When you’re looking for a home, having a supportive and knowledgeable real estate agent is key! As part of our rent-to-own program, all Divvy customers work with an agent—whether it’s an agent they already have a relationship with or one we match them to. Let’s learn more about working with real estate agents while using Divvy’s program!
Finding a real estate agent
If you need to get paired with an agent
We know people find Divvy’s program in different ways. Many of our customers are new to the home buying process—they may not have previously shopped for homes, or even started looking. For customers who don’t have a real estate agent they’d like to work with, we’ll pair you with a local agent who is a Divvy expert!
If you already have an agent you’d like to work with
Some customers may already have looked for a home to buy before finding Divvy and might have an agent they’d like to work with. In that case, great! You’ll just need to sign up and have your real estate agent sign up too. We’ll make sure you’re linked, so your agent can help you through the application process and track your progress through their agent portal.
Going home shopping
Once you have an agent, you’ll be ready to go home shopping! It’s a good idea to sync up with your agent beforehand to let them know what you’re looking for in your next home. That could include things like:
- The size of the home
- Certain amenities (i.e. a large yard or two-car garage)
- The location of the home (for neighborhood or school district proximity)
Your real estate agent will be fully aware of your monthly budget and have an understanding of what home price range you should be looking at. With all that information, you can start sharing online home listings and making plans to view homes!
Pro tip: You can save listings through Divvy’s search tool to keep all your favorite homes in one place!
During your viewings, your agent will also keep an eye out for issues with the home that may make it unlikely to pass a thorough inspection. We want to make sure we’re helping our customers find top-notch, quality homes. So fixer-uppers or homes that need a lot of work usually won’t qualify. It’s a good idea to understand our home eligibility criteria before going home shopping.
Making an offer!
On to the exciting part! Making an offer with Divvy is simple. Once you’ve found a home you love, you’ll let your agent know you’re ready to make an offer.
Getting an offer submitted
Here are the steps you and your agent will take to get an offer submitted on a home you love:
- Your real estate agent will submit an offer request through their Divvy portal
- Our team will review the agent’s proposed offer amount and sign off or suggest a different offering price—this usually happens within a few hours
- We have a team of home buying experts, as well as innovative technologies that help us estimate the best price to win your dream home. It’s important that we keep offers competitive while avoiding a higher price tag for you
- We’ll ask you for an Earnest Money payment to submit the offer. This is a $500 flat fee that will go toward your initial home savings contribution when the offer is accepted (you can think of it as a deposit!)
- We’ll also ask you to sign an occupant proposal before the offer is accepted. This document acts as a lease agreement so we can move forward on buying your home.
- Once your agent has an approved offer amount, they’ll take this to the seller and wait for a response
- If the seller accepts, well move forward with closing on the home! If not, we’ll see what room there is for negotiation, while making sure the monthly payments and buyback pricing will still be reasonable for you.
When the offer is accepted
Once the offer is accepted, we’ll work on scheduling an inspection and completing lots of paperwork. We always encourage our customers to attend the inspection to understand what our team looks for when finding quality homes. It can also help you gain insight into any maintenance needed. Our team, along with your agent, will keep you up to date on which documents need your attention. To keep the closing process moving quickly, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on your email and phone as we may need urgent responses from you.
Once the closing process is complete, your agent will do a final walkthrough of the home with you and hand over the keys. Then, you’ll be ready to move in and start living in your new home!