| |
| |
|
Real Estate Information |
|
|
|
Buying a Home: The 5 Biggest Mistakes that a Home Buyer Makes
As a Professional Real Estate Inspector I get to see and hear the right and wrong things people do when buying a home. These 5 tips will help you choose the right Real Estate Agent the first time. Mistake #1: Not using an agent at all or using the Listing Agent as your 'Agent'. Not smart at all. By law, the listing agent is required to keep the Sellers best interest at stake, not yours! Why would anyone enter into a relationship handicapped like this? I'm not aware of any state that makes a Buyer pay for their Agent. The Buyers agent normally gets paid from a cut of the Listing fees or the commissions are split. If you choose wisely, you can put a trained real estate professional on your side for free! A true Buyers agent can help you negotiate a contract, fly through the mountain of paperwork, help you find the right home and help you schedule the needed inspections and appointments necessary when you do find your dream home. Mistake #2: Relying on the Home Inspector your Agent recommends: I'm still amazed at how many people will blindly take the advice and recommendation of their Agent, or of the Listing Agent, when choosing an Inspector. The agents have a financial stake in seeing the deal go through. Why risk the conflict of interest by solely relying on their choice of Inspectors? With a little research you can find your own home inspector who will have your best interest at stake. Don't know where to start? The American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) has an easy to use search tool on their web site. You can choose by zip code or by state and city. You can find it here: http://www.ashi.org Mistake #3: Putting up "Non-Refundable" earnest money. This is like giving the Sellers a check and saying, "Here, you keep this. Even if we don't buy your home, you can keep our money". That's just plain stupid. If your Agent recommends it, find another agent because they don't have your best interest at stake. I've seen Sellers request up to a $20,000 non-refundable earnest money check. Luckily my Client had a good agent and she told the Listing Agent "That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. We'll give you the standard $1000 refundable earnest check. Take it or find another Buyer." The Seller accepted rather quickly since her home had been sitting on the market for 5 months. Mistake #4: Falling in love with the home: "Earth to love struck home Buyer, they're building more homes every day!" The one group of consumers I see getting taken advantage of the most are those that "fall in love" with a home. They will accept any terms set by a Seller. They will buy the home and tell themselves "It just needs a little work, I can do that myself." Even though they have never picked up a hammer in their life. They let their "love" cloud their vision and Judgement and end up paying hefty 'stupid tax'. Mistake #5: Buying more home than what they can afford. There is a rule of thumb that says you should not buy a home that cost you more per month that 20 to 25% of your take home pay. I rarely see anyone following that rule of thumb today. What I do see is consumers buying homes that take a large part of their monthly income. This leaves little room in their finances for emergency's, furniture, vacations, investing, etc. With the relaxed lending requirements, people are buying way more home than what they can realistically afford. If you go down this road, chances are that you'll grow to hate this home. You should own a home, the home should not own you. I'm not a real estate agent, broker or attorney, nor am I a financial consultant nor do I claim to be an expert in any of these fields. The above views are my own and have been obtained from experiences in the Home Inspection field. Always consult with your financial planner and/or Real Estate Agent before making any decisions. Donald Lawson is a Professional Real Estate Inspector licensed in Oklahoma (454) and Texas (#5824) and currently owns V.I.P. Home Inspections in Houston Texas. V.I.P. Home Inspections is a multi-inspector firm that inspects both commercial and residential inspections. You can find out more by clicking on this link to his site: http://www.best2inspect.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Real-Estate - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
The Listing Agents Role in Selling Your California Home Advertising to the "Public"Every home seller likes to be assured that their listing agent and or their real estate company will run ads featuring their home. Newspaper ads range from color photo ads to lots of listings reflected on a page with primarily only copy. Dubai or not to Buy? A Short Assessment of the Dubai Property Market Never has there been such an ambitious and creative drive to establish a property market as has been witnessed in Dubai over the past three years. Running short on oil reserves, Dubai's crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed Al Marktoum, set out to turn Dubai into the financial, commercial and tourism capital of the Middle East and in the space of three years he has more than succeeded. Timing Is Everything When It Comes To Buying Homes The old adage that "timing is everything" especially applies to buying a new home. And trying to be at the right house at the right time and get it for the right price can be tricky. Do You Want To Sell Your Rehabs Fast? That's an obvious