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Six Valuable Homebuyer Tips

Vicki Henderson — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 22:43:59 +0000

Buying a home can be a wonderful life experience. It also can be a great investment. You will need to educate yourself and do your research in order to have a successful purchase. Save yourself time, energy and money by following these valuable homebuyer tips.

Homebuyer Tips 1

Find a real estate agent to guide you through the process. A real estate agent can pre-qualify you for a loan, answer questions about neighborhoods, recommend lenders and even coordinate the closing–all while saving you time and money. To find the right agent, look for someone who makes you feel comfortable and listens to your needs.

Homebuyer Tips 2

Take a careful look at your finances and talk to at least three lenders to find the right loan. It’s extremely important to have a clear idea of your financial situation before you start looking for a home. Not only will this help you set a budget, but financial records will come in handy when you start shopping for a loan. Make sure to talk with several lenders before making a decision. While interest rates and closing costs are important considerations, you also want your lender to explain things in a way you can understand and make time for your questions.

Homebuyer Tips 3

Check the neighborhood carefully to make sure it has held its value. Focus on areas that meet your needs, budget and personal taste. Factors to pay special attention to include convenient access to transportation, employment, schools and stores. The right neighborhood should also make you feel safe, offer recreational opportunities, and have adequate police and fire protection.

Homebuyer Tips 4

Hire a professional home inspector. During any house showing, be alert for signs of structural weakness, water damage, pest infestations or other things that just don’t “look” right. Conversely, don’t overlook an otherwise suitable home just because it has cosmetic problems like outdated carpet or a bad paint job. Most importantly, never purchase a home without first having it thoroughly examined by a professional home inspector.

Homebuyer Tips 5

Use contingencies as negotiation tools. Don’t rely on price as your sole bargaining chip. Contingencies may be written into the contract to specify how certain aspects of the transaction will be handled–everything from standard contingencies like pest inspections, to contingencies for the seller to leave the drapes or pay the buyer’s closing costs. Make sure any verbal agreements are written into the contract and that you read ALL the fine print before signing.

Homebuyer Tips 6

Budget for closing costs. The closing represents the completion of the sale. Be prepared to sign numerous documents as well as pay funds for loan costs, property taxes, insurance and other fees. Try and get a copy of the documents prior to the close so you can contact the settlement agent or escrow officer if any of the information seems wrong or is unclear.

Top 10 Home Buying Mistakes

Vicki Henderson — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 01:23:00 +0000

When you have launched the home buying process without putting much thought or planning into your venture, you may reach frustration or end up unsatisfied with your purchase without understanding you mistakes. Take a look at the following top ten home buying mistakes and then look at some real home buying advice for better success before it is too late. Good luck!

Mistake 1 : Working with an agent who is unfamiliar with the area where you are buying a home, or thinking that you don’t need to have an agent.

Mistake 2 : Making an offer when buying a home without having a clear idea of your budget.

Mistake 3 : Not shopping around for the right loan when buying a home.

Mistake 4 : Failing to research the neighborhood where you are buying home.

Mistake 5 : Buying a home based on its size, rather than how well it fits your needs.

Mistake 6 : Not buying a good home simply because of cosmetic problems.

Mistake 7 : Not having a home you are buying professionally inspected.

Mistake 8 : Thinking that price is the only bargaining chip when buying a home.

Mistake 9 : Not reading the fine print on the purchase contract when buying a home.

Mistake 10 : Not budgeting enough money for closing costs when buying a home.

Mortgage “Short Sales” Reality Help

Vicki Henderson — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 03:40:40 +0000

While the misconceptions of what qualifies sellers for mortgage short sales are many, the reality is actually very simple. Following is an explanation of the three major items that banks will be looking for to help consider sellers for short sales. While there will be much more information required, this help on short sale is an excellent place to start. A seller who does not meet all three of these thresholds will not qualify.

