Nine Steps To Help You Locate and Purchase Your Charlotte, NC. Home

As the spring approaches (it actually feels like it never left here in Charlotte, NC.) people are considering that move to either owning their first home, upgrading their home, downsizing their home or relocating to Charlotte from other areas of the country. the whole process can be overwhelming to buyers. Where do you begin? First, decide on where in the Charlotte area you want to live. Charlotte is such a large area that it encompasses different neighborhoods and style depending on a person's personal preference of lifestyle. Second, sit down and write a list of what you MUST have in your new Charlotte home and WANT to have in your new Charlotte home. Include things like fireplace, 2 car garage, granite countertops, ranch, 2 story, brick, vinyl, kitchen, hardwood floors, etc... Third, check your credit. You should be doing this at least once a year. But, request a copy fo your credit report and make sure there are nothing on it that should not be on there. Fourth, set a budget. i prefer to ask home buyers what they are comfortable at monthly. When you start looking at the online at mortgage calculators there are factors it does not take into account. Mortgage insurance, home owners insurance and it estimates property taxes and interest rates based on what you put in. By setting a monthly budget for your housing payment a Realtor in the Charlotte area should be able to back you into a price point for a house. Fifth, find a Realtor. All of the Charlotte area Realtors can show and help you buy a home anywhere in the Charlotte area. But, you are hiring the Realtor to work for you. (Do not worry you do not pay the Realtor the seller does). Interview over the phone or in person different Realtors until you find one you are comfortable with...One you feel you can trust and will look out for your best interest in the whole process. Do not sign anything committing you to the Realtor if you are not comfortable with that Realtor (you have no obligation to do that). Sixth, talk to a mortgage professional. Based on your credit report your Realtor should be able to refer you to someone they have worked with that can help get the approval process done quickly for you..... Seventh, have your Realtor send you homes and lots of them. Weed through them and pick out your top five to look at. If you look at more than that in one day you will start to forget what you looked at....Keep looking until you find the right house for YOU.. Eighth, after looking at homes ask your Realtor for the schools and check on the neighborhood online....We cannot steer a client towards or away from a neighborhood. However; we can provide you with websites and places to go to get information so you can make the best educated decision possible. Ninth, have your Realtor send you the comparable for the house you like and help advise you on a proper offer price...negotiate out the transaction and settle on a fair price for the house. Following these nine steps can help you alleviate some of the stress that goes into looking for and buying a house.... I advise all my buyers on these steps and provide then with all the information they need to make sure the decision is best for them. Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker www.davedicecco.com