Buying a home can be overwhelming.

Before you start your home buying quest, it's important that you have a good idea of what you are looking for. Often, what one spouse wants is quite different from the other spouse. It's very important that you communicate before you start your search or you're likely to end up with buyer's remorse or worse. Is it important to you to be close to schools, shopping, or hospitals? Is it more important for you to have a 3 car garage or an extra sewing room? How many bedrooms and bathrooms do you need? I suggest making a "Wish List" and let the sky be the limit. Make sure each person in the family gets to add their items to the list. Then, after making a list, take some time to carefully prioritize the items on the list. When it gets down to two or three homes that you are interested in, you can compare them to your prioritized list to see which one best meets what you really want and/or need.

Once you decide that it's time to buy a home, I highly recommend that you sit down with a lender and figure out how much of a home you qualify to purchase. Don't worry if you don't know any lenders; I can recommend several lenders based upon your unique needs and give you some important information about the current mortgage rates and loan programs. Be completely honest with the lender about your financial situation, and make sure to ask about the estimated costs and expenses that the lender will charge. This can vary widely and have an impact on how much you are ultimately eligible to qualify to borrow. If you are happy with the lender and the numbers, you can ask for a "Prequalification Letter" from your lender, which gives you much greater negotiating power when you are ready to make an offer. A seller is much more likely to accept an offer when they know the buyer is ready, willing, and able to purchase their home.

There are many reasons to use a Realtor® during the home buying process. Real estate transactions involve one of the biggest financial investments of most people’s lifetime. A typical real estate transaction is usually several hundred thousand dollars. If you had a $250,000 income tax problem, would you attempt to deal with it without the help of a certified professional accountant? If you had a $250,000 legal question, would you deal with it without the help of an attorney? Considering the small upside cost and the large downside risk, it is simply a wise decision to work with a "professional REALTOR^®" when you are buying a home. In most cases, the seller (not the buyer) pays the commission, and having a professional Realtor® on your side can help you negotiate a better price and terms, while helping you avoid costly mistakes.

Not all real estate licensees are the same; only those who are members of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS^® are properly called REALTORS^®. They proudly display the REALTOR " ^®" trademark on their business cards and other marketing and sales literature. REALTORS^® are committed to treating all parties to a transaction honestly. REALTORS^® subscribe to a strict Code of Ethics and are expected to maintain a higher level of knowledge of the process of buying and selling real estate. 

Your Realtor® will help you understand the market, help you determine your buying power, and assist you in finding the right property. Once you have found the property you want to purchase, your Realtor® negotiates the offer, manages all the necessary paperwork, provides guidance during the process, answers questions and helps resolve any issues that might arise. Your Realtor® follows up and works closely with all the entities involved in a real estate transaction, such as the other agent, the title company, the lender, the inspector, the appraiser, and so on...all in an effort to smoothly guide you through the closing process.

The real estate market rises and falls like the tides. Knowing whether you are in a "buyer's market" or a "seller's market" will be important when it comes time to make an offer. The value of a home is often thought to be determined by appraisers, but the true value of a home is determined by how much a buyer is willing to pay, and the seller is willing to sell. In a hot market, you might find yourself without a home if you are unwilling or unable to pay the higher asking prices. In a cool market, you might find yourself stuck with a house because you are unable to find a buyer wiling to pay what you are asking. Before you make an offer (or even start looking at homes) it's a good idea to review market trends and recent sales history for the area that you are interested in. Ask your Realtor® to give you a list of recent sales that match your general search criteria, paying close attention to the total days on market. 

Before you start looking at homes, you should decide what area (cities, general areas, subdivisions, etc.) you are most interested in. You may want to consider income levels, crime rates, property appreciation/depreciation rates, foreclosures, school districts, and nearby amenities such as shopping, parks, gas stations, etc. Once you find an area that you like, you may want to find a safe way to meet some of the people that live there. Attending school or church functions or neighborhood activities are just a few of the ways you can learn about the area. Make sure you ask people that live in the area how they like it, what they like most, and what they dislike about the area. One factor to always consider is the "resale value" of your home. Try to find an area that has good historical values and one that you think will not deteriorate or depreciate in the future. One of the biggest factors that can effect values are zoning issues. A golf course going in a few blocks away may make your location more attractive. If a garbage dump or train track comes in, it could make your area less desireable. Always review the "City Zoning" and the "Subdivision CC&R's" (Codes, Covenants, & Restrictions) before you buy in any neighborhood.

Before you start looking at properties, make sure you know what you can afford and what your timeline is for moving, financing, etc. If you follow the tips above before you start previewing homes, you will be confident and better prepared to start your search for the right home. The best place to start your search is on the Internet, and by driving around. You can search the MLS for all available homes listed with participating MLS members from this site. Once you have a short list of homes you'd like to see, meet with your Realtor® to discuss and review these homes. Your Realtor® may have additional information, photos, virtual tours, etc. that will save you time. Then, after you have limited your search to a reasonable number, you are ready to start previewing homes. After touring two or three properties, it can be very difficult to keep them all straight and to remember what you did or did not like. I suggest keeping a one page brochure or printout for each home, and making a pro & con list on the back of each one. Then give it a rating from 1-10, with 10 being the perfect home! After you have looked at several homes, you can limit your search down to the 2 or 3 that you are most interested in. You may want to go back and preview those homes again to compare them with each other. Once you find the right home, act decisively and quickly to make an offer that is right for you and attractive to the seller.

Before you begin the home buying process, resolve to act promptly when you find the right house. Every Realtor® has stories to tell about a couple who looked far and wide for the perfect home, finally found it, and then said, "We'd just like to sleep on it, then we'll make an offer tomorrow." Many times the story has a sad ending - someone else came in that evening with an offer that was accepted. You can always make an offer with a clause that gives you time to sleep on it. This way, you can back out if you need to, but you don't lose the perfect home by hesitating. Resolve that you will act decisively when you find the house that’s clearly right for you. This is particularly important after a long search or if the house is newly listed and/or underpriced.

There are many factors to consider in determining the price and terms of your offer. Start with what is most important to you, and then consider adjusting the price or terms to make it a "win-win offer" for you and the seller. For example, if you can't move in for 6 months, you may want to ask the seller to sell and lease back or you may want to ask for a long contract, but in return put down (or release) a large non-refundable amount of earnest money. If you offer a lot less than what the seller is asking, you may not want to push too hard to include furniture etc. or ask the seller to help with financing. The most important thing to consider when making an offer is how likely it is that you will be competing with other buyers and how close your offer is to comparable sales. If you offer more than what other homes are selling for, you may have trouble with your appraisal and getting financing. If you offer less than what the seller owes, you may be tied up for months waiting for a short-sale approval from the lender.