The Farmington buyer's journey, start to finish

Stage 1 — Get ready before you tour anything

Everything downstream is easier when this part is done properly. A written pre-approval from a lender who has actually read your pay stubs, tax returns and bank statements tells you the real monthly payment — not a payment estimate from a calculator that ignores taxes, insurance and any HOA.

This is also where you decide what you are actually shopping for: a Historic Core house with character and older systems, an East Bench home with a view and a climb, or newer construction on the west side. Choosing the pocket first makes every tour a real comparison instead of a mood swing.

• Get the written pre-approval, and ask the lender to break out taxes, insurance and any HOA dues.
• Set the payment you are comfortable with, which is often lower than the payment you qualify for.
• Set aside money for closing costs and the inspection — those are separate from your down payment.
• If school boundaries matter, confirm them with the district for the exact address, not the subdivision.

Stage 2 — House hunting in Farmington

Touring is where most buyers spend the bulk of their time, and it is the one stage with no fixed clock. Farmington is a small city, so the number of homes on the market at any moment is limited; a quiet stretch is normal and is not a sign you are doing something wrong.

Walk the neighborhood, not just the house. Check the drive to your work or the FrontRunner station at the hour you would really do it, look at where the trail access and parks sit, and see what the street feels like on a weekday evening.

Take notes room by room while you are still standing in the house. By the fourth showing, every kitchen blurs together, and photos alone will not remind you about the sloping floor or the neighbor's fence line.

Stage 3 — Writing the offer

A strong offer is more than a number. Price matters, but so do your earnest money, the length of your due-diligence and financing deadlines, your closing date, what you ask the seller to pay, and how solid your lender letter looks to the other side.

Before we write, we look at what comparable Farmington homes actually sold for, what condition this one is in, and how much competition it has that week. Then we talk about what you would regret: overpaying, or losing the house. Both are real, and the answer is different for different people.

Once both sides sign, the clock starts. Earnest money goes to the title company, the inspection gets scheduled, and your lender orders the appraisal.

Stage 4 — Inspection, appraisal and loan approval

The inspector walks the home inside your due-diligence window. Read the whole report, not just the summary, then decide what you will ask the seller to repair or credit and what you can live with. This is a negotiation, not a rejection.

The appraisal goes to the lender. If it lands below the contract price, that becomes its own conversation about renegotiating, covering the gap or walking — and you have the right to walk if the contract protects you.

Meanwhile underwriting works through its conditions. Answer every lender request the same day, and do not open new credit, finance furniture or change jobs before closing. Any of those can restart the process.

Stage 5 — Closing day

You sign at a local title company, the deed records with Davis County, and the keys are yours. Federal rules give you at least three business days with the Closing Disclosure before you sign, so read it and ask about anything that does not match what you were quoted.

Do the final walk-through the day before or the morning of, so you can confirm the agreed repairs were done and nothing broke after the last showing. Bring your ID, and confirm any wiring instructions by phone with a number you looked up yourself — wire fraud specifically targets closings.

Stage 6 — Moving in and settling into Farmington

The transaction ends at closing; being moved in takes a couple more weeks. Handle the utilities and the address change first, then the things that only matter once you live there.

• Set up power, gas, water, garbage and internet in your name for the move-in date, not the closing date.
• Change the locks and garage codes, and find the main water shutoff before you need it.
• File your address change with USPS, your bank, insurance, and the driver license and voter records.
• Register children with the Davis School District school their new address is assigned to.
• Check the city's schedule for garbage and recycling days, and for green-waste pickup.
• Find your first-week basics: the nearest grocery, the trail head, the park, and the drive to the FrontRunner station.
• Keep your closing documents together — you will want them at tax time and whenever you eventually sell.

What I do at each stage

Before you tour, I help you get the pre-approval sorted and narrow the search to the pockets that actually fit. During the search, I set up the showings, tell you what I see in each house, and tell you when a home is not worth your offer. At the offer, I put together the terms and negotiate them. After that, I keep the deadlines, the inspector, the lender and the title company moving so nothing quietly expires.

And I do all of it in English or in Spanish — hablo español — because the moment that matters most in this process is the one where you understand exactly what you are signing.