I hope you found my first article about being competitively saavy in a hot sellers market to be helpful . Today I want to finish up these helpful tips by giving you four more.
Tip #4 GET A GOOD MORTGAGE LOAN OFFICER
If Cash is King, then Credit is Queen. Hand in hand with enough cash to put down is a good clean Credit score and a low debt to income ratio. The less debts you have, the better chances you have at a Mortgage company being willing to give you money to purchase a home. The goal of a good credit history is so that you can convince an underwriter that you are good to make payments on this home for the next 15 to 30 years. Mortgage companies are assessing the risk associated with giving you money. Because of that… they don’t just give money to anyone who asks for a loan. They want to see that you have a good track record of paying your debts on time and also that you are going to have enough money to cover unexpected bumps in the road should things get tough to make your mortgage payment. Cleaning up your credit history is an essential part of buying a home. Asking a Realtor for a highly recommended mortgage lender/specialist will help you find someone who can help you with this important aspect of preparing to buy your house.
Tip # 5 SAVE! SAVE! SAVE!
You still have a few other things you need to save money for if you are going to be prepared when your offer gets accepted. This is critical to have, because if your offer gets accepted and you are unable to pay these folks to do the job you need them to do… then you risk that the deal will fall through. Here are a few necessary inspection fees you need to be prepared to pay for:
- Home inspection – ($300-$500)
- Termite inspection – ($35-$50)
- Home Appraisal – (Call your mortgage company, they might work this into your loan, but be prepared to pay for it yourself) $500
Tip # 6 LOOK FOR A HOUSE!!
Call your Realtor back and have them help you come up with a search strategy. Sit down and let them help you go through the Multiple Listing Service. Spend time on your own going through other websites such as Realtor.com, Zillow.com, and Trulia.com. Also give your Realtor the details of what you are looking for so that they can contact other Realtors they know and ask for help in finding you a home. Be careful if you put on Social Media that you are looking for a home because then everyone you know who is a Realtor will start asking you if you want them to help you sell your home! Be mindful of who you get into an agreement with, but don’t be afraid to trust a good Realtor to help you find what you’re looking for. And spend time looking yourself… communicating with your Realtor as much as you can when you find something you are serious about putting an offer in on. Go visit open houses (bring along a handful of your Realtor’s business cards so that you can let the Realtor holding the Open House that you are working with someone and don’t want to be bothered. Above all, look for what you want! Remember that most folks don’t get 100% of what they are looking for, but if you can find 90% of it, you’re doing pretty good. Don’t settle, but don’t be too rigid on your expectations. Home is what you make of it, not necessarily what you find it to be already done for you.
Tip #7 PUT IN AN ACCEPTABLE OFFER
Once you find the house, have seen it and are ready to buy it… sit down with your Realtor and tell them you are ready to put in your offer. I’ll tell you in another post how to write an offer that will get a serious look by a serious seller. The goal is to position that offer in such a way as it is the most appealing one on the table. And I can give you a few pointers in how to do that as well. This is where having a Real Estate Agent that knows what he or she is doing will pay off in the long run. Make sure that you are positioned to be in the best light for a potential seller. Put in an offer that you are willing to live with and that you can afford. Don’t let anyone convince you to offer more or less than what you are willing to do on your own. After all, this is your investment, your decision, and ultimately, your home.
FINAL THOUGHTS
There is no “fool-proof” way to make sure that your offer gets accepted. But there are some tricks of the trade that we Realtor’s have up our sleeve to help you get the best shot at winning a bid on a home. A good Realtor will guide you, will work for you, and will help you be best prepared to purchase a home.