The Top 5 Tips For First Time Homebuyers !

I decided to spend a moment and focus on buyers for a moment.  I have a lot of information for my sellers, but when it comes to working with buyers I would have to say first-time home buyers are my favorite.  Perhaps I like the "challenge" but it is a different kind of reward when you hand someone the keys to their very FIRST new home ! 

Get Your Finances In Order

Before you start working with a buyer broker, getting a mortgage pre-approval is a must.  I have seen too many homebuyers starting looking before they find out what they can afford.  The result is disappointment that you may have looked at some wonderful homes that turns out does not fit into your budget.   Most licensed brokers will have reliable, and attentive mortgage brokers they work with that they will be able to refer you to. 

Know The Language 

Know the terminology of real estate, you want to understand what brokers are talking about.  Short sales vs Foreclosure, there is a very big difference.  You want to be sure even when you are looking without an agent you have a good understanding of what everything is.  You need to understand the difference between Listing Agents, Buyers Brokers, and disclosure.  Listing agents obviously list the house, and work for the sellers.  Every first time home buyer should work with a Buyer Broker, they will provide you with information about the homes in the neighborhood your looking for, make sure everything the seller is representing is true !

Find A Good Buyers Agent

This is the most important part for a first time home-buyer, you are going to be depending on this person to help you make a life changing purchase.  You need someone who is okay with having to “hold your hand” so to speak during the process, not because you need it but it is a resource that is available to you.  I once stayed in a closing with my first time buyers for 5 hours, it was a short sale and the bank was having its own issue with paperwork which held us up.  Before leaving the attorney, pulled me aside to thank me for staying and explaining what was going on to his clients.                  

Decide What You “Must Have” And What You Would “Like To Have”

I had a home buyer once tell me that she would never purchase a ranch they would never give her the space she needed.  For the most part she was right, almost every single home that was a ranch would not meet what she needed to have.  Before we began looking I asked her to make me a list of her “must have”,  and “like to have list”.  Must haves are the number of bedrooms, a school district, or a price range.  These are things that if they did not have them it would be impossible to move to that home.  Fireplaces, pools, central air, these are all things that you would like to have but, you could live without.  These lists are different for everyone, in this clients case the home she purchased ended up being a ranch.  If we had limited the search she would have missed out on her “perfect home”. 

Should I Spend The Money To Have A Home Inspection?                                                                                                                                  

Absolutely. The $200 to $500 that a professional home inspection costs could be the best money you ever spend on your house. Not only does the home inspection seek out any defects (and gives you some peace of mind), the home inspector will often give you tips on maintaining and repairing your house. See the section on Home Inspections for tips on what to look for and how to choose a home inspector.

For more information on Buyer Brokerage Take a look at my virtual presentation ! 

What Happens After Your Offer Is Accepted

You have successfully gotten an accepted offer it may have been a quick simple negotiation or it may have been a bit of back and forth, but either way you have officially gotten passed one of the biggest parts of the home buying process ! This blog is specifically what will happen with a straight sale, there is a much different process for short sales & foreclosures, I will be writing another blog specifically about those in an upcoming blog.

The next 2 weeks are going to be a very busy time for you, because although your offer is accepted the homeowners will still show it to other potential buyers and place an offer on your dream home !! Lower offers or offers with less desirable conditions will be held as "back up" offers, but their is always a chance someone will outbid you and their offer may have terms that the owner may prefer. That is the reason why time is of the essence so your going to want to get things done as quickly as you possibly can !!

Before Your Offers Accepted - Call Your Mortgage Broker
Your realtor should have already developed a relationship with your mortgage broker, if they have not spoken to them they shouldn't wait any longer to get that relationship going.

Sometimes the seller will want you to get a 2nd mortgage pre-approval, this is not unusual in my business, because I work for a company who has their own mortgage company. A seller can not however tell you who to get a mortgage with, they can only request a pre-approval thru a specific company.

Step 1 - Sales Agreement & Attorney Review
This is a very standard form and is very important to your purchase, this is really sometimes the first step, but if you have had to negotiate and make changes to your original offer you will want to fill out a new updated one to send over to the attorneys. The buyer and the seller will fill this out independently and receive a copy. You attorney will review this document normally without any changes, because the contract will have the specifics credits or add-ons.