question - we all do! So what is the trick? So much time and money is spent on systems updates, roofs, and structural issues, that many times there's nothing left for what really makes the sale: what your potential buyers see. And more importantly, what they fall in love with. A Real Estate Investing Primer There are a great many books and web sites devoted to real estate investing out there, but most of them concentrate on one specific area of investing. It's often hard to find a general description of real estate investing, one that lists the various real estate investing strategies and how to get started. Purchasing Land: What To Look For It doesn't take long to realize that finding the right piece of property is the most important aspect of new home construction. In a development, restrictions and easements have already been sorted out, but if you are looking for a stand-alone piece of vacant land, you're on your own. Should You Allow Buyer To Rent During Closing? It's not uncommon for an investor to sell a house and have the buyer request the right to rent and occupy the property while the closing is being completed.You're a bad guy if you refuse and often in hot water of you agree. The Secret Jewel in the Mediterranean Crown Since the Northern Cypriots famously voted 'yes' to the UN backed Annan plan for the peaceful reunification of Cyprus in 2004 the world has awoken to the secret and hidden beauty of this untouched jewel in the Mediterranean crown. Those open-minded and individual thinkers seeking elegant living, unrivalled Mediterranean-region investment property opportunities or their own hideaway are today embracing Northern Cyprus. The Real Estate Bubble-When Will it Burst? More and more individuals are realizing that real estate is much safer, and a better return on investment than many traditional investment vehicles. Unlike stocks or bonds, real estate investments can usually be liquidated in order for the investor to access funds in far less time. Why You Should Rent To Live And Buy To Invest Why you should Rent a place to live in and Buy a place for Investment - Did you know that in your Bank's Accounts "Your House" is placed in "Their Asset Book." That means that the house you own and live in, is a "Liability. How to Sell Your House by Lease Options Many people buy a house then have to move within a few years, due to divorce, relocation or financial difficulties. Without any equity though, it can be nearly impossible to find buyers and you still have realtor fees to contend with. Ten Big Mistakes That Will Lose That Property Sale If you are serious about selling your home, you probably go to a huge amount of effort when you show potential buyers around your property. You clean the bathroom until it sparkles; vacuum the carpet; brew coffee or bake bread; maybe you even banish the kids to their grandparents, but did you make one of these Ten Big Mistakes that can lose the sale - but are so easy to avoid. The Perils of the Property Ladder: Has Anyone Noticed the Silence? There was a time when every conversation was focussed on property and every other TV programme was about property makeovers. Everybody wanted to get into property and those already on the ladder seemed fixated on becoming wealthy overnight. Real Estate Investing - Finding Cheap Houses Real estate investing expertise can certainly accommodate the luxury home market. In some ways, the upper end of the housing marketplace produces easier success than the lower end. Forclosure And The Durrett Rule It's probably happened to you.. 3 Strategies For Buying Property With No Money Down Everyone has heard a story or read about someone who bought a property without paying a single dime as a down payment. But how does this work?There are several "classic" methods commonly used to purchase real estate with no money down. 10 Ways To Find Investment Properties If you really want the best deals in investment properties, you have to increase your odds by finding more deals. Who is more likely to get a cheap apartment building, an investor that looks through the MLS listings and calls it a day, or the one that uses ten resources? Here are the ten:1. Why Canadian Real Estate is Such Good Value Real estate agents, Canadian citizens and foreign investors interested in the Canadian property market are all in agreement - as Canada becomes a more desirable place to live year on year so property investment in Canada becomes a more attractive prospect year on year.Furthermore, because property in Canada is high quality, plentiful, incredibly affordable and easy to purchase, real estate in Canada is good value across the board. Buying A Home - Rain, Sun, and Weather Issues When buying a home, it can be easy to overlook year-around weather issues. You may think you are purchasing a home in a sunny area, but come to find there is always a heavy cloud cover. How Much Home Can You Afford In Todays Market? If you haven't figured your credit worthiness and borrowing power lately, you might be surprised at how much home you can afford to buy in today's market! Mortgage Lenders are very optimistic about the future of the real estate market and as a result they are willing to loan more on properties than you might expect! And, lenders are making loans at rates not seen since the late 1960s.We,as your Realtor, will be most willing to align you with one of our favored lenders for a private and complete analysis of your borrowing power.
|
 Home  Contact
|
| Real Estate Information © 2006 |
