First Time Home Buyer

Author:

gloconseo

It’s not uncommon for a first time home buyer to say to me, ‘Gosh, just last week I called you about buying a home and now I’m in escrow! How did this happen so fast?’

The answer is it didn’t. First-time home buyers start the search long before most even realize it.

Here’s what you can expect from your home shopping experience.

Figuring Out the Benefits

You should buy a home. That’s what you’ve been hearing from friends and family, right? So, by now you have likely already weighed the benefits and decided that home ownership was the best decision for you. That’s a major hurdle now passed. You are focused and certain. Good.

Defining Search Parameters

Almost 80of all home searches today begin on the Internet. With just a few clicks of the mouse, home buyers can search through hundreds of online listings, view virtual tours, and sort through dozens of photographs and aerial shots of neighborhoods and homes. You’ve probably defined your goals and have a pretty good idea of the type of home and neighborhood you want. By the time you reach your real estate agent’s office, you are halfway to home ownership.

How Long Should It Take to Find What You Want?

In seller’s markets, often I show only one home. After all, how many homes does one family need? A few buyers will look for years, but buyers who do that aren’t motivated. A motivated buyer will find a home within two weeks. Most of my buyers find a home within two days.

Good real estate agents will listen to your wants and needs and arrange to show only those homes that fit your particular parameters. Your agent should preview homes before showing them to you as well.

How Many Homes Will You See?

Studies show that the your memory dramatically improves after consumption of carbs and slows upon consuming sugar. So, layoff the soft drinks and have a hearty meal of carbs before venturing out to tour homes. The average number of homes that I show to a buyer in one day is seven. Any more than that, and the brain is on overload. Therefore, don’t expect to see 20 or 30 homes; although it’s physically possible to do so, you probably will not remember specific details about any of them.

The ‘Red Shoes’ Experience

Women will relate to this. Say, you need a new pair of red shoes. You go to the mall. At the first shoe store, you find a fabulous pair of red shoes. You try them on. They fit perfectly. They are glamorous. Priced right, too. Do you buy them? Of course not! You go to every other store in the mall trying on red shoes until you are ready to drop from exhaustion. Then you return to the first store and buy those red shoes. Do not shop for a home this way. When you find the perfect home, buy it.

How to Rate Inventory

* Bring a digital camera and begin each series of photos with a close-up of the house number to identify where each group of home photos start and end.
* Take copious notes of unusual features, colors and design elements.
* Pay attention to the home’s surroundings. What is next door? Do 2-story homes tower over your single story?
* Do you like the location? Is it near a park or a power plant?
* Immediately after leaving, rate each home on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest.

View Top Choices a Second Time

After touring homes for a few days, you will probably instinctively know which one or two homes you would like to buy. Ask to see them again. You will see them with different eyes and notice elements that were overlooked the first go-around.

At this point, your agent should call the listing agents to find out more about the sellers’ motivation and to double-check that an offer hasn’t come in, making sure these homes are still available to purchase.

Making the Selection

I’ll let you in on a little secret. I generally know which home a buyer is going to choose, and I suspect most other agents operate the same way. It’s an intuition. But I make it a practice not to steer buyers, and I insist that buyers choose the home without interference from me. It’s not my choice to make.

Real estate agents are required, however, to point out defects and should help buyers feel confident that the home selected meets the buyer’s search parameters.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/mortgage-articles/first-time-home-buyer-671992.html

About the Author

There are many things you can do to make your home feel more inviting when showing to prospective buyers.

Necessary Steps To Do Before Selling Your Home

Author:

Jason Homes

It is crucial that you create first a home selling plan before you begin doing some quick home fixes and staging your home for sale and make a schedule for an open house. Just like what you felt when you finally acquired your first home, selling a home can be a significant moment to any person. Thus, it is crucial that you come up with a well-designed selling strategy to make sure that the seller maximizes the profit potential of their property.

1. Know What Induces You To Sell

It is important that you know what stimulates you to sell your property. Every individual have their own intention for selling their homes. Most sellers put up their homes for sale in the market because they need money for purchasing a new home, there sellers that sell their homes because they have to liquidate all their assets and others make home buying and selling a great means of income. How about you? It is important that you determine your personal motivation for selling your home because lack of motivation to sell could lead you to a big dissatisfaction. Hence, you have to start knowing what stimulates to sell your home.