Step 2 - Home Inspection
Many companies will have a preferred list of home inspectors, if you already have someone. You want to have the home inspection as soon as possible, even with a first accepted offer. A home inspector should check for of course the obvious red flags: mold, mildew, termite damage, but you also want them to check to make sure of some other things you may not think of. Most will check to make sure that the hot water, actually gets hot, in older home this will take a bit longer but these are things that once you move in can become important. They will also check things in the attics, basements and crawlspaces.

Homes that are remodeled it usually only takes about an hour for a full inspection, and others usually take about 2 hours. You will get a full copy of the report, and they will talk to you about it before they leave the property.

Step 3 - Sign The Contracts
Now depending on how your home inspection went sometimes you will be just going in to sign contracts with no changes, but sometimes there will have been more changes because of things that came up during your home inspection. Remember your offer is still accepted, but now you are going to be changing the terms.

I can appreciate a seller does not want to have to do work to the home but remember no matter who the buyer is there will be a home inspection and if it is a significant problem it will come up again.  That being said sometimes buyers should be reasonable also don't let fear of losing the house force you to overlook a major problem but don't let a little problem cause you to loose your dream home either.

Now that you have completed those 3 steps you can finally take a deep breathe and celebrate a bit about the purchase of your new home.   There are of course a few more steps that will happen between going to contract and your closing, I will write another blog giving you the timeline and what you can expect to be doing next ! 

What Is It Really Worth ?

WHAT DO YOU OFFER FOR THAT HOUSE!

Let me start off by saying it is YOUR choice what you offer, but you want to put in a strong offer, it requires research and analysis by your Realtor. This is why you must always work with a buyers broker, this is where you believing in there abilities and trust is important. 

A home is not always worth what it is listed for, but on the other hand if the listing Realtor is a reputable agent than the list price will normally be accurate to what the neighborhood and the home is worth.   A low offer is not always the way to go, make sure your offer is fair!

When pulling these comps your agent will try to get it as close to a match as possible but you will still need to tweak these comps accordingly.  Here are some key points to remember when your agent is going over these with you. 

NEW VS UPDATED

NEW appliances have never been used, this means normally you will have the paperwork for the warranties, and they have been put in within 6 months of the home being listed.   

UPDATED appliances have been used by the current homeowner or tenant, these updates have been done usually within 5 - 8 years of the home being put on the market.  So that updated kitchen could already be 5 years old. 

For a home that is able to boast that it has been completely remodeled, with everything new can add value of anywhere from 8% - 10% compared to other homes that are simply updated.  

MAIN RD VS BUSY RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD

This is normally quite the debate, I could name many roads that I would consider main roads in a town but when a bank appraiser comes in will not agree, and therefore they will make no price adjustment. This is a time when trusting your Realtor and seeing the comparison is very important, especially if you are not from that specific area. 

Let me also say this, if a location does not work for you for any reason you should never feel pressured to still buy it from your Realtor, they should offer to show you homes in the same area away from your objection area.  Some examples of this can be homes that have busier traffic patterns, sumps, or simply the privacy aspect to your neighbors. 

This will be your home and you will be the one living there for the next 15 years not your Realtor. 

WHAT IS THE BASEMENT REALLY WORTH ?

Let's say someone has a fully finished basement, with no CO, well unfortunately it is worth nothing, because it is not legal.  For an average size home, with a finished basement with proper permits, the value is surprisingly low they may only raise the value by $5000.  

If your looking in an area that does not have basements you can not reduce the price of the home because of it lacking a basement, because all of the comps do not have them either.  This is often a surprise to those who are looking to live closer to the water, most homes will only have crawl-spaces not basements, and there is no reduction that would be considered reasonable. 

THE MAN THAT WAS GIVEN A HOUSE NOT JUST A ROOM   

The garage typically you will have atleast 1 in some cases 2, and in the rare occasions 3 or more. 

When this happens I call it "The man that was given a house", and I unfortunately have to break the news to them that yes I personally appreciate their 5 car garage, painted floors, and custom shelving, but that means nothing to the bank or a buyer it doesn't add anymore value than a nicely maintained 2 car garage. 

