3 Costly Mistakes Every Home Buyer Should Avoid
Posted 02-23-2016 at 05:39 PM by OHdanIO
Hey all! Here are 3 costly mistakes that you'll want to avoid as a home buyer:
1: Find a buyers agent to help you and represent you. Most real estate agents will charge their buyers nothing in commission and have the seller pay them come closing. So in other words, it's FREE to hire an agent to represent you as a buyer. Most people don't hire a buyers agent from the get-go because they don't want to feel "pressured" into buying a home. The truth is, most agents aren't like used car salesman. We understand that this is a big financial decision and aren't going to try to talk you into buying a home if you don't like it! Also be leery of contacting the listing agent directly. Is that listing agent really going to act in your best interest if they're already representing the sellers? Hiring a buyers agent can also save you a ton of time searching. An agent can get an idea of what you're looking for and in what areas (or school districts), and will set the criteria in our Multiple Listing Service (MLS) portal to automatically send you any and all homes matching your criteria! This means you don't have to spend hours looking on Zillow or Trulia. Speaking of Zillow and Trulia, beware! Zillow and Trulia aren't required to be up to date on the current status of the homes you find on their websites. Now..if the MLS isn't updated by a listing agent within a certain amount of time, that agent could face a fine. When browsing your portal, you can even go through and delete listings you don't like, place a light bulb next to listings you "like", and place a heart next to homes you think you'll "love" and it'll all automatically save in your portal. Being setup on the MLS portal by your agent will save you a ton of time. Lastly, a buyers agents will be able to recommend a reputable mortgage lender to you. You're probably thinking "I'll just use my bank for that?". Be careful. Most banks have a lot of "walk in" traffic because of this, which leads to a lot larger workload for them, which could lead to poor communication, which could lead to missed contract deadlines, which could lead to you losing your home. Banks may also charge more in fees (closing costs) and may not have time to explain other types of loans that may be beneficial to you (first time home buyer loans, USDA/rural loans, etc.).
2- Going back to part of #1. Get pre-approved for a loan before your start your home search. This is crucial! The last thing you want to happen is you start looking at $180k homes, fall in love and want to write an offer, go to get pre-approved, and the bank says they're only willing to lend you up to $140k. Not only did you lose out on the home and wasted time searching/driving/looking, but you're going to base every future <$140k home off of that $180k home and it's going to be extremely difficult. Becoming pre-approved will only take a few minutes (followed by sending the documents your lender will request) on the phone with most lenders. Being pre-approved will also give you negotiation power when you go to write an offer. When a pre-approval letter is attached to an offer, it gives the seller a sense of security knowing a lender has already ran the numbers, verified your income, approved your credit, and pre-approved you for the amount you're offering.
3- Your agent will more than likely highly recommend you have a home inspection and will write that up in the contract/offer. Once you find a home and have an accepted offer, do NOT find the cheapest home inspector out there. This is probably the biggest investment of your life, so why hire a cheap inspector? Your real estate agent should know a number of home inspectors who are great at what they do based on past inspections. Ask that inspector questions as well. How long have they been in the business? How many inspections have they done in the past month? Are they certified? Lastly, don't try to negotiate for the seller to pay for your home inspection. Again, this is probably the biggest investment of your life. Do you want the inspector working for you or working for the seller?
If you're thinking about buying or selling Real Estate, I'd be happy to help! I make it a priority to be available to my clients and can be reached directly through my cell!
Dan Mitchen
Realtor®
Keller Williams Greater Cleveland Southwest
Cell- (330)322-8868
1: Find a buyers agent to help you and represent you. Most real estate agents will charge their buyers nothing in commission and have the seller pay them come closing. So in other words, it's FREE to hire an agent to represent you as a buyer. Most people don't hire a buyers agent from the get-go because they don't want to feel "pressured" into buying a home. The truth is, most agents aren't like used car salesman. We understand that this is a big financial decision and aren't going to try to talk you into buying a home if you don't like it! Also be leery of contacting the listing agent directly. Is that listing agent really going to act in your best interest if they're already representing the sellers? Hiring a buyers agent can also save you a ton of time searching. An agent can get an idea of what you're looking for and in what areas (or school districts), and will set the criteria in our Multiple Listing Service (MLS) portal to automatically send you any and all homes matching your criteria! This means you don't have to spend hours looking on Zillow or Trulia. Speaking of Zillow and Trulia, beware! Zillow and Trulia aren't required to be up to date on the current status of the homes you find on their websites. Now..if the MLS isn't updated by a listing agent within a certain amount of time, that agent could face a fine. When browsing your portal, you can even go through and delete listings you don't like, place a light bulb next to listings you "like", and place a heart next to homes you think you'll "love" and it'll all automatically save in your portal. Being setup on the MLS portal by your agent will save you a ton of time. Lastly, a buyers agents will be able to recommend a reputable mortgage lender to you. You're probably thinking "I'll just use my bank for that?". Be careful. Most banks have a lot of "walk in" traffic because of this, which leads to a lot larger workload for them, which could lead to poor communication, which could lead to missed contract deadlines, which could lead to you losing your home. Banks may also charge more in fees (closing costs) and may not have time to explain other types of loans that may be beneficial to you (first time home buyer loans, USDA/rural loans, etc.).
2- Going back to part of #1. Get pre-approved for a loan before your start your home search. This is crucial! The last thing you want to happen is you start looking at $180k homes, fall in love and want to write an offer, go to get pre-approved, and the bank says they're only willing to lend you up to $140k. Not only did you lose out on the home and wasted time searching/driving/looking, but you're going to base every future <$140k home off of that $180k home and it's going to be extremely difficult. Becoming pre-approved will only take a few minutes (followed by sending the documents your lender will request) on the phone with most lenders. Being pre-approved will also give you negotiation power when you go to write an offer. When a pre-approval letter is attached to an offer, it gives the seller a sense of security knowing a lender has already ran the numbers, verified your income, approved your credit, and pre-approved you for the amount you're offering.
3- Your agent will more than likely highly recommend you have a home inspection and will write that up in the contract/offer. Once you find a home and have an accepted offer, do NOT find the cheapest home inspector out there. This is probably the biggest investment of your life, so why hire a cheap inspector? Your real estate agent should know a number of home inspectors who are great at what they do based on past inspections. Ask that inspector questions as well. How long have they been in the business? How many inspections have they done in the past month? Are they certified? Lastly, don't try to negotiate for the seller to pay for your home inspection. Again, this is probably the biggest investment of your life. Do you want the inspector working for you or working for the seller?
If you're thinking about buying or selling Real Estate, I'd be happy to help! I make it a priority to be available to my clients and can be reached directly through my cell!
Dan Mitchen
Realtor®
Keller Williams Greater Cleveland Southwest
Cell- (330)322-8868
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Comments
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Inspecting a Home. Some states still do not require any kind of certification or license. In TEXAS TREC requires a license to perform home inspections and it is a strict process to acquire them. Make sure your inspector is certified. Fast House Inspections operates in the Houston area.
Home InspectorPosted 08-31-2016 at 08:03 AM by blueCI01
