Advertise on podcast: Obsessed With Homes

Interest rates are on the rise after approximately a decade of downward movement. Learn how this might affect you as a homebuyer. You'll also learn about mortgages, payments, credit pulls and how to work with your lender to get the best results.

There are a lot of people involved in any given real estate transaction. It’s more than just getting an agent and buying/selling your home. There are inspections, appraisers, title companies, attorneys and more. The list can expand and contract depending on the type of home and deal terms. This is the start of a behind-the-scenes series called Playmakers, where we get to know the people behind the transactions. And we’re starting with Sherrie Shaw, a multi-hat wearing professional at Universal Title in Fredericksburg, Virginia. in this episode, you can get to know a little bit more about Sherrie, and understand more about the title search process, which is a crucial element of real estate transactions.

Once the contract on your house has been ratified, meaning all parties have signed, then the next steps generally include getting a home inspection scheduled and, if a lender is involved, having it appraised. Pam and Mair will chat through what these steps mean for the buyer when it's a seller's market.

Krista grew up in a small town outside Chicago, Illinois. But she knew that wasn't her future. After college, which was in Peoria, she moved to Chicago, IL, where she spent 20 years enjoying everything about living a downtown life. But as she got older, the process of urban living started wearing on her. The transportation. The clunkiness. The elevators and distance to outside spaces. All these things started tainting the city she used to love. After being married several years, they realized that children weren't possible. The reality set in that their life wasn't going to be what they planned, and they began to rethink their life. When they did, they knew they needed a change. With no guarantees and only a hint of full-time employment, they packed up their cats and dog and prized possessions in their Toyota Matrix and moved from Chicago, Illinois to Richmond, Virginia. The courage that they exhibited in that move, may give them the motivation to do this again one day.

In California, Pam started getting the home bug. She really wanted to start investing in real estate, but everyone knows that the Cali real estate market is one of the most expensive in the United States. This makes for great revenue opportunities for an agent, but Pam wanted to invest. And she didn't have a million to do it. Pam talks about how she moved back to Virginia to be closer to her family, as well as become a real estate investor. And how finding her current home might have just saved her sanity through the pandemic.

You've been listening to us for several episodes, it's about time you knew who we were. We'll start with Pam. Pam Downing grew up on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, which is so small that they had shirts made in high school that said they really do exist. But this small-town girl didn't stay that way for long. She attended Virginia Tech and then moved to California directly after college. She fell in love with comedy along the way, and found herself in front of the mic on several instances. Eventually she moved back to Virginia, living in Fredericksburg, then Richmond. She became a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Elite in Fredericksburg, where she found a home.

Years ago, when her kids were babies, Mair took the real estate exam, and passed it on the first try. She never thought she'd be back in the chair for a second time, but here she is. In this episode, Mair and Pam shed some light on the anxiety real estate agents feel having to take this two-part exam.

The real estate market is hot right now. You feel this this if you've tried to purchase a home in the last few months. Many buyers put in multiple offers before one is accepted—and usually that ends up over asking price. Hear Pam and Mair talk first-hand about what clients are having to go through just to purchase a home.