WHAT IS A FEATURE WORTH ?

Unfortunately I wish I could put a value on what a feature is worth, but it is practically impossible.  Every feature will have its pros and cons to an individual buyer.   Some features will be worth alot to a buyer, and others will be a drawback. 

My best advice to home-owners is keep in line with your neighborhood when it comes to features.   Do not go overboard because you can not guarantee you can re-coup the investment you made adding features, but you can be sure that your home has similar characteristics as your competition does, so that buyers will be comparing apples to apples so to speak.   

For many home-owners their features are not added initially to keep up with the neighborhood, but because they were personal wants and needs for the individual.  If you choose to upgrade your home extensively more so than your neighborhood calls for,  I advise you to stay as conservative as possible because it could be helpful or hurtful in a home that has been updated, and is not able to be categorized as new. 

Do You Have To Sell Your House ?

There are of course times as a homeowner that you may have put your home on the market, and than life happens and you are either no longer able to sell, or you simply have decided this is not the right time for you to move.  Now depending on where you are in the process of selling your home is really the key factor here.  

On The Market With No Offers Or Contracts

If your home has been on the market for a day or a year, but you are not in contract you have the right as a homeowner to withdraw the listing from the market.  Now there is a difference in withdrawing and releasing your listing so you should pay close attention to which one the company is agreeing to.  

• Withdrawal - It means that the company is willing to pull the home off the market, but you will not be able to re list your home with another company until the original date of expiration.  
• Release - This is where the company is not only willing to pull the home off the market, and allows you to re list it with any other company before your original listing agreement.  IF you are pulling your home off the market because you are not happy with the company and the work they are doing for you this is what you would want for them to do.  

Things happen day to day, and sometimes a homeowners reason for selling can change quickly.  If your circumstances change and you do not want to sell for personal reasons your best bet is to call your agent and just be honest with them.  

We never want a homeowner to feel as if they are being forced to sell their home, but our job is to advise you what all your options are.  With the fall and winter coming upon us I am hearing many sellers say they are not sure they want to stay on the market because they believe that the market is slowing down.  This is only true to a point, and I have written about this quite frequently.  Although we do not have the same quantity of buyers, we have a better quality of buyers because those who are out looking in these months are considerably more serious than those who come out "browsing" in the spring time. 

On The Market With Accepted Offers

Now usually if you have gotten this far and accepted an offer something pretty drastic must have happened that you are not able to sell.  If you simply have had a change in circumstance and must stay in your home than you must advise the buyers in a timely manner, you also must keep in mind you will have to reimburse them those fees that they incurred such as the home inspection.  

Many times I see this happen is because a homeowner discovers they owe more than they thought, and the accepted offer is not what they need to sell.  You have a few different options before backing out of the deal, first you MUST inform the buyers immediately of this change is circumstance.  If you have suffered a hardship than a short sale may be an option for you, but your buyer would have to agree to this because it does change the terms surrounding the sale.  Your other option is to simply bring the money that is missing to the closing table.  

In either one of these circumstance again being honest with your agent is not only a must but you must inform them that these things could be potential issues before you list your home with them.  I can't tell you how many homeowners run into an issue because they hoped it wouldn't be a short sale and attempted although not to be manipulative kept it from their agent.  

Your Home Is Under Contract 

This is where it can get tricky and you really must be careful.   Most of the time the only provisions to be able to get out of a real estate contract is set up for the buyers.  If you are in a position where you truly can NOT sell your home than you should know that it is not always as easy as the buyers agreeing to it.  

• You will have to reimburse the buyers their out of pocket fees (deposit, home inspection fee, title fee, lawyer fees, survey fees, etc.)
• You do open yourself up to be sued by the buyers, in which case you can be forced to sell them the house.  They can sue for specific performance because your breached the contract, although this is a lengthy and costly process not all buyers are willing to just walk away.  
• Unfortunately you must also keep in mind that your real estate agent did their job, they brought you a buyer with a valid commitment to buy your home.  It is not up to the agent whether or not they pursue being paid for that work, it is only up to their company.  
• The buyers agent will also have the right to seek their compensation for bringing you this buyer.  Even if the listing company does not want to seek their payment, they will be sued by the buyers broker.  This is why many times listing companies are not left with much choice about whether or not they request compensation.  

