Everyday recently I ame seeing more and more first time buyers enter the housing market in search of their first home. For some it is the American dream of owning a home that has lured them into the market and for others it is the tax credit and for a select few it is a pure investment in this market. Whatever your motivations are there is certain things to look for when buying a home.
One of the first things I do when I am talking with someone who is entering the market for the first time is a quick little questionnaire as to what they would want in their dream home right now. I think it is crucial to see what you are looking for in a home. Too many times I hear people tell me; " I wanted a ranch and the other Realtor kept sending me two story homes" or "I need two bathrooms and all they send me are one bathroom homes". Once you have deciphered what you want it is crucial to know where you want to live. Area and location are just as important in today's market as the features in a home. A home is an investment that you want to make sure you are in an area you want to live. Last, and probably the most important is to make sure you can qualify for a mortgage and to see how much home you can afford. Many people think they can afford one thing and find out that for what they are looking to spend in terms of monthly payment they can actually purchase at a higher amount or a lower amount.
When you are armed with a pre qualification or a pre approval from a mortgage company your leverage in looking at homes drastically increase. You now have realistic expectations of what you can afford. But where do you begin? the key is getting in with a Real Estate Agent who will listen to your wants and needs are. That agent should be able to send you homes that fit the criteria you want in the areas you are looking in. Then you decide which homes you want to look at. I usually recommend to my clients that they pick four to five homes to look at initially. No matter what they think of the first or second home they look at I make them look at all the homes. Why? because once you start looking inside these homes you notice things that you never realized before...Sometimes it is the layout of the home or the positioning of certain furniture or the way the yard is. Just about everytime I show homes to first time buyers they will say to me, "i never thought of that or i really like that layout better than the other".
After we have picked out a home they feel they want to put an offer in on; I will look up the taxes and check for any assessments or HOA fees with the property. then I will ask their permission to get in touch with their mortgage professional and give them the numbers. Why? because then this way the mortgage professional can put in the exact property tax, and homeowners fees and any other miscellaneous charges and give me an monthly payment. Then it is my responsibility to inform my clients that if they purchase the home for x dollars here si where there monthly payment is gong to be. If they are comfortable with the numbers and had a chance to sleep on it I will then write up an offer on the home in their behalf.
too many times I hear first time buyers say that they looked a house or two and put an offer in the same day and did not realize all the fees or that their payment would be X amount because of the taxes. It is our jobs as Realtors to educate and guide you through the process. On average you may do this once every seven years. We do this everyday.
Dave diCecco
Realtor/Agent
www.davedicecco.com
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