Tips For Buyers
The best way to make sure that you choose the right home is to properly prepare yourself. The purchase of a home is a tremendous investment, both monetarily and emotionally. The purpose of this page is to provide you with some tips that will help your transaction progress smoothly and result in you being a happy homeowner. No one wants to contract a case of buyer's remorse. You know what I am talking about. It is that feeling that you've either paid too much or received too little. With the right knowledge and information you will not only deter any remorse you will be proud of your purchase deicions.
Remember, if you have any questions I am always just a phone call or email away.
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Get help. Your home is likely to represent one of the largest investments in your life. In order to make sure that the transaction goes smoothly it is of vital importance that you choose the right REALTOR to represent your interests. The right REALTOR will be someone whose experience and personality makes you feel comfortable. You should try to find an agent that is familiar and knowledgeable about the area you plan to move into.
- Get pre-approved. Do you already know how much home you can afford? There is nothing more frustrating than looking for a home, finding the perfect home, and then discovering that it is out of your price range. Speak with a lender to learn about the different financing options available to you, your REALTOR can help you find the right one for you. When you find the right lender get the paperwork processed so that you will be ready to buy when you find the right home.
- Avoid major purchases. In order to determine the amount of home you can afford a lender uses your debt-to-income ratio. This ratio is the percentage of your pre-tax income that you spend on debt. Your debt ratio will include: monthly housing costs, car payments, credit cards, student loans, and any other installment debt. If you take on more debt right before buying a home it is going to have an impact on the amount of the loan that the lender will finance. Visit my "Finance" page and see what your payments and qualifying ratios could be.
- Sign up for Property Watch (within my Property Search section). In order to make an educated decision you need to know what is available and how much it is going for. You can browse all the active listings from my website. Once you have found some homes you like save those searches and sign up for Property Watch so that new listings will be emailed to you. The best homes move fast so you need to make sure that you are on top of the available inventory at all times so you do not miss out.
- Get inspected. The last thing you want to discover after you have bought a home is that you have purchased a "money pit". By "money pit" I am referring to a home that is full of defects that are going to end up costing you a lot of money. Save yourself a lot of time in future litigation and renovation by bringing in a licensed home inspector before you buy. If any problems are found it will steer you away from a bad decision or help you negotiate a better price.
Tips For Renters
Many of us are finding ourselves renting for the first time in years. The experience can be daunting and somewhat embarrassing. But please do not feel this way look at it as an opportunity and that it is temporary. And many who have been renting for years just love it.
Things that you should know and expect:
- Many people do not realize that they can use a REALTOR for searching for a rental just like they can when buying a home. REALTORS, like myself, have access to all the rental listings through our areas MLS system. We also have access to the homes so we can show them to you and we have the applications for all numerous management companies. We will help negotiate any special needs you have and get as much of the information you need in order to help you make the right decision for you. So you know, we are compensated by the management companies after you sign your lease on a home we showed you, making this service free to you. So no more searching Craig's List just to have no one return the call or find out the listing is old and out dated, no more making appointments with several different people.
- Renters can also use the Property Search tool on this website to search for all the current listings that meet their specific criteria and save a search by signing up for Property Watch. Once you have found some homes you like save those searches and sign up for Property Watch so that new listings will be emailed to you. The best homes move fast so you need to make sure that you are on top of the available inventory at all times so you do not miss out.
- Once you have selected your favorites we will make an appointment to see them together. I will give you the application and the information you will need to qualify for your favorite. Typically management companies will give you an answer with in 24-48 hours. Once you have been approved you will give them the security deposit to hold the home until the agreed upon move-in date, or you meet with them, pay all your deposits and rent, sign your lease and get your keys all with in days.
- You do need to qualify, here are some general guidelines that most management companies use:
1) Your gross monthly income needs to be at least 2.5 - 3 times the monthly rent.
2) You can not have any evictions or you can not owe a landlord any money.
3) Your credit does not have to be perfect but it does need to make sense. Call me and we can discuss this in more detail.
2) You can not have any evictions or you can not owe a landlord any money.
3) Your credit does not have to be perfect but it does need to make sense. Call me and we can discuss this in more detail.
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