For those buyers who are reading this because they are currently in the process of dealing with this, my best advice to you would be to try and salvage the deal if you can.  Keep in mind that life can throw curve balls at homeowners that they did not expect, and they may really not be able to sell.  It is obviously upsetting to lose the home, but there are many homes on the market your buyers broker will work hard for you but their was no way for them to predict this happening even for the listing agent many times this call comes as quite the shock. For all parties involved open communication and honesty is the best way to deal with this kind of situation!

Rent Vs Buying ? Are you ready ?

If your thinking about buying a home rather than renting there are some very obvious reasons that now is the time to buy but lets take a look at 3 of the best reasons you should buy now! 

• Low Interest Rates 
• Homes Priced To Sell 
• Inventory Of Homes To Choose From 

Now of course there are always pros and cons to both renting and buying, so lets take a quick look at those.  

                                                                                          

Renting Pro      Ability to move easily, this is important for those who often travel for work. 

Renting Pro      Renting you are not responsible for many things such as roofs, leaks ect.

Renting Con     Your money rent will never earn you any return.  

Renting Con     Increase in rent according to the market and become more costly than owning.

Buying Pro       Tax deductions on property taxes, interest. 

Buying Pro       Ability to take from your IRA penantly free for down payment.

Buying Pro       Work done to your own home raises its equity 

Buying Con      Upkeep goes into owning a home choose a home that fits your needs 

Their are many experts saying that one year from now everyone will be saying that they should have bought a home in 2012.  I have to say I would have to agree with that statement, buyers that are thinking they may want to try and buy a home should call a mortgage broker and see if they qualify immediately ! Now if your not quite ready to make that call and your just curious whether or not you could qualify lets take a look at some of the things you will need to have in order.  

1. Credit Score - Obviously you need to have decent credit but most banks will work with you if you have a credit score of 625 or higher.  
2. Work History - You need to have been consistently working in a field for 2 years to show consistency in your income.  
3. Debt To Income - This is just as important as your credit score, take a look at this simple calculator here for your debt to income ratio.  
4. Available Funds - Most down payments now are minimal at 3.5% on a FHA Loan which on a $250,000 home is only abut $8500, plus your closing costs.  Taking penantly free from your IRA is a great option also, allowing you to only need to budget for closing costs which on average can be $8,000 - $12,000.  

Lets take a look at some of the statistics for our current market to give you an idea of what kind of money you may want to expect to spend on a home.  

Now you can see that we are staying generally around the $300,000 mark, but for someone looking for the average home can comfortable purchase between $250,000 - $300,000.  

The average whole house rental for a 3 bedroom, 1 bath home here on the island will cost you about $1800 or higher, and normally you will still be responsible for all of the utilities on top of that.  Your costs on a renting a home would be much better spent on a home that you own! 

Other Available Options 

There are plenty of homes out their for first time buyers, and not only is New York now offering grants to help you but many towns and villages are building housing developments specifically for first time buyers.  A great example of this is the Courtland Square Condos, that are new construction condos that were recently built here in Bayshore.  

These condos offer a unique opportunity because the price of the condo is not decided by the builder or the buyer, it is decided buy the buyers income.  If your salary is under a certain amount than in turn the price of the condo will be one particular price.  There are certain rules and regulations that must be followed when you are purchasing one of these such as, it is required you take a class to learn about the responsibility of home ownership and you also must fill out a detailed application form.  To better educate you on this type of application it is available for PDF Download here.  When you purchase one of these condos the state and town are paying almost $100,000 in grants to help you get your first home! 

Another option is Rent To Own, now this is something you need to be very careful with.  You must meet with an attorney before you sign into something like this, but for some that are just looking to either fix a credit issue or save up a bit more for down payment it can be a great option.  There is a difference between Rent With Option To Buy, and Rent To Own: The difference between the 2 is pretty simple one gives you the option to buy, and the other locks you into buying the home within a particular time period.  

If you are thinking about purchasing a home but are still undecided about whether or not now is the right time to buy and would like additional information please feel free to contact me directly! 

Listing Agent Friend or Foe ?

