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Cell: 803.413.8066
Office: 803.772.5858
Fax: 866.314.9007
Email:
info@lindacrapps.com
1535-D Broad River Road
Columbia, SC 29210
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Six Simple Things You
Can Do to Ensure a
Smooth Home Purchase
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Buying a home can be an
emotional,
time-consuming, and
complex process. There
are a few things that
you can do to help make
the process go as smooth
as possible:
1. Check your credit.
Before you apply for a
home loan, regardless of
your credit, it's a
smart idea to obtain a
copy of your credit
report from the three
major credit bureaus and
review the information.
If there are errors or
things that need to be
addressed, it's easier
to address them before
you have found a house,
than after you have
found a house and are
trying to close your
loan.
If you know that there
are a few blemishes on
your credit, let your
lender know what they
are, why they are there,
and why you are a still
good credit risk.
Lenders look at your
credit to determine how
likely you will pay back
the loan. If you had
extenuating
circumstances - like a
loss of a job or medical
bills - let them know so
that they understand
that it is not likely to
happen again in the
future.
2. Get approved
before you buy.
An approval means that a
lender has reviewed your
credit history, verified
your assets and
employment, and has
approved your loan
before you have found a
home to purchase. As
long as the home
appraises for at least
the purchase price, the
loan should close.
Getting approved also
gives you an advantage
over other buyers. Your
firm approval makes it
easier for you to
negotiate on the price
of a home, than a person
who is not approved or
is pre-qualified.
While getting
pre-qualified may sound
official, it is really
just getting an idea of
what you can afford. Its
having a person plug in
a few numbers that you
give them - your monthly
income and your monthly
debt - and getting an
approximate payment
calculated. From the
payment, the calculator
can approximate the
house price range that
you can afford. No
information is verified.
Because your assets,
income or credit is not
verified, a
pre-qualification has
little value when
purchasing a home.
3. Find a great
buyer's agent.
Traditionally real
estate agents represent
the sellers in a
transaction. When you
are not working with a
buyer's agent, they are
less likely to negotiate
the best price or
contingencies for you.
A buyer's agent's job
and fiduciary
responsibility (meaning
legal duty) is to you,
the buyer. Before
working with an agent,
establish if they are a
buyer's agent or a
seller's agent. After
spending a lot of time
with a Realtor, it's
natural to feel like
you're a team. But if
they are not negotiating
for you, then they are
not on your team.
4. Learn about the
neighborhood.
Often times the house
you find may be in a
neighborhood that you're
not familiar with, which
is ok. It just means
that you'll have to do a
little more research. If
you find a house that
you like, ask for a list
of the neighborhood
properties that sold in
the last year. How does
your home rank? Is it at
the top of the price
range? If so, it might
be hard to resell. Is it
average or on the low
end? If so, great - as
the other home prices go
up in value, they will
pull your home's value
up as well.
Check out the schools -
are they sought after? A
good school district
means your neighborhood
will always be valued by
families which is a
great reassurance to
purchase, not to mention
the value-add if you
have school-age
children.
Next, contact the police
station and obtain crime
statistics? Are they
acceptable to you?
Sometimes, if they won't
give them to you, it
could be a cause for
alarm.
Talk to the neighbors.
The more people you talk
to, the better sense you
will get of who makes up
the neighborhood and how
they will effect your
time spent in it.
Check out the location
of the shopping, police
and fire stations,
schools, and air traffic
overhead. These are all
things that might affect
your property value or
quality of your life.
5. Protect Yourself.
Ask your Realtor for a
copy of the documents
you will be asked to
sign if you decide to
buy the house. Read them
ahead of time so that
you'll understand the
questions that you will
be asked, the things you
need to know, and the
decisions you will need
to make.
6.) Have reasonable
expectations.
There is a lot of money
at stake. No house is
perfect. Understanding
and remembering these
two statements will help
diffuse the negotiation
stage, the inspection
stage and the closing
stage.
Emotions are high for
both buyers and sellers.
- The seller may have
loving memories and
years of sweat equity in
the house. Maybe they
are being relocated and
don't want to go.
Understanding their
motivations for selling
will help you appreciate
their situation and
predicament during these
emotional times.
There is a lot of money
at stake for all the
parties involved (and
that includes the
realtors) - Just
remember that market
value (the value of a
home) is the price that
a willing buyer and a
willing seller can agree
to. If you can not agree
on a price, ask
yourself: Is there
something you missed?
Are there comparables
that support the price
that they want? Are
there motivations that
might factor into the
price they are
demanding? In the end,
does it matter? What is
the house worth to you
today and what do you
think you can reasonably
sell it for based on the
amount of time you plan
to spend in it? Think
about the answers to
those questions before
you make your move.
No house is perfect -
Always get an
inspection. It might be
a few hundred dollars,
but it's worth it. It's
the inspector's job to
find any problems with
the house that could
cost you thousands to
repair down the road.
Some inspectors have a
tendency to over play
the importance of their
role and the items that
they find. Get objective
opinions that you trust
before making a decision
on an inspection report.
Likewise, if an
inspector says a
foundation is cracked
but its nothing to worry
about - get a second
opinion. Ask a handyman
for an idea of how much
repairs will cost and
how complicated they
are. The home buying
process is an emotional,
complex and
time-consuming process,
but it is worth it.
Nothing compares to
owning your own home in
a neighborhood that you
chose.
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