How many times do we hear "it's a great time to buy" in our lifetime? Just every single year! But, this year, this market, REALLY is the best time to buy. We think that for the metro Atlanta market we have hit bottom. Buying now will be the best financial decision you ever acted on. Here are a few tips that will:
make the process less stressful and frustrating
save you from costly mistakes
Help you get a better deal - lower out of pocket costs and lower purchase price
Make the best use of your limited "spare" time
help you make the most for your hard earned money in this market
1. Find an experienced full time agent in the general area that interests you. Her office doesn't have to be in Grayson if you are lookiing only in Grayson, but reasonably close enough that she is sure to know the area well and meeting at the real estate office (if necessary) is a convenient drive for you.
2. Ask if you can come into the agent's office for an initial buyer consultation. She will fall out of her chair in astonishment but after she recovers she will be happy to set that up and be prepared to discuss an overview of the process with you.
3. Your agent should provide you with some basic buyer disclosures that are important for you to have: (a) agency disclosure (b) lead based paint EPA brochure (c) EPA Mold brochure (d) Georgia Association of REALTOR brochure entitled "Protect Yourself when Buying a Home", (e) a copy of a home warranty brochure (you can shop them online but this will give you a general idea of what the typical coverage consists of in the industry).
4. Your agent will encourage you to take the first and most important step of getting prequalified by a direct lender. Suntrust, Bank of America, Wells Fargo are all trusted direct lenders.
5. Your agent will explain why you shouldn't go out looking for a home BEFORE you are prequalified.
6. Ask your lender to send your agent the prequalification letter so that she will have it in her file ready to write your offer. Offers presented without a prequalification letter are RARELY taken seriously by banks, HUD or occupant sellers. Remember, it's the listing agent's job to present to the seller offers from ready, willing and able buyers - you MUST have a prequalification letter to get past GO!
7. Don't expect to write lowball offers and be successful. Inventory levels are down considerably. We have less than 40,000 homes on the market in metro Atlanta. In a "normal" market we usually have double that, and in recent years, more than double. There are plenty of homes to choose from but the good ones will go quickly and for full price or higher. Accept that and save yourself alot of grief.
8. If a home is overpriced your agent should tell you. The agent will do a market analysis to show you recent sales of comparable homes in the area. Seriously, if you find a practically new, very well maintained home with a full basement in a nice neighborhood and situated on a quiet cul-de-sac, priced at $150,000 and you offer $135,000, I hope you can deal with rejection well. You won't get it.
9. Don't believe all the water cooler stories that you hear from friends and co-workers. "I got my house for half price". "I only paid $180,000 and they were asking $200,000". Right. Every single one of those stories that a buyer passes on to me, when checked out by me, reveals, well, let's say, embellishment. The last one I heard about was a house my buyer really really wanted. My buyer was willing to pay full price but we called and it had just gone under contract. A friend of a friend of a friend's dad heard they got it for $180,000. My buyer was furious. Even though he never had a chance to make his offer he would have paid more. I looked up the sale. It was over full price that the buyer REALLY paid.
10. Have patience. It's okay to really want a house, in fact, you should really want the house that you make an offer against but just keep in mind that there are many others out there looking for the "best" also so it may take two or three offers to get a good one.
11. Time is of the essence. It's in the contract but people rarely pay much attention. It means that everyone involved needs to act diligently throughout the process. If you are asked for a signature or a document, try to turn it around in less than 24 hours. The last thing you want is your file placed at the bottom of a pile because the underwriter is tired of waiting for a missing item.
12. Ask your agent for 2 or 3 recommendations for a home inspector. Call them. Ask about the standards they use to inspect. Ask about price. Be ready to schedule your inspection immediately once you have a signed binding agreement in hand. If you wait or schedule your inspection at the end of the due diligence period and then something unexpected comes up, don't expect the seller or the bank to grant you an extension.
13. contact your loan officer immediately after you have a signed contract and make loan application. There are penalties in the contract for not making loan application within the stated period of time. It will take time to gather documents so don't delay even for a day. The earlier you jump on this process the less intrusive it will be in your life during escrow.
14. Make sure your agent knows how to reach you at all times. Your agent will try to get business done during normal business hours so that you can have a life outside this process. Try to show her and others in the transaction the same courtesy.
15. Do not visit the property unannounced. You have a contract on the property but you do not have the right to inspect or visit without notice or unattended. I had a frightened elderly seller call the police because someone was walking around in her backyard - it was the buyer! She didn't know. She had never seen them.
16. While you are previewing homes with your agent, plan to see no more than 4 or 5 in a day. It's either very hot or very cold, you get tired and frustrated more easily. You will forget details that are important to you. Make sure that you let your agent know with plenty of advanced notice when you will be available to see property with her - it takes time to track down sellers and/or listing agents to check status and showing availability.
17. Do not buy anything like furniture, large appliances, cars, nothing. Even if your car payment will be the same or less, the loan balance will be more. You just toasted your debt ratio without even realizing it.
18. Do not move large sums of money in or out of your account 30 days prior to home shopping and up to the date of closing. Anything financial that even might impact your loan approval - call your agent or loan officer first.
19. Repairs. Most foreclosure sales are "as is". Not every new homeowner is up for "as is". Make sure you know what you are getting into - the bank won't change it's mind after due diligence and decide to make repairs to keep you in contract.
20. With an owner occupant seller, negotiate in good faith. It's not about winning. It's not about getting everything you can out of the seller. It's not about having every window caulked and every little thing perfect. You are buying a house. It must not have been too bad - you picked it! Be reasonable, be fair, ask for repair or replacement of true defects only.
21. Make sure that you know the amount of cash you will need "max" before you sign an offer. The last thing you want is to bite off more than you are prepared to handle. Your agent should negotiate a portion of closing costs paid by the seller, even on foreclosed properties. It's not carved in stone - it is a negotiation, but it is customary for sellers to come to some accomodation on concessions overall, taking into consideration sales price and total amount allowable by the lender.
Be nice. Be patient. Be excited and enjoy! It's definitely a process but it's buying a home, not a new coat! Trust me, having purchased a new car recently, it won't be NEARLY as agonizing as that! LOL.
When you have a birthday and you are "older" it doesn't have quite the sparkle it used to have. I spent the day at home with my Mom and ate the wonderful birthday cake she made me. That is so special to be able to share your birthday with your Mom at my age. We both enjoyed the quiet day.