I often reference Buyer Brokers in my blogs it is time for me to write a very specific blog about it.  I happen to quite often sell my own listings but my advice to anyone who is just beginning their search is to take the time and find a broker to work for you specifically.  

Listing agent friend or foe is something that I am always asked, and it really does depend on the broker.  I have been the listing and selling agent on quite a few of my own listings, but I am very upfront and honest about what that means.  In the end there will be no way to know which you have gotten friend or foe until it is too late, once you place an offer with a listing agent there is no going back to change it. 

Look at it this way, why would you pay someone who you only likely met once for finding a house you found on your own? If that isn't enough reason for you than take a look at some of the other reasons you should hire yourself a broker! 

There are a few very specific reason why you should hire your own buyer broker.  

• Your Paying For It - In every real estate transaction their is a Listing Agent & Selling Agent, the commission for both of these agents is decided when the home is listed.  Obviously the listing agent is just that, and will collect their share of the commission no matter who sells it.  The selling agent should be your Buyer Broker, but if you don't hire one than the listing agent now becomes selling agent as well and collects the commission for both.  

• Your Own Expert - Unless your a real estate agent, their is certain information you will not be able to obtain.  This is information you will need and want to know before you even place an offer on any home ! When putting in an offer you want to be fully informed.  How long has it been on the market ? How many owners has it had in the past 10 years ? Is it overpriced or action priced ?                                                                                                                                

• Someone To Do The Work - Ask anyone who has bought a home the hardest most time consuming part is finding the house.  There are so many homes on the market that those late nights looking thru MLS and Trulia you may get what I call "Click Finger" it is where you are scrolling thru so many homes you begin to overlook the new ones because your just clicking away.   An agent who is working for you will be looking for you, this way when a listing comes onto the market that fits what your looking for they will reach out to you, and email you the listing which guarantees you will not miss out on anything. 

• Your Middle Man - Your own broker means you can openly speak your mind about a home, and get an unbiased opinion.  The listing broker wants to sell that listing, which means he is of course biased to his own listing.  Sometimes when you walk into a house you may know right away it is NOT for you, your own agent can be the middle man to get you out of the home quickly but politely with no awkward moments! 

• Your Middle Man -  What about those houses that don't have any pictures online.  You don't particularly like going into these houses blind.  Guess what your own broker will either A. Be able to preview you them for you or B. Get the agent to send over pictures for you to see.  

• Your Representative - You will still attend open houses when you have a buyers broker, more than likely they will be holding their own open houses so they will be unable to accompany you. The old saying "Have your people, call my people" can be a great benefit.  A buyers broker will prevent you from getting calls from all of those listings agents trying to sell you on their own listings.  Just leave your agents card with them, and they will contact your agent directly ! 

The steps to finding your broker are quite simple, you call or request information online from local buyer brokers in your area.  I would recommend finding someone who is familiar with your area, and that you mesh well with.  When you meet with them it is you interviewing them, ask them the questions that are important to you, remember you don't need to pick the first one who comes in to meet you.  Here are a few tips on choosing your broker. 

• How many buyers are they currently working with ? 
• How often do they take their buyers out to look at homes ? 
• Do they send you listings, what tools do they have to help you in their search ? 
• How many mortgage companies are they familiar with, as well as what kind of financing are the familiar with ? 
• How quickly did they answer your request for information ? 
• What kind of follow up did they do after your appointment with them ? 

The process of buying a house can be long and stressful. My best advice would be to make your life a bit easier and find yourself a buyers broker before you begin seriously looking.  You are paying for a buyers broker when you purchase your new house so why wouldn't you use one? 

Now I am going to give you some examples of where having a buyer broker on your side is important.  

Example #1

Seller Joanne has her home listed for $375,000 Buyer Marie is interested in purchasing the home.  Seller Joanne Listing Agent agrees to take a offer from  Buyer Marie as long as she signs the disclosure explaining that it is his listing. He mentions it has had quite a few showings and is expecting other offers he insists that the home is worth the full $375,000.  Buyer Marie budget tops out at $360,000 but does not want to lose the house so she puts in her highest and best offer to get the home.  

