Six Simple Things You Can Do to Ensure a Smooth Home Purchase

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. Have reasonable expectations
Remember these two statements:    There is a lot of money at stake.

                                    No house is perfect.

Understanding and remembering these two statements will help keep your real estate transaction less stressful.

First things first:  There is a lot of money at stake for all the parties involved - including the realtors, don't forget.  Just remember that market value (the value of a home) is the price that a willing buyer and a willing seller can agree upon.  It doesn't necessarily mean that you are that buyer.  But if you really have decided on a house and you cannot agree on a price, perhaps you've missed something that the seller thinks is valuable? Are there motivations that might factor into the price they are demanding? Generally, emotions can run pretty high for both buyers and sellers. Understanding the sellers motivations will help you appreciate their situation. Perhaps they have loving memories and years of sweat equity in the house. Maybe they are being forced to look for a  larger home - or to downsize.  Maybe they are being relocated and don't really want to go. There are a number of factors that can lead to an emotional selling of a home.  If you are sensitive to the sellers circumstances, it will make for an easier process.  What you must decide in the end is this:  Is the house worth their price to you?  And should you decide at a later date to sell the house, what do you think you can reasonably sell it for based on the amount of time you plan to spend in it?

Secondly, no house is perfect.  Always get an inspection. While it might cost you a few hundred dollars, but it really is 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. Get objective opinions that you trust before making a decision on an inspection report.  If an inspector says a problem is nothing to worry about, don't hesitate to get a second opinion. Ask a handyman for an idea of how much repairs will cost and how complicated they will be. The home buying process can be an emotional, complex and time-consuming process, but nothing compares to owning your own home in a neighborhood that you love.  Take your time to ensure that what you're buying is what you want and you won't be surprised later on.

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 prior to the purchase or even discovery of the home you desire.  Being pre-approved gives you an advantage over other buyers by making it easier for you to negotiate on the price of a home and sign the deal.  (A little more information is available on our 10 Tips page.)


3. Find a buyer's agent/broker
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 has the fiduciary responsibility (meaning legal duty) to you.

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.

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.