Short Sale Help 1

First and foremost a lender will want to see that you are experiencing a ‘financial hardship’. A financial hardship is a verifiable issue that has caused you to miss payments or have financial difficulties. Financial hardships can be issues such as: mortgage payment adjustment, job loss, too much debt, or business failure. A simple definition for ‘financial hardship’ is: a material change in-between the day the mortgage was signed and today that has affected the borrower’s ability to pay.

Short Sale Help 2

Almost every lender will want to see that a potential short sale client cannot afford to pay their mortgage. The way that this is demonstrated is on a financial worksheet that is essentially a monthly profit and loss statement. While this may sound difficult in reality determining whether you have a monthly shortfall or not is actually relatively easy. If you do not have a monthly short fall but will have one soon due to a payment increase, pending layoff or other issue, you still can qualify for a short sale as long as this issue is verifiable. To help determine this short fall, the equation is:

Total Monthly Income – Total Monthly Expense = Monthly Shortfall

Short Sale Help 3

In order to qualify for a short sale, you cannot have the means to pay down your mortgage. This means that the mortgage company wants to see that you owe more than you have in cash (known as being insolvent). You do not have to be completely broke—this is a common misconception. The lender will want to see that over time the borrower will not be able to pay his obligation.

Home Seller Tips In A Nutshell

Vicki Henderson — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 03:24:58 +0000

Millions of existing homes are sold each year, and while each transaction is different every home seller wants the same thing — the best possible deal in the least amount of time. Home selling has become a very complex business. New seller disclosure statements, longer and more complicated form agreements, and a variety of environmental concerns have all emerged in the past 10 years. More importantly, the home selling process has changed. Buyer brokerage — where REALTORS^® represent homebuyers — is now common across the country.

Home Seller Tip 1

While hundreds of thousands of existing homes are sold each week, the process is much more difficult for sellers than it was five or 10 years ago. Surviving in today’s real estate world requires experience and training in such fields as real estate marketing, financing, negotiation and closing — the very expertise available from local REALTORS^®.

Home Seller Tip 2

The home selling process typically starts several months before a property is put on the market. It’s necessary to look at a home through the eyes of a prospective buyer and determine what needs to be cleaned, painted, repaired and tossed out. This is sometimes hard for a seller. Determine, if you were buying this home, what would you want to see? The goal is to show a home which looks good, maximizes space and attracts the most buyers – and, most importantly, is priced right.

Home Seller Tip 3

While part of preparing the home for sale relates to repairs, painting and other home improvements, this is also a good time to ask yourself why you really want to sell. Deciding to sell your home is a big step so you need to consider the reason why you’re selling. This will help you when the time comes to negotiate. Talk to your REALTOR^® in private and openly about your needs and concerns.

New Real Estate Resources in North Georgia

Vicki Henderson — Mon, 03 May 2010 02:31:08 +0000

North Georgia real estate just got better with new resources available to buyers and sellers of residential and commercial properties. With my new real estate blog site, ClickVick.net, you will find many valuable resources at your fingertips including home buying and selling tips, real estate tools and listing sources. Not only will you want to use these resources before and during your real estate transaction, but you will want to continue visiting even after the closing.

With the recent state of the economy, a lot has changed how we do business. Many companies are looking for creative ways to save money and keep the numbers climbing. And consumers are seeking more ways to cut costs as well. The Internet is the obvious choice for all. Businesses can reach consumers quicker and further distances more easily. Consumers can shop, research, stay in touch with family and friends, and even study online. Online resources assist all sides of a transaction by saving fuel cost, advertising dollars, wear and tear on vehicle and most of all…time!

As a RE/MAX REALTOR^® with over 20 years of experience in real estate, not only can I can keep real estate clients up to date on all the latest real estate news and chatter, but I can build a network of resources that will ease real estate buyers and sellers through difficult real estate dealings. To assist all of my forward thinking real estate clients, it is my goal to bring together many real estate resources and tools to one central location. So please look around ClickVick.net and provide your suggestions and comments on how to make it the best real estate resource in North Georgia.