The most important aspect of purchasing a home is having an expert on your side. The average home owner may purchase two or three homes in their lifetime. Real estate professionals know how to navigate through the potential pitfalls of purchasing a home. They can help you avoid costly mistakes such as: choosing the wrong lender, the wrong type of home, failing to get a thorough home inspection and problems with the title. Any of these problems can cause you a lot of money and grief.
Do not buy a home without a real estate agent to represent your best interests. The seller pays your real estate agent's fees. Buying a home through an agent that represents your best interests costs you nothing and can save you thousands.
Here are some of the most common mistakes buyers make, which often costs thousands of dollars, large investments of time and loads of grief:
1. Plan Before You Purchase.
Purchasing a home is an emotional experience. Make sure to sit down with your real estate agent and map out a strategy. Don't let just one aspect of the home drive your decision. Try to answer the following questions.
?Where would you like to live? How far do I want to commute?
?How much home can I afford? Get pre-approved!
?What type of home do you want?
Come out of this exercise comfortable with your area and your mortgage.
2. Get The Right Lender.
There are many types of loans available and getting the right one for your situation is crucial. There are also many lenders vying for your business. Some are online and some local. Getting a good local lender is crucial. Your real estate agent should be able to make recommendations from lenders they have experience with. A good lender will make sure you get the right loan and rate.
3. Identify Your Opportunities.
If you're looking for a deal, you need to know where they are. You real estate agent is a excellent resource for finding deals. They work in your market and probably know of several sellers that may have special circumstances. These circumstances could be divorce, relocation or loss of job. Work with your agent on this and you may be able to save yourself thousands.
4. Get A Good Home Inspector.
Just like any profession, there are both good and bad inspectors. Bad inspectors tend to overlook a lot of problems. You want an inspector that will scrutinize every aspect of your home. Your real estate agent knows the industry and can recommend good inspectors. You do not want to purchase a home that has structural or other serious defects because the home inspector overlooked them. This could cost you big!
5. Not Getting Clear Title.
Purchasing a home with a "clouded" title can be both financially and emotionally draining. Learning after the fact the previous owner still owed contractors money for the finished basement on your property which is now a lien against your property causes a lot of grief. Your real estate agent will help you purchase title insurance and make sure the title to the property is free and clear.
6. Don't Waste Time.
Home buyers can waste valuable hours in front of computers searching for homes online. Most times the homes you find are not the best deals. Let your real estate agent save you that time to spend on what is important to you like your friends, family and work. Let your agent find the right home and notify you when it's available.
7. Don't Forget About Resale.
It is very easy to forget about resale when you are house hunting. As you tour homes, try to put yourself into the perspective of a seller. There may be some quirky characteristics that draw you, but homes with only one closet may be hard to resell when the time comes. When you buy you should also be thinking about the time it comes to sell.
8. Do Go Back and Check the Neighborhood.
Most home buyers do their shopping on the weekends. But what happens there on the weekdays or after dark? Does the passing street fill up with cars during commute times? Do the neighbors have their stereos blaring? The only way to answer these questions is by checking the neighborhood at various times.
9. Do the Final Walkthrough.
Not completing the final walkthrough can be a crucial mistake. Before closing, make sure you check to see any requested repairs have been completed. Make sure there is no damage you were unaware of and that nothing else has changed. Any problems after the purchase are yours.
10. Not Buying at All.
If you can afford to purchase a home and don't actually purchase a home, you will lose out on tax deductions, appreciation in the value of the home and the generation of home equity. Not buying, when you can is perhaps the worst mistake of all.
Government Home Buying Grants
Purchasing a home may be the single most important investment of your life, and possibly the largest purchase you will ever make. When you are dealing with hundreds of thousands of dollars, it may be a good idea to use a Realtor with experience, a fine knowledge of the area, education, and aggressiveness. An aggressive Realtor that knows how to negotiate the price of the home with you effectively may be the single most important factor when getting a good price on a home.
The first thing you want to do when purchasing a home in Arizona is to get pre-qualified for a home loan. This step does not take long, but is extremely necessary. In Arizona, you can not get into a contract with out getting pre-qualified for a loan. When you get pre-qualified for a loan, the lender the pre-qualifies you will produce a document called an LSR. Once you have a loan status report, you are able to write an offer on a home.
When purchasing a home, it is usually a good idea to see what has sold recently in the area. When you find the home that you want to purchase, a good Realtor will give you a comparative market analysis. This report will show you recently sold properties in your neighborhood. This will give you an indication of the market conditions in the area you are planning on buying in. You will be able to see if prices have been falling, rising, or remaining steady. This may or may not be an issue, but I do not believe anyone wants to over pay for a home.
Once your have made on offer on your home with your Realtor and the contract has been accepted by the seller, you move in to the inspection period. Generally, you have ten days to conduct inspections. It is a very good idea to have the home inspected by a professional home inspector. If you do not know one your Realtor should be able to recommend one. A home inspection will cost anywhere between three hundred dollars and five hundred dollars depending on the size of the home. This is money well spent because you will know exactly what is wrong with the home.
The inspectors will inspect the electric system, plumbing, roof, flooring, pool equipment, appliances, doors, showers, and several other items. After the inspections have been completed you then ask the seller to make repairs with a document called the Buyers Inspection Notice and Sellers Response. It is a contract within the contract. The buyer and the seller negotiate the terms of what is going to be fixed and what is not. The Realtors will quarterback the process, but again, it is imperative you have a Realtor that is aggressive so that you get more items fixed during the inspection period.
After the terms of the Buyers Inspection Notice and Sellers Response have been negotiated and agreed upon, it is usually smooth sailing until you go into the title company to sign your final loan documents. After the inspection period, you will want to obtain home owners insurance, and make sure all your utilities will be turned on in your name upon move in. Make sure you work with your lender so that there are no hiccups at the end of the escrow. The lenders job at the end of escrow is to deliver the loan documents to the title company so you can sign the documents. Once the documents have been signed the, title company will deliver the signed documents back to the lender so that they can fund your loan. Once the loan has been funded and recorded, you may now move in to your new home.
Again, it is of paramount importance to use a Realtor that knows what they are doing, that has ample experience, and makes sure you best interests are priority. Please visit the link below to get in contact with a professional, experienced, educated, and aggressive Realtor. You will get the quality representation you deserve.
Both Bruce Swedal & Nicholas Mcconnell are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Bruce Swedal has sinced written about articles on various topics from Real Estate, SEO Articles and Marketing Tool. Bruce Swedal provides professional real estate services to the Denver real estate market. Visit now for your Free. Bruce Swedal's top article generates over 60500 views. Bookmark Bruce Swedal to your Favourites.
Nicholas Mcconnell has sinced written about articles on various topics from Arizona Property, Home Buyers Guide and Arizona Property. Nick McConnellExecutive Sales Associate for Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Scottsdale, Arizona. Lived in Arizona all his life, Graduated from Northern Arizona State University and has been a Realtor ever since.. Nicholas Mcconnell's top article generates over 14800 views. Bookmark Nicholas Mcconnell to your Favourites.
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