9 Easy steps to Buying a Home in this Market

SO YOU ARE THINKING OF BUYING A HOME…WHER DO YOU BEGIN?

9 Easy steps to purchasing a home in today’s market


1-Look at your reasons for homeownership and make an informed decision whether buying a home IS the right step for you at this time. If it is, determine your time frame.
2-Sit down and talk to a lender. Yes even before looking at a single property, get the facts of what you can afford in this market and which loan programs are out there and right for you (it might be more or less than you think). This will allow you to be very precise and save time and even hardship down the line. You will also be ready if you come across a great opportunity and want to make an offer right away.
3-Now that you know how much house you can afford and what limitations your loan has (i.e FHA loans will have strict guidelines and not all properties will qualify for this loans) Make sure you will have enough money in reserves after the purchase.
4-Sit down with the other people that will make the decisions with you and make a list with at least 3 categories: a) Things I NEED (must haves) b) Things I would LIKE (Nice if I could have) c)Things I could NOT accept (deal breakers). In this list you will asses what is important to you from the area to the numbers of bedrooms and Bathrooms. Try to make it as extensive and detailed as possible but then be willing to be flexible and open, this list will change through the process. It is O.K.
5-Start looking…If you have not contacted a Realtor up to this point, this is the time to do so, you want someone who will not only help you find a home (“apparently” not that hard to do on your own with the help of today’s technology) but will actually look after your best interest and give you guidance about the process, the specific areas, will be able to navigate this real estate market and all the different forms of listings that have come up in recent months (REO, Short Sales, Auctions, etc.) the market is changing day to day and you need a professional that is ahead of the game to know how to deal with each situation and to prepare you on what to expect , how long it might take, and how to make the right decision in each case.
6-Be prepared to start writing offers when you see a home you like. In order to do this your agent will help you determine the right offer depending on the particular circumstances. Not only money wise but timing, correct wording on the contract, order of paperwork it really does make a big difference when dealing with banks making the final decision.
7-Get an accepted offer (probably after a couple of offers and counter offers) Open an Escrow. This is where your agents Negotiation skills will come into play.
From this point on, there will be some deadlines to meet, your Realtor should have already sat down with you and explained the Escrow process and what comes next, including removal of contingencies and specific timeframes. There are inspections to be done, documentation to be gathered and funds to be handled….
8-Everything goes according to plan (usually there will be some bumps and unexpected turns down the line, but do not worry this is why you have a great agent or team of agents working on your behalf) Seller gets paid…you just got yourself a HOME!!!
9-Remeber to have fun!!! Try to enjoy the ride and be open to adjust the path during the process.

What constitutes an "Amazing Deal" ?

Last weekend I was holding an open house on 2 very attractive properties. Yes 2...Let me explain, this are 2 brand new homes, one next to the other, with many upgrades, absolutely move in ready including landscaping front and back! Did I mention they were priced about 400k less than the same floor plans across the street? and that is not considering all the upgrades and landscaping the neighbors put in after closing.

So as I said, I was holding this 2 homes open with a great turnout, however when I asked questions I kept getting one answer in particular over and over....I love the house, however....what I am really looking for is a "Killer deal"! OK, I can respect that, so I asked, What does a "Great deal" look like to you? How will you know when you have found one? It surprised me to see how few people had an answer. If you do not know what you are looking for looks like, How will you know when you have found it?

I open this question to all of you, I would love to hear your feedback, I am sure many of you do have a very clear picture and that is what I would like to hear.

Of course what constitutes a deal varies from area to area but to be clear you should do some research before heading out, be sure to know the specifics of the area and some of the things to consider are:

1. Look at the most recent numbers (up to the last 2 weeks) for that specific area you are considering, it can be as specific as that floor plan in that particular development on that side of the street.
2. Know how the market is behaving, how this area has behaved so far, does it offer something to back this prices, is it in high demand, why is it so? many of these questions can be answered with the help of a local realtor that is very familiar with such area.
3. Think about the pros of this particular home, some of the things it offers might have a greater resale value than other very similar homes (i.e. Newer home, upgraded flooring, kitchens or other areas, pool, large lot, end of cul de sac, etc.) or it actually might be harder to sell than other homes due to some specific characteristics (i.e closeness to power lines, smaller lot, noise, traffic,etc)

One word of caution, I have seen a few listings with a price that were well bellow market, in some cases this have turned out to be what you can consider as a bait and switch or a hook. When you make an offer on the property they come back saying that they have received many offers so the bank (in most cases) or the owner, are looking at all of them but will only consider yours if you go a little higher since you are bellow the others, (still at a price where is bellow market comps) then they come back again and again telling you that you are amongst the favorites and are now so close until you realize you have now reached market price or above. Not such a deal after all...in the process you let some other homes you liked go into escrow where you could have actually NEGOTIATED a better price.

Now having said all of that, please remember that you are buying a home, this is where you are going to spend every day for hopefully several years so it is very important to remember that even though price IS important, getting something that will make you and your family have a better quality of life in your day to day is also a very important factor.

So remember, clear picture before you head out, get the correct data and happy hunting!

If you would like any information on a specific area please let me know, I can always help you or find someone who can.

Best regards,

Rina

Rina Podolsky

Prudential California Realty

Honor Society

Fine Homes Specialist

rina@my858realtor.com

www.my858realtor.com