5 Tips For Buying a Home

If you're buying your first home, or moving up to a better one, now is the time to plan for your new home purchase in the following areas.

Home mortgage interest rates are still very close to their record lows. During the slow time of the year, any house or condo seller who has a home listed for sale is usually highly motivated to sell it quickly.

Your purchase price could be much lower than the home will command in the peak annual spring home-buying season. If you want to buy a house or condo, here are five tips to make your home purchase easier and help ensure that you don't overpay:

1. Get a loan pre-approval FIRST. Most experienced real estate agents will refuse to work with prospective home buyers who do not already have a loan pre-approval for a mortgage in writing before showing properties.

The reason is that real estate agents understand a pre-approved mortgage buyer is serious. They know their maximum mortgage amount and home shopping price range. Mortgage pre-approval (not just pre-qualification) shows home sellers they are dealing with a qualified prospect .

2. Don't be in a hurry to buy a home if possible. Buying a residence is a major decision that should not be entered quickly. Internet web sites are great places to begin the home purchase search process. More than 60 percent of home buyers use the Internet to learn about available listings and how to contact real estate agents in the area.

Careful home purchase research will reveal potential problems. However, when you finally spot the right home to buy, make your purchase offer. Don't lose your dream home to another buyer's offer while you over analyze the small details.

3. Work only with one of the area's best buyer's agents. Many real estate agents work almost exclusively with property sellers. Ask your friends and business associates whom they used as their home buyer's agent. You will soon have a list of buyer's agents to interview for the job.

Some buyer's agents ask their prospects to sign exclusive buyer's agency agreements ranging from 60 days to six months. Ask for only a 60-day buyer's agent listing, with the understanding you will renew if the buyer's agent is doing a good job. Your goal is to avoid being "tied up" for a long time with an unproductive agent.

4. Ask why the seller is selling. A key question to ask the seller is "Why are you selling this lovely home?" A truthful answer can help a buyer decide if this is the right house or condo for purchase. Keep in mind, seller motivation is NOT something an agent is obligated to disclose and may actually be a violation of his/her agency relationship to disclose.

For example, if the house is in foreclosure and the foreclosure sale will occur in three weeks, you might not be able to close that fast. However, if you can close on it quickly, you could possibly buy the home at a bargain and the seller will walk away with some cash instead of losing it all by foreclosure.

5. Before making a purchase offer, insist that your buyer's agent prepare a Comparative Market Analysis for you. The CMA shows recent sales prices of nearby homes, asking prices of homes now for sale, and asking prices of recently expired listings that didn't sell.

Armed with a fresh CMA prepared by your buyer's agent, you can determine if the seller's asking price is reasonable. If not, don't hesitate to make a purchase offer at a lower price that you think is reasonable.

buyer's agent offers Home buying tips

5 Tips For Buying a Home

buyer's agent offers
Home buying tips