Raleigh North Carolina Homes for Sale

Buying a Home…Are You Sure?

With today’s economy, home buyers are struggling more than ever to buy homes, in turn, sellers are unable to sell.

How to determine if you should buy or continue renting until you’re ready?

Have you made loan application yet?
If loan approved, can you buy a home right now?
Is your timeframe to buy less than 3 months?
Are you able to put down 3.5% to 5% or more?

If you can answer YES to all of these questions, then you are ready to buy a home. If not, continue renting until you can.

If you haven’t made loan application yet with a mortgage lender, then you are either a) afraid b) unaware c) flying blind or d) like dreaming about home ownership.

Making loan application is not the same as getting approved, so once you are approved, move quickly before the mortgage guidelines changes.

The days of 100% financing for home loans are gone. There are still a few programs, if any, to help first time buyers in rural areas or low-income. I would strongly recommend that you have money ready to put down.

Tips from the Realtor: Common Mistakes Buyers Make

As your Realtor, I know what it feels like to purchase a home whether it’s your first time or not. I understand that buying a home is the single most important purchase and decision you’ll ever make in your lifetime. Fortunately, it won’t be your last. There are many parts to this process that will go wrong and unexpected issues will arise. Dealing with these issues will require a skilled real estate professional like me. Try to focus on smooth transactions. Listen to your real estate expert, that’s why they’re the expert. Be reasonable, sensible, and smart with your home search and purchase. The process is strictly between you and the seller…not the Realtors. Realtors are there to facilitate, negotiate, protect and represent your best interest throughout the entire home buying process and to keep your home buying experience legal.

Get an Expert working for you. Simply put, I know the real estate market. Therefore authorizing me to assist you with your real estate needs is a tremendous benefit to you. Allow me to share my expert knowledge with you.
Big No-No: Advice from friends, family, co-workers or other non-real estate licensed individuals is one of the worst mistakes you can ever make. Especially, if they live miles away in another state. Having successfully assisted hundreds of clients with their real estate needs, qualifies me to be your real estate expert. Everyone has an opinion about home buying; however, it’s solely up to you to appreciate your Realtor’s advice and move forward as a team. Your Realtor is your friend, not your enemy. We are here to protect and represent you.
They say it’s a “Buyer’s Market.” Well as your real estate expert, it’s NOT. Since buyers are unable to obtain loan approval, they cannot buy. News Flash: Sellers and builders are struggling to sell their homes but they’re not giving them away. Our real estate market is much stronger than other regions, states, and counties. Therefore, don’t believe national statistics or media hype, focus on your area.
Great Deals! They typically exist as foreclosures, short sales, or motivated seller facing job-loss. If you have access to plenty of cash, you could get lucky. Savvy cash investors are squeezing out average home buyers. The reality is this; prepare to pay near full asking price regardless. We may be able to get a few thousand dollars, off the price, NOT tens of thousands as you were hoping. Bottom line: “buying a home, means that you are prepared to pay for it. Nothing is free! Nothing is discounted!”
Foreclosures, Short Sales, REOs or Bank Owned Properties are nightmares to purchase. I’ve helped clients with purchasing foreclosures. I am also certified as a Short Sales Specialist. Therefore I am fully capable of assisting you with these purchases. However, before you consider these purchases, ask yourself, 1) Do you have 10-60% cash available? 2) Are you planning to buy for personal or investment? 3) Can you say “Yes” to all the questions stated above earlier?
Low-ball offers, against your Realtors best advice, are a waste of time for you, me, and the seller. My job is to get you the best deal possible without insulting the other side, all while creating a win-win result. All Realtors have access to the same MLS information, so we know the difference between a good price and a lousy low-ball one. Low-ball offers quick shows a seller that you’re not serious. In today’s real estate markets, sellers are aggressively pricing their homes. They are already slammed by the market. Therefore once I’ve conducted a market analysis to determine a fair price, let’s make a reasonable yet strong offer.
Narrow your search to 3 properties. Any more than 3 homes, shows that you are unsure about what you’re looking for or that we’ve missed the goal to fully determining your wants vs. needs in a home. Surely you are free to look on your own by the Internet (Realtor.com) or simple driving around. You can also ask me to send email notifications of daily/weekly updates of homes that closely match your criteria. Be realistic with your search. Consider your commute, traffic, the area, the schools, taxes, your budget, usage and purpose. Unless you have millions of dollars, you’ll never find that dream home. Find something that suits you and your family needs. I guarantee that this will not be your last home. Your home needs will grow as your life needs grows.
Asking for the Seller’s Help. Many buyers forget about closing cost. Both buyer and seller are responsible for their own closing expenses. Recently, sellers have been covering their cost, fees, and Realtor compensation as well as the buyer’s closing cost. If you need closing assistance from the seller, then be kind to offer their asking price. The crappy hard sales approach from the 1980s sales manual is out of touch with today’s market. If you are unable to pay or don’t want to pay closing cost, then you’re not in a position of power to negotiate the seller’s asking price.
Create win-win results. Buying a home is not a one-sided transaction. Put yourself in the seller’s shoe. Our goal is to get the best possible deal and ensure that you don’t over pay. However, be fair! Avoid being a bully! Nothing is free! You decided to buy a house…then let’s buy it. The cat-and-mouse game creates unnecessary headaches. Remember, smooth transaction!
Listen to your Realtor’s advice and guidance on pricing, value and benefits to you, that’s what we are here for. Most buyers want their Realtor to tell them what they want to hear, this is clearly a disaster waiting to happen. If your Realtor is telling you what you want to hear, replace them immediately, they because they are not advising you properly.

Hope you found this article helpful when buying your home.

Buying a Home…Are You Sure?

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