We live in this hi tech world of Wikipedia, google and webMD, and if all else fails we ask our friends on Facebook for opinions and advice…but did you know you can ask a professional for FREE? We don’t judge or bite or reprimand, but we didn’t just buy a house, two, talked to 5-6 people that also bought and sold a few. We buy, sell, rent and talk to hundreds of people a year! We helped 50 families purchase /sell a home in 2015! That means 100% involvement in some of our clients’ biggest financial purchases of their lives! So what makes me the best equipped to write this? Experience. There are no strings attached to this blog, you have questions, we answer them, honestly 100%. Just ask!
SO YOU WANT TO BUY A HOUSE?
First thing I recommend, is talk to a mortgage broker. Do not go online and type in mortgage broker, and do not put your personal information on a site like Quicken Loans or Zillow! That’s basically like asking for your identity to be stolen and then handing them your bank account info because you’re an incredibly generous person! So what should you do? If you have really good rapport with your banking institution, or credit union, I recommend you would go and talk to them first. Do not have your credit ran right away, just ask what their process is, what their types of available loans are, if they offer any credits, what the interest rates are if you had perfect credit and if you didn’t. They will ask questions from you as well, and the more information they have the better idea they have on what they can offer you, how much you can be approved for, and most importantly the monthly amount you feel comfortable paying! Make sure they include taxes, insurance, and HOA payments in your mortgage payment! Your monthly mortgage is NOT JUST principal & interest!! Get everything in writing and pick their brain as much as possible. Know you will need $8,000-10,000 in closing costs, depending which loan you are acquiring you may need more 20% down plus ++.
While the information is still fresh talk to a private lender. We have 3 preferred lenders we trust and know to be reputable, professional, and competitive! Why talk to a private lender? Because private lenders get to shop ALL the banks and not just yours. They also have more flexibility, and the ones we use also work the hours you need them to as the consumer more than an employee at a bank working 9-5. With that said though, your bank might be amazing, your credit phenomenal, and if you are happy with the consultation it might be easier to go through your bank.
By the time you are done talking to the mortgage brokers, you should know how much your loan can be for, what your estimated monthly payments look like, how much money you will need to put down to purchase the house, and how much you can purchase the house for, so what’s next?
CHOOSING A REALTOR
Obviously I want you to use my team, but I also want to make sure you know that my team is the best for you. So, if you are not 100% sure our knowledge and experience can benefit you, I want you to interview a couple of agents. You probably have those friends that purchased a home and they referred someone, or maybe you have a friend who is a realtor! So what should you expect of them?
Firstly, you want to make sure your realtor has experience. How many closings have they had in the last month? In the last year? What type of buyer do they specialize in? First time buyer, VA, luxury home, which buyer are you? Are they full time? If your realtor is also something other than a realtor, they are NOT full time- their real estate profession is not subsidizing their lifestyle because most likely they are not good enough to be used more than just by friends who feel bad for them. Please don’t take this offensively, but if you are in the midst of a transaction which has 10-15 incredibly time sensitive deadlines which jeopardize your hard earned deposit, you do not want to wait for your realtor to get off work at 5 pm to reply to you, when your bank might be closed after 5, the other realtor already knows yours has no clue and bypasses your offer all together. And this happens …. A lot!
Does your realtor have a team of agents in case they cannot help you when your schedule permits? Do they work for a well known accredited brokerage? What is the benefit of this? They have legal teams in case your deposit is in jeopardy. They have a separate broker that can step in if the transaction takes a negative route, they have staff that can assist you if you are in a bind! They have offices where you can go if you need to make copies of documents for your mortgage, or need to scan 1000 papers to your accountant!
Interview with your realtor! I cannot stress this enough! Professional realtors will try and bring you into their office for a consultation. It isn’t because we are not savvy with computers, or don’t value your time, it’s quite the opposite! We value each other’s times equally! This is one of the most important decisions you will make in your life! You want to be the MOST educated entering into this. There are condos, townhomes, homes with associations, strict rules, lenient ones, no rules, there are hundreds of neighborhoods in South Florida each with positives and negatives, where do you want to live?
CHOOSING YOUR HOUSE
So now that you have a realtor, and hopefully you both know what you are looking for, the FUN PART STARTS! Finding your NEW HOME!! As I am writing this, there are multiple homes available in any given neighborhood. Today, a well valued home will be under contract in 5 days or less!
If you love the home trust us when we say, we need to put a contract on this today, and trust us when we say if you see something come on the market today, we need to see it today! We don’t want you experiencing the regret of knowing you missed a home by mere hours because you waited until the next day to view it.
Also, don’t become discouraged. It is a seller’s market. But you’re a buyer, why buy??? Interest rates are the lowest they have been IN HISTORY, this is to your advantage! With a normal 30 year mortgage you will pay 3x the price of your home when interest rates rise back to above 5%! Don’t Wait! Do expect bidding on phenomenal properties and expect prices to go above asking price sometimes ….. A move-in ready property where you don’t need to paint ($1,500-3,000), where you won’t need to purchase Hurricane Panels for insurance discounts ($3,000+), where the bathrooms & kitchens are upgraded to your standards ($10,000-30,000) so you don’t need to put any more cash into, are sometimes worth the extra $5,000 to the list price to secure it! Above all though, know that we do our research, we have local expertise and we know the comparable sales in the area. We will not allow you to ever enter into a disadvantageous deal just to make a sale. Expect us to be honest with you if the sellers are unreasonable with their price, and even though it might look like the right home, ultimately it isn’t, due to appraisal concerns, or repairs. Know that, IF IT IS MEANT TO BE IT WILL BE, AND THE RIGHT HOME WILL APPEAR. You will not always get the first house, and your first and 2nd contract may fall through, you will think home ownership isn’t for you, BUT IT IS!
Your home is out there, and it will be perfect, and we are here to match you with it!
If you have unanswered questions or would like a copy of the questions to bring to your mortgage broker or your realtor interviews email us! They are FREE to you!
We believe the more informed you are as our client, the more exceptional your home buying experience will be, and after all, this will be your most important purchase until your next property, will be the house you’ve collected all those pinterest pins for, and will be the place you come to every night and comfortably call your home.
