility for handling all of the paperwork and distribution of funds.

FHA Loan: A loan insured by the Insuring Office of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Housing Administration.

Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA): Popularly known as Fannie Mae. A privately owned corporation created by Congress to support the secondary mortgage market. It purchases and sells residential mortgages insured by FHA or guaranteed by the VA, as well as conventional home mortgages.

Fee Simple: An estate in which the owner has unrestricted power to dispose of the property as he/she wishes, including leaving by will or inheritance. It is the greatest interest a person can have in real estate. Finance Charge: The total cost a borrower must pay, directly or indirectly, to obtain credit according to Regulations.

Graduated Payment Mortgage: A residential mortgage with monthly payments that start at a low level and increase at a predetermined rate.

GRI: Graduate, Realtor Institute. A professional designation granted to a member of the National Association of Realtors who has successfully completed three courses covering Law, Finance and Principles of Real Estate.

Home Inspection Report: A qualified inspector’s report on a property’s overall condition. The report usually includes an evaluation of both the structure and mechanical systems.

Home Warranty Plan: A warranty that protects against failure of mechanical systems within the property. Usually this includes plumbing, electrical, heating systems and installed appliances.

Index: A benchmark on which changes to an ARM’s interest rate are based. Common indices include: industry cost of funds, 6-month LIBOR and various term Treasury notes.

Joint Tenancy: An equal undivided ownership of property by two or more persons. Upon the death of any owner, the survivors take the decedent’s interest in the property.

Lien: A legal hold or claim on property as security for a debt or charge.

Loan Commitment: A written promise to make a loan for a specified amount on specified terms.

Loan-To-Value (LTV) Ratio: The relationship between the amount of the mortgage and the appraised value of the property, expressed as a percentage of the appraised value.

Margin: The number of percentage points the lender adds to the index rate to calculate the ARM interest rate at each adjustment.

Mortgage Life Insurance: A type of term life insurance often bought by mortgagors. The coverage decreases as the mortgage balance declines. If the borrower dies while the policy is in force, the debt is automatically covered by insurance proceeds.

Negative Amortization: Negative amortization occurs when monthly payments fail to cover the interest cost. The interest that isn’t covered is added to the unpaid principal balance, which means that even after several payments you could owe more than you did at the beginning of the loan. Negative amortization can occur when an ARM has a payment cap that results in monthly payments that aren’t high enough to cover the interest.

Origination Fee: A fee or charge for work involved in evaluating, preparing and submitting a proposed mortgage loan.

PITI: Principal, Interest, Taxes and Insurance Planned Unit Development (PUD): A zoning designation for property developed at the same or slightly greater overall density than conventional development, sometimes with improvements clustered between open, common areas. Users may be residential, commercial or industrial.

Point: An amount equal to 1 percent of the loan principal. Lenders charge loan points to increase their yield on a mortgage. Points are considered prepaid interest.

Prepayment Penalty: A fee charged to a borrower who pays a loan before it is due.

Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI): Insurance written by a private company protecting the lender against loss if the borrower defaults on the mortgage. Generally required for loans exceeding 80% LTV.

Purchase Agreement: A written document in which the purchaser agrees to buy certain real estate and the seller agrees to sell under stated terms and conditions. Also called a sales contract earnest money contract, or agreement for sale.

Realtor: A real estate broker or associate active in a local real estate board affiliated with the National Association of Realtors.

Regulation Z: The set of rules governing consumer lending issued by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in accordance with the Consumer Protection Act.

Tenancy in Common: A type of ownership of property by two or more persons with no right of survivorship.

Title Insurance Policy: A policy that protects the purchaser, mortgagee or other party against losses concerning title to the property and matters such as easements, encroachments and liens.

Transfer Tax: A tax charged by counties at the time of most sales and transfers of real property. The transfer tax in San Francisco varies by sales price, and it is customarily paid by the seller (with important exceptions).

VA Loan: A loan that is partially guaranteed by the Veterans Administration and made by a private lender.

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