- name
- Home Buying
- slug
- home-buying
- version
- 1.0.0
- homepage
- https://clawic.com/skills/home-buying
- description
- Buy a home with budget guardrails, listing scorecards, offer strategy, due diligence triage, and closing readiness checks.
- changelog
- Initial release with a full home-buying decision workflow from budget setup through closing readiness.
- metadata
- {"clawdbot":{"emoji":"HOME","requires":{"bins":[],"config":["~/home-buying/"]},"os":["linux","darwin","win32"],"configPaths":["~/home-buying/"]}}
Setup
If ~/home-buying/ does not exist or is empty, read setup.md, explain what will be stored, and ask for confirmation before creating files.
When to Use
Use this skill when a user is buying a primary home or investment property and needs disciplined decisions across budget, search, offers, inspections, and closing.
This skill turns emotional decisions into a repeatable decision system with explicit guardrails and walk-away thresholds.
Architecture
Memory lives in ~/home-buying/. See memory-template.md for structure and status fields.
~/home-buying/
|-- memory.md # Decision defaults, status, and recurring constraints
|-- active-deals.md # Deal pipeline with stage and risk notes
|-- offer-log.md # Offer ladder history and outcomes
`-- closing-checks.md # Lender, title, insurance, and final walkthrough statusQuick Start
Use this workflow in order:
- Define
buy-boxand monthly guardrails. - Score listings using one scoring rubric.
- Build a tiered offer ladder before writing any offer.
- Run inspection and document risk transfer plan.
- Gate closing on a readiness checklist.
Quick Reference
Use the smallest relevant file for the current step.
| Topic | File |
|---|---|
| Setup and activation behavior | setup.md |
| Memory template | memory-template.md |
| Budget math and guardrails | budget-guardrails.md |
| Listing scoring rubric | listing-scorecard.md |
| Offer strategy and concessions | offer-ladder.md |
| Inspection and contingency triage | due-diligence.md |
| Closing readiness gates | closing-readiness.md |
Core Rules
1. Build the Buy Box Before Browsing
- Define non-negotiables (location radius, bedroom count, commute cap, property type) before reviewing listings.
- Add hard no-go criteria and keep them fixed for at least one week to reduce impulse drift.
2. Underwrite Total Monthly Cost, Not List Price
- Use all-in monthly cost: principal, interest, taxes, insurance, HOA, utilities estimate, and maintenance reserve.
- Reject properties that break the monthly guardrail unless the user explicitly approves a revised ceiling.
3. Score Listings With One Rubric
- Apply the same weighted scorecard to every candidate property.
- If a listing is selected against scorecard output, mark it as an exception and document the reason.
4. Use a Tiered Offer Ladder
- Build Plan A, Plan B, and walk-away offer numbers before contacting seller side.
- Each tier must include price, contingency set, credits target, and maximum concession risk.
5. Treat Due Diligence as Risk Transfer
- Convert each inspection issue into one of three actions: seller fix, seller credit, or buyer accepts risk.
- No unresolved high-severity issue should survive to final commitment without explicit sign-off.
6. Protect Timeline and Financing Certainty
- Keep a dated checklist for lender docs, appraisal milestones, title items, and insurance binders.
- Flag any critical path delay immediately and propose a concrete recovery action.
7. Keep a Decision Log for Every Deal
- Store offers, counter terms, rejected options, and post-mortem notes in memory.
- Reuse these patterns to improve future offers and avoid repeating avoidable mistakes.
Home-Buying Traps
- Shopping first, budgeting later -> overexposure and rushed compromises.
- Chasing low rate headlines without full closing-cost math -> misleading affordability.
- Waiving inspection blindly in competitive markets -> asymmetric downside.
- Negotiating only on price -> missed credits, repairs, or timeline value.
- Ignoring neighborhood-level signals (insurance trends, HOA health, permit patterns) -> hidden future cost.
- Accepting lender or title delays as "normal" -> preventable closing failures.
Data Storage
- Local notes only in
~/home-buying/for active deals, scorecards, and decision history. - Store concise operational data, not full personal identity packages.
- Ask before saving sensitive personal or financial details.
Security & Privacy
Data that leaves your machine:
- None by default. This skill is workflow guidance and local-memory only.
Data that stays local:
- Decision context, deal notes, and checklist state under
~/home-buying/.
This skill does NOT:
- Submit offers automatically.
- Call lender, MLS, escrow, or title APIs automatically.
- Share user data with external services by default.
- Modify files outside
~/home-buying/for memory. - NEVER modifies its own skill definition file.
Related Skills
Install with clawhub install <slug> if user confirms:
real-estate-skill- Broad real-estate transaction guidance across roles and stages.property-valuation- Comparable and income-based valuation support.contract- Contract structure and clause review support.rental- Rental economics and landlord or tenant decision support.house- Home ownership operations after purchase.
Feedback
- If useful:
clawhub star home-buying - Stay updated:
clawhub sync