Now your probably asking what is the problem with that ? Well, no where in that did anyone look out for the buyers best interests.  Now lets look at how that would happen if their was a buyers broker involved.  

Marie's Buyer Broker Rich checks to see how long the home has been on the market, it has been there for almost a year with no price adjustments.  Broker Rich runs the comparable sales of homes in the area and finds they are not worth a $375,000 asking price it is much closer to the $350,000 mark.  He meets with Marie and they come up with a reasonable first offer, and after a bit of negotiating and sharing of the comparable homes Marie is able to get the home for $349,000 ! 

Now does this happen all of the time NO, but it is the risk you take whenever you buy a home but don't have your own broker.  Now money isn't everything but lets look at another example, this having to do with functionality & safety.  

Example #2

Buyer Marie finds a wonderful home and Seller Joannes home has been on the market and is happy to have an offer.   Sellers Joannes Broker is the only agent involved, and takes the offer and gets the home into contract.  He explains the Seller Joanne has filled out the Property Disclosure pamphlet so there is no real need for a home inspection, and the market is moving quickly in that area.  Buyer Marie does not want to waste anytime this is the perfect house, and opts to skip the home inspection.

Buyer Marie places her fair offer and closes getting the home for a reasonable price.  After moving in she finds that the renovations that had been done over the years were not quite up to standards.  Although the Central Air was properly installed the electrical was never upgraded to handle the CAC and the other appliances in the house.   Luckily Marie finds this issue and upgrades the electric to be able to handle the CAC and the appliances.  While upgrading the electric she finds that not all of the outlets are up to code, and there was a non-GFI outlet in both bathrooms as well as the kitchen, which posed a fire hazard.  After about $15,000 in electrical work Marie is finally able to use her CAC and all of her outlets safely and without issue.  

What Happens After Your Offer Is Accepted

You have successfully gotten an accepted offer it may have been a quick simple negotiation or it may have been a bit of back and forth, but either way you have officially gotten passed one of the biggest parts of the home buying process !

Now you must know and any reputable Realtor will tell you that just because your offer is accepted, it does not mean that it will stop being shown so you must move quickly thru the next few steps to secure that home !! It is common that anyone else who views the home will be told that their is a first accepted offer, they can still place offers which will be presented to the homeowner.  Lower offers will be held as "back up" offers, but their is always a chance someone will outbid you and their offer may have terms that the owner may prefer.  I will usually recommend to my sellers to stay with the first offer, mainly because sometimes they may have outbid their first buyer to get in, and could drive the price down with concessions or changes.

That is the reason why time is of the essence so your going to want to get things done as quickly as you possibly can, this is not to rush the sellers but to show them that you are serious !! 

Step 1 - Sales Agreement & Attorney Review

This is a very standard form and is very important to your purchase, this is really sometimes the first step, but if you have had to negotiate and make changes to your original offer you will want to fill out a new updated one to send over to the attorneys.  The buyer and the seller will fill this out independently and receive a copy.  You attorney will review this document normally without any changes, because the contract will have the specifics credits or add-ons.

Step 2 - Call Your Mortgage Broker

Your realtor should have already developed a relationship with your mortgage broker to be sure this is a home that you can afford with the sales price/taxes/insurance.  If they have not spoken to them they shouldn't wait any longer to get that relationship going.  I personally like to have a direct line of communication the moment they give you the okay to go out and start looking.

Sometimes the seller will want you to get a 2nd mortgage pre-approval, this is not unusual in my business, because I work for a company who has their own mortgage company.  A seller can not however tell you who to get a mortgage with, they can only request a pre-approval thru a specific company.

This is not to say that using a mortgage broker your agent has not yet worked with will cause a problem,  I have had many deals go perfectly with mortgage companies I had not previously worked with.

Step 3 - Home Inspection

Many companies will have a preferred list of home inspectors, if you already have someone.  You want to have the home inspection as soon as possible, even with a first accepted offer.  A home inspector should check for of course the obvious red flags: mold, mildew, termite damage, but you also want them to check to make sure of some other things you may not think of.  Most will check to make sure that the hot water, actually gets hot, in older home this will take a bit longer but these are things that once you move in can become important.  They will also check things in the attics, basements and crawlspaces.

