The Home
Buying Process.
Bought the right way. The Best Way Home.
The whole process, start to keys, written by the agent who does the work alongside you. Estimate your real monthly payment below, then read the five steps that get you there.
BEFORE WE LOOK AT A SINGLE HOUSE
The biggest purchase most people make, and the one with the most moving parts.
There is the part everyone pictures: the right house, the right street, the moment you know. And the part nobody warns you about: the financing, the inspections, the deadlines, the documents that read like another language. The second part is where deals go wrong when no one is watching them closely.
You have a wide field of agents in Tucson. What I bring is fifteen years in this market, a team that handles the moving parts so they never become yours, and one rule: I tell you the truth about a house even when the truth costs me the sale.
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First home or fifth, relocating or investing, the job is the same: make this clear, calm, and worth your while. When the time is right, call. We would be glad to do the work alongside you.
· Tyler & Tana Lopez
WHO THIS IS FOR
The strategy starts with the kind of buyer you are.
A first purchase and an investment purchase are not the same transaction. We name your lane first, so everything after it is built for you.
FIRST-TIME
Buying your first home
The vocabulary alone is a wall. I slow down, explain every step before you sign it, and never let a deadline arrive as a surprise.
MOVE-UP / DOWN
You already own
The next home depends on this one. I run the sale and the purchase as one plan, so you are not buying before you can or selling before you can land.
RELOCATING
Moving to Tucson
Touring by video from another state? I am your eyes on the ground. I drive the block and tell you what the photos leave out before you book a flight.
INVESTOR
Buying to invest
For cash flow or appreciation, not a place to sleep. I bring the numbers first: rent comps, cap rate, the short-term-rental picture. It has to pencil.
Step 01PREPAREA conversation, then a pre-approval.
It starts with a call. Twenty minutes. What you want, what you can comfortably spend, the timeline you are actually on. No paperwork on the first call.
Then we get you pre-approved. It turns you from a browser into a buyer sellers take seriously, and it shows you your real payment before you fall for a house. Out of that, I build your search: the must-haves, the deal-breakers, and the things you did not know to ask for.
WHAT I HANDLE
- ·Buyer consultation · 20 minutes · no obligation
- ·Lender intro · pre-approval with Kyle Taylor
- ·Cost analysis · down payment, closing costs, monthly
- ·Your written search criteria
A QUIET NOTE
A pre-approval is not a commitment to that loan. It is leverage. The buyer who is ready to move is the buyer who wins the house.
Step 02SEARCHThe right home, including the ones never listed.
Anyone can email you listings. The value is the part a website cannot do: knowing the block before you tour it, reading the price behind the price, and hearing about a home before it is public.
I am in a deep network of Tucson agents, and a lot of homes trade quietly before they are ever listed. When I know what you want, I am asking for it there. Joel and Rich run the search alongside me so nothing slips.
WHAT I HANDLE
- ·Search matched to your written criteria
- ·Coming-soon and agent-network options
- ·Neighborhood read · schools, commute, resale
- ·Honest price commentary on every home
A QUIET NOTE
I will tell you when a home is wrong for you. Talking a buyer out of the wrong house is part of the job, not a lost sale.
Step 03OFFERAn offer that wins without overpaying.
Price is one line of a winning offer. Terms win houses too: the closing date, the inspection period, what conveys, where you hold firm and where you give.
Before we write, I bring you the comps, the market read, and the lending picture so you are never guessing. Then I present it and run every counter. My job is the home on the best terms the market allows, and keeping you out of a bidding war you should walk away from.
WHAT I HANDLE
- ·Comparable sales · recent nearby closings
- ·Market and lending conditions
- ·Full offer strategy · price and terms
- ·Negotiation · every counter, in writing
A QUIET NOTE
Every offer and counter comes to you in writing. No verbal “the seller said.” You see what they said, in their words.
Step 04PROTECTI go looking for every reason not to buy it.
An accepted offer starts due diligence. Earnest money to escrow, title opens, the inspection clock runs. This is the window where a problem is still your leverage instead of your regret.
I coordinate the inspections the home calls for, then negotiate repairs or credits on what they find. I keep the loan and appraisal on schedule, and I make sure you understand the disclosures, title, and HOA documents before you waive a thing.
WHAT I HANDLE
- ·Inspection coordination · home, roof, sewer, pool, HVAC
- ·Repair or credit negotiation
- ·Disclosure, title, CC&R, and HOA review
- ·Loan and appraisal kept on the calendar
A QUIET NOTE
If something changes the deal, you have options inside your contingencies. I would rather lose a closing than let you buy a problem you could not see.
Step 05CLOSEI run the close, then hand you the keys.
Loan docs are drawn, you walk the home one last time, and signing is set at the title company. Jeff Morris runs the paperwork and every deadline. Tana reviews the contract before you sign it.
Then documents record, funds wire, and the keys are yours. For relocating buyers it is electronic, with a mobile notary where Arizona needs wet ink. My work does not end at the table. The next move, when it comes, is mine too.
WHAT I HANDLE
- ·Final walkthrough · condition confirmed
- ·Jeff Morris · transaction coordination
- ·Tana Lopez · contract reviewed before signature
- ·Keys in hand · plus a vendor list for the new home
A QUIET NOTE
Most purchases run 30 to 45 days from accepted offer to keys. You get a written update the whole way, so you always know where your file stands.
