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------------------------------------------------------------------------ Real Estate Guides Before Looking Before you actively look at homes to buy,
it's necessary to know how much you can qualify for. Use mortgage calculators
to determine how much you can buy with your down payment and closing cost
money and what your monthly payments will be. Know Your Credit Worthiness Look at your credit report before you go to
a lender. It is not uncommon to find problems with reports, especially if you
have a common last name. To get copies of your credit report, start
at My FICO Score. Get Pre-Approved After you see your credit report and any
problems are cleared up, get pre-approved with a lender. Take the steps
necessary to get a letter from the lender stating you are
"pre-approved" for a loan in a specific price range. It's important
to have this letter before you make a contract offer to buy real estate. Once
your pre-approved, you know what price range of homes you should be looking
at. What Kind of House is Right? Determine the specifics you want or need in
a home. - What are your day to day and future
needs? - Do you enjoy swinging a hammer? - Older houses have great charm, but may
need updating. - New homes offer the latest energy
efficiency and design features. - Larger lots can give room for additions
and swimming pools. - A fixer upper can dramatically increase
in worth. - A PUD may have private recreational
facilities such as a pool and play parks. - A condo or town-house will relieve you of
yard work and exterior maintenance. Sit down with your real estate agent and
make up a wants and needs list. Knowing your price range, your agent can
determine in what neighborhoods or towns to start looking. You may find that
you are limited to where you look based on your situation. There is no sense in wasting your or your
agent's time in areas out of your price range. Wants and Needs - Price range - Building style/design - New construction - Remodeled - Fixer upper - Minimum # bedrooms - Bathrooms - Family room - Fire place - Office/den - Hardwood floors - Swimming pool / Spa - In-law quarters - Workshop - Central air conditioning - Parking facilities - Yard size - School district - Work locations - Special zoning or location With a list of houses that you can afford
to buy, drive-by them and check out the surrounding neighborhood. Next make
an appointment with your real estate agent to view the interior of the ones
you are interested in. After you have narrowed your selection to
few houses it is important to visit them at different times of the day. Visit
them during the morning commute time. If you visit only during the middle of
the day, you might not notice if the street in front of the home is used as a
minor thoroughfare or a shortcut. This is also a good time to find out how
you emerge from you residential area into traffic on a thoroughfare or how
long it takes for freeway access. Go back after dark and walk around the
block. You might notice that headlights from approaching traffic shine into
the home or hear sounds from a nearby night club or park that you were not
aware of. After previewing a number of homes, you
will want to preview some a second time. This is the time to make measurements, ask
questions and make a closer self-inspection. When you want to make an offer, ask your
agent for sales comps to arrive at an offering price. A "seller's market" or
"buyer's market" can have big effect on how much to offer. There is
no sense in making a low offer on a well priced home in a seller's market. A properly written contract will allow a
buyer a number of outs if certain items are not met or approved. Get a copy
of a typical real estate contract prior to making an offer and have your
agent go over it with you. To find out what prices homes are listed
for in areas you are considering, go to Local MLS Search |
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Real Estate Guide |
