Tina Abraham Broker, SRS, Realtor Wilmington North Carolina Real Estate

There are five easy tips to finding great real estate listings in Wilmington North Carolina. Finding the perfect home is not always simple, however with the right tips it can be easier.

With all the homes available in Wilmington and the market going better there than most other towns or cities in the United States, the perfect home may go faster than you think. You need to have someone in your corner of the real estate market ring to help you sort through the real estate listings to find the home for you.

There are a few different ways to look for the listings that you might be interested in.

• First you need to decide on whether you are going to acquiring the service of a buyers agents, if you are going to be looking for a home through listings on your own, or if you are planning on going through negotiations with a realtor that handles both the sales and the purchases of the properties they are specifically hired for.

• When you are buying a home in Wilmington North Carolina, it is important to look at many homes, with different options, and different amenities. Therefore, looking at all the listings you can find is going to be an important step to finding the home that will fit the needs of you and your family.

• If you are searching through listing on your own, then you will need to set time away on a daily basis to look at all the new listings. Here is a list of sites that you can visit to help you have several options to start your search.

http://www.move.com/new-homes/wilmington_north-carolina/

http://www.relohomesearch.com/State.aspx?State=NC&SAID=23734

http://www.homegain.com/homes_for_sale/NC/hsx_state_page?entryid=6918&mod=1

http://www.mls.com/

• Another option for looking into homes available in Wilmington North Carolina is to look into the newspaper for real estate listings either on the Internet or in the paper form to see the newest homes that are listed that day.

• The easiest options, that is often times a more time affective and cost effective option is to hire a buyer's agent. This agent will research all the listings on a daily or weekly basis to look for the homes that fit into the criteria and needs of your dream home. Then the agent will email, or call you with the updated listings for you to view as soon as you can. This keeps you in the game almost up to the minute so that you can catch the great deals quickly. Your agent will also save you time from looking at homes that will not be what you want. They are usually used to the areas and are accustom to knowing what the neighborhood and community is all about.

As you are going through the listings available, you will want to search realistically in the areas and prices that will be within the amount you can qualify for. This means that you will want to get pre-qualified for an estimated loan amount, and then you will also need to decide on what kind of down payment you are wanting to put down.

When you are working with the options of purchasing the homes you are looking at, you will need to find out who is going to pay which fees. Keep in mind that often times the closing costs will cover the commission of the buyer's agent. So you can get help with the pre-qualifying, the negotiations, the searching, and the completion of the process and this is often time with little extra out of your pocket.

Finding your dream home is probably the most important purchase you will make in your life. The best way to do this is to get the help of a realtor to make sure the purchase goes as smoothly as possible.

In order to help your realtor find your dream home, you will need to know what you want. In order to tell your realtor what you want, you need to know what you want. In order to find out what you want you need to go over the basic needs and wants in your family and then decide what you need, and what you just want.

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

How much room does your family want, or need?

How many rooms and bathrooms do you want or need?

What appliances, amenities, and extras do you want?

What area or neighborhood do you want to live in? Allow for a few miles variance so not to limit your findings.

Did you want a house that was completed, or did you want something that you could fix up your way?

What can you afford?

Did you want to be near a freeway entrance, or a school, or any other businesses that would make your life easier?

After you know what you want and need, you can tell your agent or realtor. This will enable them to find listings through many listing services, homes they are specifically assigned to, and other realtors they know.

Now you can start the process of finding your home. This may take a little time, however given the chance; your realtor will make sure you have plenty of homes to choose from.

Another area that your realtor will make sure that your dream house is not going to be a money pit, is that they will get the completed inspections needed, and they will review them with you. That way you will know the purchase will be made with full knowledge of the homes condition. You will also be made aware of any damages that are irreparable or issues that affect the overall value of the home. This would be like a cracked foundation, or location in a less than favorable area. Including being by a train track, major free way, or dump.

Next your realtor will make sure that the house is listed at a price that is accurate for that home in that area. The way this is done is by reviewing a market analysis. If you have a realtor that knows the area you are looking in, you will find that the realtor will know what you can expect to pay right off the bat, or at least a good estimated price.

Finally your agent will make sure your dream home is yours with all legalities and contracts signed and completed. This is probably the most difficult part of the process of buying a home. Your realtor will make sure that all the fees, charges, and loans are set up correctly and that you will only be charged what is fair.

The relationship you build with your realtor and the trust you install into the business negotiations through your realtor will help you to be able to obtain the best deal on the dream house you want.

Tina Abraham is a powerful Wilmington 

North Carolina real estate broker

Whether you're looking for  

luxury real estate, waterfront homes, 

historic Wilmington homes or a quaint little cottage Tina knows the 

market and can get your the best home to fit your unique needs.

There are benefits to using a Wilmington North Carolina realtor. The real estate in Wilmington has been on an up climb, and finding the best house or selling the best house can take a little help. The realtors in Wilmington know the area, know what to do, and get you the most for your money.