2. Hire A Real Estate Agent

First, if you are not really knowledgeable of the real estate market you’ve got to admit the fact that you need a real estate agent’s help. Make sure that you hire the one who is smarter than you in terms of real estate and make certain that they have the experience in home selling. Employing an agent can guide you in undertaking the necessary steps needed in selling your home faster. Before hiring an agent make sure that they really fit for the job, ask for their credentials. Moreover, ask them to provide you an attainable marketing plan that expounds the steps that you have to perform in marketing and selling your home.

3.  Find A Lender

Before you search for a lender to finance the new home you want to buy contact your present lender first. Ask them about the debt that you still need to payoff. Request a beneficiary statement.    Furthermore, explore for other financing options from the lending institutions and credit unions that you know. Request for a Good Faith Estimate or GFE. Compare rates and fees of each mortgage loan types and select sensibly. Go for a lender based on who gives the best interest rate, which has the kind of mortgage you are looking for and who is keen to work with you.

4. Sell First Your Home Before Planning To Buy A New One

Home sellers who are relocating and planning to move into a new neighborhood that do not have yet adequate funds usually being caught in quandary whether they want to buy a new house first or have their current home sold first before purchasing a new one. You might also have tried to hunt for new homes and have been enticed to acquire a new one before selling your present home. But it would be a wise decision if you sell before purchasing another one.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/necessary-steps-to-do-before-selling-your-home-5948430.html

About the Author

Jason is a real estate agent helping people find homes MN for sale by offering the use of MLS MN on his site Homes MN For Sale.

Many people are asking, is now the right time to sell your home? While it is true that during the winter months the real estate industry does slow down but that is not always the case. 

Mistakes To Avoid When Selling Home

Author:

Deepa Roy

You might be thinking of selling home while moving to another destination. You might also be aware of the basic things to do that will fetch you a handsome cost for your real estate deal. But hold on, did you ever thought of avoiding certain mistakes while selling home? If not, you must do this. Certain mistakes can result in missing on a profitable deal with a potential buyer. Read on to know what mistakes to avoid when selling home.

Don’t try to sell home when it is not ready- You must prepare your house before you offer it to the buyers. Do whatever is needed to bring home in shape- in a good shape. This may mean cleaning, painting, repairing and even remodeling. A little investment here will bring you a value for your house and a good money too!

Don’t set an unrealistic price for your house- Whatever you are doing to improve your home, do not set a selling price that is not appropriate for it. A much higher asking price will deter the buyers from offering to buy home at the first place. A right price of home (or even a slightly higher price than fair market value) will at least send them the message for negotiating about the deal.

Don’t overdo while remodeling home- Your home should not look like ‘something out of place’ from your neighborhood. If upgrading home, do it in such a way that it adds to the beauty of surroundings and does not put off the buyers at the very first sight of it.

Don’t be emotional while hiring a real estate agent- Hire a realtor simply on business rules. A professional real estate agent who knows and deals house sales in you neighborhood is the appropriate one to be hired. You can go for your friends or relatives who are realtors but only if they fulfill your requirements and have sound business knowledge.

Don’t try to hide the problem areas- If your basement leaks or the heating system is not working right, repair them before filling up the property disclaimer form. Simply filling the form cannot deter the buyer from suing you later when the problem is found out!

Don’t try to sell home fast- Last but not least, don’t ever try to sell home quickly or in a hurry. Real estates are something to be pondered upon, to be planned and to be given time for getting the right price. Being in hurry means making yourself weak while negotiating for the house price.

These were only some don’ts to be kept in mind while selling your home but the million dollar question is what you should do to sell your house in a way that you get the maximum possible profit  from it? To know the answer, read How to Sell House when Moving?

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/mistakes-to-avoid-when-selling-home-2045398.html

About the Author

Deepa Roy is an expert author having interest in varied fields including textile, health and fitness, alternative health, home decor & remodeling, movers and packers industry, furniture & handicrafts among others. She uses her practical experiences as well as acquired knowledge apart from facts and statistics gathered from research and industry reports to write her articles. You can connect with her on facebook Deepa Roy Chowdhury http://www.facebook.com/deeparoyc