Homes that are remodeled it usually only takes about an hour for a full inspection, and others usually take about 2 hours. You will get a full copy of the report, and they will talk to you about it before they leave the property.

Step 4 - Sign The Contracts

Now depending on how your home inspection went sometimes you will be just going in to sign contracts with no changes, but sometimes there will have been more changes because of things that came up during your home inspection.  Remember your offer is still accepted, but now you are going to be changing the terms.

I can not stress what I am going to say enough, and it is what I say to not only buyers but to sellers too, BE REASONABLE!

I can understand a seller does not want to have to do work to the home they are moving out of, but you can't expect a buyer to just ignore problems that may have arose during a home inspection.  Try and work with the buyer, because no matter who the buyer is they WILL have a home inspection and you will more than likely be in the same position.

That being said sometimes buyers should be reasonable, don't let fear of losing the house force you to overlook a major problem but don't let a little problem cause you to loose your dream home either.

Step 5 - Bank Appraisal

This again is where a good Realtor is key, because the bank is going to come in and make sure the house is worth the money that in reality the bank is putting up for it.

This is what in today's market really is an asset to the buyer, because banks are not easily giving out money the way they did 10 years ago when the prices were really at its highest point.  The banks are very careful that the home is worth what your paying for it.  

I personally try and make the bank appraisers life as easy as possible, I bring my comps to the appraisal now we can't force them to use those specifically but most appraisers will appreciate it and many times end up using them. This depends on the bank and the appraiser but if they feel  the realtor has done there due diligence to make sure the buyers are not over paying, than they will use them.

Step 6  - THE HOME STRETCH

Your ready to close, you will have not much else to do till about a month before your closing !

I will write another blog outlining the things you will need to get in order prior to your closing separate from this one, and attach the link!

How To Make Sure Your Home Sells At The Right Price !

COLDWELL BANKER® SHOWS YOU HOW TO MAKE SURE THE YOUR HOME SELLS AT THE RIGHT PRICE

Establishing a reasonable and profitable listing price for a home is perhaps the biggest challenge for every home seller. Before coming to a final figure, many sellers ask themselves: "That home down the block went for a lot; can I just price my home in the same ballpark?" "Can I jack the price up in a hot market?" These and many other factors must be considered before settling on a listing price. The professionals at Coldwell Banker Residential Homes recommend taking the following steps before setting an asking figure.

         

Choose the Right Sales Associate
While many people use a friend or relative's referral to select a sales associate, it is smart to interview many prospective agents. Invite several sales associates to show their listings presentations. Pay attention to how they plan to market the home, and find out the reach of their company's Web site. Also, make certain they plan to list the home on the multiple listing service (MLS) and inquire about how broad their real estate contact network is.

 

Do The Homework.
Ask a real estate sales associate for a written comparative market analysis (CMA). This will provide a list of recent sales prices of similar homes in the area (with comparable numbers of bedrooms, baths, square footage and lot size), the asking prices of homes currently for sale nearby and other important information. Then a sales associate will provide a professional estimation of a legitimate selling price.

Take the Emotion Out of It
While the seller likely has great affection for the home, the sales associate will not set the price based on the seller's emotion. Instead, he or she will evaluate the location, condition and size of the home. A house in a secluded, exclusive area may appeal to some, while others will want to be closer to schools, shopping and health care facilities. What is the physical condition of the home? Is it a fixer-upper? Does it make a good first impression (the ever important curb appeal)? Will it appeal to a growing family, or is it better suited to empty nesters?

Determine If It Is a Buyers/Sellers Market
Home inventory, mortgage interest rates and the economy play a role in determining whether the buyer or seller has a negotiating advantage. Interest rates remain at historically low levels even as the economy shows signs of improving, putting buyers in a good position to shoulder "good" debt of homeownership.

     

Do the Math
Do not forget to figure in closing costs, legal fees and other selling expenses when determining the selling price. The sales associate should be able to provide cost estimates, and negotiate with a potential buyer to ensure a good sale price.

                                                           
Give It the Once Over
There is one more step to ensure that the house sells for your price, or more. Do as much as possible to improve the home's appearance: touch up the paint, fix leaks, seal any cracks, clean up the clutter, and eliminate pet odors. The house has only one chance to make a first impression.