ANATOMY OF A WINNING OFFER
Price is just one line.
An offer is six moving parts. Get the terms right and you win the home without overpaying for it.
Price
Strong enough to win, grounded in the comps.
Earnest money
Your good-faith deposit, held in escrow.
Closing date
Timed to the seller’s needs and yours.
Inspection period
Your window to check everything before committing.
What conveys
Appliances, fixtures, anything negotiated in.
Contingencies
Your exits: financing, appraisal, inspection.
RECENT TUCSON HOMES
The homes. The desert. The reason you’re moving here.
Recent Lopez & Lopez listings and the Tucson backdrop they sit in.
THE JOURNEY AT A GLANCE
First meeting to keys: 45 to 75 days.
THE FULL PROCESS · WHAT WE WALK THROUGH WHEN WE MEET
The five phases above, opened all the way up.
Nineteen steps, start to keys, with the timeline on each one, who is involved, and exactly what is expected of you. Inspections, disclosures, the appraisal, the close. This is the map we go through together.
ESTIMATE YOUR PAYMENT
Drag the sliders. See the whole payment.
Not just principal and interest. Taxes, insurance, mortgage insurance, and HOA, the way the bill actually lands. Change the price, the down payment, the loan type, and watch the all-in number move.
Mortgage insurance applies under 20% down, then drops off.
ALL-IN MONTHLY · ESTIMATE
$2,609/mo
- Principal & interest$2,149
- Property tax$336
- Home insurance$124
YOUR REAL NUMBERS
These are estimates to frame the conversation. For the rate and payment you actually qualify for, I send you to Kyle Taylor. Tell him Tyler sent you.
Kyle Taylor · Nova Home Loans
Call Kyle · (520) 247-7273THREE WAYS TO FINANCE IT
The loan decides your down payment and your monthly.
Three common paths. The right one depends on your credit, your cash, and your goals. Here is the shape of each.
3 to 5%down
Conventional
3.5%down
FHA
0%down
VA
THE CASH BEYOND THE DOWN PAYMENT
Plan for about 2 to 4% in closing costs.
On top of your down payment, these are the costs to expect at the table. Here is where the money goes.
Loan origination
The lender’s fee to underwrite and make the loan.
Appraisal
An independent read confirming the home is worth the price.
Title & escrow
Title search, title insurance, and the escrow company’s fees.
Inspections
Paid during your due-diligence window as you order them.
Prepaids & reserves
Property taxes and insurance set aside up front.
Recording
The county fee to record the new deed in your name.
WHAT WE CHECK BEFORE YOU COMMIT
Under contract, we inspect everything a buyer should.
You choose which to run; I schedule them and meet the inspectors with you. Each report we read together.
NEW CONSTRUCTION
Walk into a builder’s model without me, and I may not be able to represent you.
If the on-site agent registers you before I am involved, I can be shut out of the deal. And that agent works for the builder, not for you. The rule is simple: call me before your first visit.
- ·I read the builder’s contract, which is long and written to favor the builder.
- ·I negotiate price, incentives, and upgrades so you know the real cost of each choice.
- ·I stay on the builder’s rep through the build to keep surprises out of it.
- ·I walk the home, build the punch list, and arrange an independent inspection where the contract allows.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Everything you didn’t know you needed.
The work most buyers never see, handled so it never becomes your problem.
Full-service team
A ten-plus member team behind your purchase, every step.
Tailored search
Matched to your exact criteria, including off-market.
Vetted vendors
Inspectors, trades, and services I have used for years.
Relocation network
Trusted agents nationwide for moves in or out of state.
Weekly updates
On your preferred channel, the whole way through.
Transaction management
Scheduling, documents, and e-signing handled for you.
VIP community invites
Tucson events and the connections that come with them.
Wealth coaching
Building equity over time, not just buying one house.
THE PREFERRED NETWORK
A trusted name for everything a home needs.
Fifteen years in this market means a vetted contact for every job, before and after you close.
THE TEAM
One file. One team. Every transaction.
I do the strategy, the negotiation, and the seat beside you at every showing. These are the people who make a clean close possible.
Tyler LopezOwner & Lead AgentStrategy · search · negotiation
Tana LopezAssociate BrokerCompliance · contract review
Joel PielemeierBuyer-Side SpecialistSearch and showings alongside me
Rich PesqueiraBuyer-Side SpecialistTours and offer support
Jeff MorrisTransaction CoordinatorDeadlines · paperwork · escrow
Kember SwitzerOperationsScheduling · communication
Charlie OlingerField SupportShowing coordination · vendorsBRING IT TO EVERY SHOWING
The House-Hunting Checklist.
Score the home, the neighborhood, and the commute while you are standing in it. It saves as you go. After three or four houses they blur together. This keeps them straight.
Your notes save in your browser. Nothing is sent until you choose to email it.
WHEN YOU ARE READY
Let’s find your home.
No homework before the first call. No form, no pre-approval in hand. Pick up the phone, and we start with a conversation.
Or call Tana Lopez, my associate broker and my wife, at (520) 730-4545.
· Tyler & Tana Lopez
PLATINUM · SINCE 1926
Lopez & Lopez, REALTORS® operates within Long Realty Company, Southern Arizona’s largest residential brokerage. A Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices affiliate.