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, stay where you are, or continue renting until you’re ready?

Have you made loan application yet?
If your loan is approved, can you buy a home within 30-45 days?
Is your timeframe to buy less than 2-3 months?
Are you able to put down 3.5% to 5% or more?

If you can answer YES to all these questions, then you are ready to buy a home. If not, then you should consider staying where you are until you do.

If you haven’t made loan application yet with a mortgage lender, then you are either a) uncertain b) unaware or c) flying blind.

Making loan application is not the same as getting approved, so once you are approved, move quickly before 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 one of the single most important purchase decision you’ll ever make in your lifetime. There are many parts to this process that can go wrong. Unexpected issues will arise. Dealing with these issues will require a skilled real estate professional like me in your corner. My goal for you is 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 all while keeping 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, experiences, and advice with you.
Big No-No: Advice from friends, family, co-workers or non-real estate licensed individuals is one of the worst mistakes you can ever make, especially, if they live miles away in another county or state. They are not the experts. 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 (or selling); however, it’s solely up to you to appreciate your Realtor’s expert advice and move forward together as a team. Your Realtor is your friend, not your enemy. I am here to reasonably protect and represent you. In the end, it comes down to "common-sense."
They say it’s a “Buyer’s Market.” Well as your real estate expert, I beg to differ. Since buyers are having difficulty with obtaining loan approval these days, they cannot buy. Sellers and builders are indeed struggling to sell their homes but they’re not giving them away. Our Triangle real estate market is much stronger and robust than other areas (i.e. Florida, Nevada, California, Michigan, Chicago, etc.). Raleigh is also one of the best places, still, for real estate unlike Charlotte, NC or the Carolina beach areas. Therefore, don’t believe national statistics or media hype about housing decline. Instead, try focusing on your Realtor's advice and suggestions.
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, espeically first-time buyers. The reality is this; in our local real estate market, prepare to pay near asking price. We may be able to get a few thousand dollars off, but don't count on tens of thousands as you were hoping. Bottom line: "buying a home, means just that, you're buying a home, so prepare to pay for it. I have found that nothing in life is free"
Foreclosures, Short Sales, REOs or Bank Owned Properties are nightmares to purchase. They take long. Even investors with cash run into difficulty purchasing them. I’ve helped clients with purchasing foreclosures and short-sales. I 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 and 4) do you have access to a reliable and reputable contractors?
Low-ball offers, against your Realtor's best advice, are a waste of time to you, me, and the seller. My job is to get you the best deal possible without insulting the other side. All Realtors and appraisers have access to the same MLS data, so we all know the difference between a good price and a lousy low-ball one. Low-ball offers quickly shows a seller that you’re not serious. In today’s real estate markets, sellers are aggressively pricing their homes to sell. They are just hoping to stay in the "black." 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 first offer.
Narrow your search to 3-4 properties. Any more than 6 homes, suggests that you maybe unsure about what you’re looking for, therefore we’ve missed the goal to fully determining your wants vs. needs in a home. Let's regroup and evaluate your home search with my sit-down home seach session. Surely you are free to look on your own by via Internet (Realtor.com) or simple driving around. You can also ask me to send email notifications of periodic updates of homes that closely match your criteria. Be realistic with your search. For example, older homes will come with more repairs and dated fixtures. Consider your commute, traffic, shopping area, schools, taxes, budget, usage and purpose for the home. Even with millions of dollars, you’ll never find that "perfect" home. Find something that suits you and your family needs the best. I guarantee that this will not be your last home. Your home needs will grow as your life needs grows.
Asking for 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 expense to motivate the sale. If know you will need closing assistance from the seller, then be kind and respectable offer nearing their asking price. The crappy hard sales approach from the 1980s sales manual is out of touch with today’s market. General rule: 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.
Creating win-win results. Buying a home is not a unilateral or one-sided process. 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! Work together! Nothing is free! Once you've decided to buy a house…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 I am 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, 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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