What Happens After Your Offer Is Accepted

Well most of my blogs come from things that I have currently going on in my business, mainly because sometimes we as Realtors forget some very important questions that people do have, that are common place for us because this is all we do.  So after I had another offer accepted, and had some common questions come up, and it as well made me think of some others I am frequently asked so I decided it was time for another blog.

After your offer is accepted things really do start to move along, sometimes quicker and sometimes a little slower.  There are many different variables as far as how long it will take but the order of what will happen never changes.

Step 1 - Get Your Offer Accepted

After your offer is accepted, the home most times will still continue to be marketed.  A reputable company will tell anyone who shows interest in seeing it that their is a first accepted offer on it.  This will allow the homeowner to still receive back-up offers, but once they have accepted your offer you can consider yourself the "winner"!

Step 2 - Sales Agreement & Attorney Review

This is a very standard form and is very important to your purchase, this is really sometimes the first step, but if you have had to negotiate and make changes to your original offer you will want to fill out a new updated one to send over to the attorneys.  The buyer and the seller will fill this out independently and receive a copy.  You attorney will review this document normally without any changes, because the contract will have the specifics credits or add-ons.

Step 3 - Call Your Mortgage Broker

Your realtor should have already developed a relationship with your mortgage broker to be sure this is a home that you can afford with the sales price/taxes/insurance.  If they have not spoken to them they shouldn't wait any longer to get that relationship going.  I personally like to have a direct line of communication the moment they give you the okay to go out and start looking.

Sometimes the seller will want you to get a 2nd mortgage pre-approval, this is not unusual in my business, because I work for a company who has their own mortgage company.  A seller can not however tell you who to get a mortgage with, they can only request a pre-approval thru a specific company.

This is not to say that using a mortgage broker your agent has not yet worked with will cause a problem,  I have had many deals go perfectly with mortgage companies I had not previously worked with.


Step 4 - Home Inspection

Many companies will have a preferred list of home inspectors, if you already have someone.  You want to have the home inspection as soon as possible, even with a first accepted offer.  A home inspector should check for of course the obvious red flags: mold, mildew, termite damage, but you also want them to check to make sure of some other things you may not think of.  Most will check to make sure that the hot water, actually gets hot, in older home this will take a bit longer but these are things that once you move in can become important.  They will also check things in the attics, basements and crawlspaces.

Homes that are remodeled it usually only takes about an hour for a full inspection, and others usually take about 2 hours.  You do not need to follow the inspector around give him/her some space.  You will get a full copy of the report, and they will talk to you about it before they leave the property.

Step 5 - Sign The Contracts

Now depending on how your home inspection went sometimes you will be just going in to sign contracts with no changes, but sometimes there will have been more changes because of things that came up during your home inspection.  Remember your offer is still accepted, but now you are going to be changing the terms.

I can not stress what I am going to say enough, and it is what I say to not only buyers but to sellers too, BE REASONABLE!

I can understand a seller does not want to have to do work to the home they are moving out of, but you can't expect a buyer to just ignore problems that may have arose during a home inspection.  Try and work with the buyer, because no matter who the buyer is they WILL have a home inspection and you will more than likely be in the same position.

That being said sometimes buyers should be reasonable, don't let fear of losing the house force you to overlook a major problem but don't let a little problem cause you to loose your dream home either.

Step 6 - Bank Appraisal

This again is where a good Realtor is key, because the bank is going to come in and make sure the house is worth the money that in reality the bank is putting up for it.

This is what in today's market really is an asset to the buyer, because banks are not easily giving out money the way they did 10 years ago when the prices were really at its highest point.  The banks are very careful that the home is worth what your paying for it.

I personally try and make the bank appraisers life as easy as possible, I bring my comps to the appraisal now we can't force them to use those specifically but most appraisers will appreciate it and many times end up using them. This depends on the bank and the appraiser but if they feel  the realtor has done there due diligence to make sure the buyers are not over paying, than they will use them.

Step 7 - THE HOME STRETCH

Your ready to close, you will have not much else to do till about a month before your closing !

I will write another blog outlining the things you will need to get in order prior to your closing separate from this one, and attach the link!