Purchasing a Home? Avoid Doing These 6 Things at All Costs

Finding a home can be a daunting process. If you want everything to go smoothly, you should avoid doing these six things at all costs.

Selling your home? Get a complimentary home valuation.

Buying a home? Search the complete MLS.

Today I want to talk to you about the six things you should never do when buying a home.

First, don’t shop without an agent. If you’d like, you can start out by looking online at pictures of homes on the market.

This can be a great way to get a lay of the land. But, when you want to become serious about buying a home, you should always get in touch with a quality agent. Your agent is there to turn your dreams of homeownership into reality, and will guide you through every step of the process.

The right professional will assist you in everything from getting your offer accepted to negotiating inspection repairs and more.

Next, don’t meet with just one mortgage lender. After you’ve found your agent, speaking with a lender will be your next step. However, don’t just settle on the first lender you meet.

The paperwork you’ll need will include two years of W-2 forms, two years of tax returns, proof of funds for your down payment, and other documents.

My team and I recommend getting at least three different quotes from three different lenders. This way, you can really understand all of your options and find the best loan for you.

15% of agents believe that offering too little on a property is the biggest mistake an offer could make.

The third thing you should never do when buying a home is understating your budget. Some buyers may be tempted to hide their true budget from their agent, hoping that doing so will prevent them from having to get too close to the top of what they can afford.

However, being deceitful about your price range could cause you to miss out on some great homes.

Fourth, don’t make ridiculously low offers. Everyone wants a good deal, but putting forward an unreasonably low offer could cost you the perfect home. A recent study by showed that 15% of agents believe that offering too little on a property is the biggest mistake an offer could make.

Speaking of money, don’t forget to budget for closing costs. This can be a critical mistake, since these items can really add up. The seller will chip in for some things. However, you will be shouldering most of this cost.

Your lender should be able to provide you with a rough estimate of these costs ahead of time. Though, as a rule, you can estimate that these costs will typically amount to between 2% and 7% of the home purchase.

The sixth and final thing to never do is to make a big purchase before you close. Once you’ve found the right house and had your offer accepted, remember that your loan still needs to go through underwriting before you can obtain a mortgage.

Before your loan goes through, underwriters will check your credit to make sure nothing has changed from the time you were pre-approved. Making big, expensive purchases can leave a dent in your credit. Maxing out your credit card or buying a new car could raise the rate of your loan.

If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

How Can You Compete as a Buyer With a Home Sale Contingency?

If you want to make your home sale contingency more appealing to sellers, there are three things you can do.

Selling your home? Get a complimentary home valuation.

Buying a home? Search the complete MLS.

How can you be a competitive buyer in a seller’s market with a home sale contingency?

By home sale contingency, I mean you need to sell your home and pull the equity out of it in order to purchase your next home.

In a seller’s market, sellers tend to get multiple offers and have the option of reviewing and choosing the best of those offers. The three things sellers care about are money, time, and stress—making as much money as the market will give them in as little time and with as little stress as possible.

A home sale contingency is a big risk for a seller to consider. Therefore, it can add a lot of stress to their decision. There are three things you can do to alleviate this stress and make your offer less of a risk for them.

Sellers care about three things—money, time, and stress.

First, get your house pre-inspected. Have an inspector come to your property, get an inspection report, and make all the necessary repairs listed in that report. Provide that in the offer for the home you wish to purchase.

Second, get an appraisal done on your house. A seller will want to see that the market price you set on your home is in line with the appraised value.

Third, get your house staged, improve its curb appeal, and use professional photography in your offer so the seller can see that the home will sell and close within the time of the contingency.

There are a lot of things to consider in a real estate deal, and we have many expert advisors on our team who would be happy to help you be a competitive buyer with a home sale contingency in today’s market.

If you have any questions, feel free to call or send us an email. We look forward to speaking with you.