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Step 1: Check the Basics
Verify the address, parcel, property type, recorded bedrooms/baths where available, approximate square footage, lot, and HOA.
Step 2: Look for Mismatches
Example
MLS: 2,300 square feet.
Records: 1,850.
That deserves a question.
Example
Listing: "Casita."
Records: No obvious corresponding improvement.
That deserves investigation.
A mismatch between the listing and the records does not mean the house is a bad buy. It means there is something worth understanding before you price and commit.
Step 3: Understand the Market
Lisa can evaluate comparable sales, competing listings, time on market, price history, and seller positioning.
The goal is not merely to determine whether you like the house.
It is to determine how aggressively you should pursue it.
Step 4: Check HOA Basics
If there is an HOA, understand the fee, the major restrictions known upfront, any obvious rental concerns, and the gated or community structure.
Detailed document review can follow according to the transaction.
Step 5: Look at Location
Map the roads, commercial areas, schools if important to you, airport proximity, industrial uses, and vacant land.
Step 6: Property DNA
Request the free report through Lisa and use it as another research layer.
Property DNA may help organize parcel and property characteristics, ownership and history, nearby properties, market information, public records, and flood or environmental data where available. It does not replace a title search, title insurance, an appraisal, a home inspection, a survey, seller disclosures, or legal advice.
Step 7: Write the Offer Around What You Know
Due diligence can influence price, contingencies, inspection strategy, requested documents, and timing.
A better-informed offer is usually better than an emotional one.
INFORMED OFFER, NOT AN EMOTIONAL ONE. A buyer who knows what the property is can negotiate with facts instead of hoping.