On average a home sold by a realtor will sell at approximately $20,000 more than it would have it if sold by an owner only. This is the reason that paying the 4-6% for the commission is reasonable and cost effective.

With Wilmington being listed as one of the top ten places to purchase real estate, it is better than ever for selling property and can be somewhat more difficult to find the perfect property. The growing economy, wonderful four-season climate, and coastline property it is a prime time for purchasing homes. The most effective way to handle finding your home in Wilmington North Carolina is going through a realtor.

Now it is time to find the right realtor to get the job done. What does it take to make a good realtor, and what can you expect for the commission you will pay.

Well out of the commission, you can expect your realtor if it is the realtor handling the sale of the property to handle a few different things. Here is the list to keep in mind:

• Home Market Analysis
• Advertising of the home; listing your home in several online and paper listings, list the home in magazines, create flyers and signs, host open houses, and show the property to buyers.
• You can expect the realtor to be diligently loyal to you and work to get you the most for your home.
• They will also follow through on all legal documentation and the closing procedures.

If it is a purchasing agent or realtor, you can expect several things that will help you find the right home for you. Here is a list of these expectations:

• They will help you to know what financial requirements you have to work with.
• Fair information about properties researched
• Multiple listing options, that are current and within the areas of interest and need to your family.
• Your realtor will help you negotiate the sale prices and fees.
• They will also help complete the legal documentation and closing.

Getting the most up to date and correct information when making a real estate transaction is important. In fact it can be imperative to getting the best deal. There is a great deal of competition where realtors are concerned, and that applies just as highly in Wilmington North Carolina. However, there are a few tips to finding the realtor that will get the job done.

Interview three or more realtors. This will give you the opportunity to ask the right questions, and learn about the personality of your realtor. When you are interviewing the realtors think about the relationship that will need to be the support of you purchasing or selling your home. These types of financial moves are some of the largest and most significant in your life. Therefore, it will be important to have the right person with you to do the job.

After you have decided on your realtor, give both you and your realtor a fighting chance to find the right deal for you. This means setting proper expectations, and goals of what you want to achieve. Finally trust your realtor, they have your best interest in mind.

The Week in Review

....your Wilmington Connection

March 1, 2009

Wilmington has seen some crazy weather this week, the real estate market has seen an increase this week. Homes that are priced right are seeing showings and offers. Our office has seen a large increase in contracts this week.

Just announced Keller Williams is now the third largest Real Estate Company!

Are we at the Tipping Point?

Are we somewhere near the "tipping point" for real estate, where an accumulation of positive economic and government policy developments

This week there are some strong signs that we just might be there.

Tops on the list: The massive stimulus bill signed into law by President Obama is certain to pull buyers into the market who otherwise would have stayed on the sidelines.

The new tax credit in the legislation goes up to $8,000 and is non-repayable unlike last year's credit program. It' s intended for "first time" purchasers, but under the program definition, you're a first timer as long as you haven't owned or co-owned a house during the previous three years.

Wilmington NC Real Estate Market Overview

Information taken from the Star News and Aol Stats

until next week in The Week in Review

Tina

Currently in Wilmington there are 2736 homes on the market and 279 of those are under contract which is 10%. The price range $250,000 and under you are seeing roughly worth a months inventory. The worse price range is the 1 million and above where there is 85 months worth of inventory. The range from 700,000 to 800,000 is looking at 47 months worth of inventory. If you are selling your home you either have to be patient or price it very, I mean very aggressive. In the last six months there has been 968 homes sold. Buyers are not looking in particular areas anymore they are looking across the board to see what is the best offer out there. If you are thinking of selling lets talk and see where you stand.

Lawmakers and Real estate

Well in their collective infinite wisdom, the lawmakers of this Country have decided that the housing market isn't in all that bad of a shape and decided to yank the tax credit from the bill. Yep, no tax credit for buyers. Unless of course they are of the first time home buyer variety.

This means the market for short sales has gotten even more lucrative. You see the banks were counting on this as well as a way that they felt was going to help them not to have to take as many losses as they have been.

Now, it's going to be even easier to get your short sale approved. Banks and LM's are going to be even MORE aggressive in settling these non-performing assets.

Raleigh Builder with local Projects Files for Chapter 11

The Raleigh-based builder firm, which also has operations in Charlotte and Cincinnati, has taken a toll in the residential construction and real estate markets in its filing earlier this month in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

Under Chapter 11, companies seek temporary protection from creditors as they seek to reorganize into profitable concerns. It does not mean the company has shut down or has stopped doing normal business. Just scaling back.

Locals Help Shape Port Project

The N.C. State Ports Authority says the future terminal in Brunswick County will be similar in size and technology to the APM Terminal in Portsmouth, Va.

From a getting a sound wall built to having the rail line that runs through several neighborhoods relocated, residents here made clear from the beginning what they wanted.

...until next week in The Week in Review

Tina