To Do List - Before Buying a Home
- Visit a Lender and find out how much home you can comfortably afford. The mortgage industry has changed dramatically over the past few months and it is imperative that you get your financing squared away prior to even visiting homes.
- Put together a list of what you want in a home. Put some thought into it and assign an "importance factor" to each one. It is unlikely that you will find a home that has it all, but you do want to a good understanding of what is most important to you and what you can live without.
- Visit (either personally or via the internet) some neighborhoods to get a feel for what they offer and how they stack up to you wants and needs. Narrowing the search to a few areas can make for a much more relaxing and enjoyable experience.
- If schools are an important factor to you, visit the website www.ncreportcards.org . This is a good resource for comparing all the schools in a given area.
- Make sure that you understand the tax and insurance rates for a given area. These factors can make the difference of qualifying for a loan or not. Home located within city limits will have higher taxes than homes in unincorporated areas. You can also go online and find out tax bills for most residences in our area.
- Find a good Realtor to work with. Interview at least two or three to make sure that you will enjoy spending some time with them and that you feel you can trust them. A good Realtor can make the experience fun and enjoyable....and a bad one can make buying your home frustrating and at times miserable. Also know that a good Realtor can save you a lot of money.
- Have fun and go out and find your new home!
- Visit a Lender and find out how much home you can comfortably afford. The mortgage industry has changed dramatically over the past few months and it is imperative that you get your financing squared away prior to even visiting homes.
- Put together a list of what you want in a home. Put some thought into it and assign an "importance factor" to each one. It is unlikely that you will find a home that has it all, but you do want to a good understanding of what is most important to you and what you can live without.
- Visit (either personally or via the internet) some neighborhoods to get a feel for what they offer and how they stack up to you wants and needs. Narrowing the search to a few areas can make for a much more relaxing and enjoyable experience.
- If schools are an important factor to you, visit the website www.ncreportcards.org . This is a good resource for comparing all the schools in a given area.
- Make sure that you understand the tax and insurance rates for a given area. These factors can make the difference of qualifying for a loan or not. Home located within city limits will have higher taxes than homes in unincorporated areas. You can also go online and find out tax bills for most residences in our area.
- Find a good Realtor to work with. Interview at least two or three to make sure that you will enjoy spending some time with them and that you feel you can trust them. A good Realtor can make the experience fun and enjoyable....and a bad one can make buying your home frustrating and at times miserable. Also know that a good Realtor can save you a lot of money.
- Have fun and go out and find your new home!
Thinking of Buying a Home in Raleigh, Durham, or Chapel Hill?
Most people don't hesitate to employ a Realtor when selling their home. However, many people do wonder if they really do need a Realtor to help them buy a home.
I often run into people who are actively searching for a home to purchase but for some reason are opposed to working with a Realtor® as a buyers agent. The general comment that I get from them is "We just go straight to the Listing agent..we feel that we can get a better deal if there is not another agent involved". I would like to explain why I think it is imperative to work with a buyers agent when purchasing a home.
So, is it really possible to save money by not using a buyers agent and working directly with the listing agent? In a word, "NO". That is just not the way the transaction works. When a seller lists their home with a Realtor, the commission to be paid is agreed upon. In almost all cases, commissions are set up to be split equally between the listing agent and the agent who brings a buyer. If the listing agent also brings the buyer or if the buyer does not have representation, the listing agent will just collect the entire commission. This is known as "getting both sides" of the transaction and it is a very profitable situation for the listing agent. The seller of the home will net the same amount either way...so they are not going to be any more flexible on the price just because you don't have an agent representing you. So...bottom line, it is very unlikely that you save money by going directly to the listing agent. Don't get fooled by working without an agent.
OK....now that we have that answered (and as if that were not enough reason), what are some other compelling reasons to work with a buyers agent?
Well, first, it won't cost you a penny. As mentioned before, the seller is going to pay the fees out of the proceedings of the sale. So the expert representation that you get with a buyers agent is FREE.
A buyers agent, will have access to all of the detailed MLS listings. This will save you time in looking for homes as you can get complete information about homes without going out to see every one of them. Not that you can get the "feel" of every home, but the MLS has multiple photos, room sizes, HOA fees and information, tax rates, etc that are not usually listed on the public sites such as Realtor.com. By working with a Realtor® as your buyer's agent, you can eliminate some homes without spending the time to go out and view them.
Access to sales comparisons is essential during the search for a new home. Many homes in our area are currently overpriced. Without access to the sales "comps", you will not be able to determine if the home is priced correctly. I have had people tell me that they can tell a home is overpriced or under priced based on the other homes for sale in an area......not true. In many areas, all of the current homes are priced too high based on comparative sales of the past 6 months or so. As a buyer, you need to know that. Your buyers agent can provide that.
You should also know things about the home such as how many days it has been on the market, what is the average sales time for homes in that area, what did the current owners paid for it, and home many comparable homes are currently available. All of these things need to be taken into consideration when formulating an offer to present to the sellers. All of these are things that your buyer's agent will provide to you.
Once you find a home that you want to make an offer on, your agent will help you put together a convincing offer that both enhances your ability to purchase and protects you against any potential problems with the home. They will negotiate on your behalf such things as purchase price, date of possession, repair contingencies, repair lists, and appraisal contingencies. This is very important and it takes a particular attention to detail to make sure it is done properly.
The contract to closing period is full of activity for the buyers agent. They will coordinate with the loan provider, home inspector, appraiser, and closing attorney to ensure a painless and timely closing. Can this be done by the buyer without the help of a buyers agent? In most cases yes...but considering that they deal with these issues and situations daily and know how to get them done quickly and professionally, it is much easier to have them handle it....particularly if you are relocating from out of town and are in your new area until closing.
In summary, you can purchase a home without using a buyers agent. But chances are that if you do, you will pay too much for your home, take too much time to find the right home, and generally have a much more painful buying experience. Trust a professional....Trust a Realtor as your buyer's agent.
Most people don't hesitate to employ a Realtor when selling their home. However, many people do wonder if they really do need a Realtor to help them buy a home.
I often run into people who are actively searching for a home to purchase but for some reason are opposed to working with a Realtor® as a buyers agent. The general comment that I get from them is "We just go straight to the Listing agent..we feel that we can get a better deal if there is not another agent involved". I would like to explain why I think it is imperative to work with a buyers agent when purchasing a home.
So, is it really possible to save money by not using a buyers agent and working directly with the listing agent? In a word, "NO". That is just not the way the transaction works. When a seller lists their home with a Realtor, the commission to be paid is agreed upon. In almost all cases, commissions are set up to be split equally between the listing agent and the agent who brings a buyer. If the listing agent also brings the buyer or if the buyer does not have representation, the listing agent will just collect the entire commission. This is known as "getting both sides" of the transaction and it is a very profitable situation for the listing agent. The seller of the home will net the same amount either way...so they are not going to be any more flexible on the price just because you don't have an agent representing you. So...bottom line, it is very unlikely that you save money by going directly to the listing agent. Don't get fooled by working without an agent.
OK....now that we have that answered (and as if that were not enough reason), what are some other compelling reasons to work with a buyers agent?
Well, first, it won't cost you a penny. As mentioned before, the seller is going to pay the fees out of the proceedings of the sale. So the expert representation that you get with a buyers agent is FREE.
A buyers agent, will have access to all of the detailed MLS listings. This will save you time in looking for homes as you can get complete information about homes without going out to see every one of them. Not that you can get the "feel" of every home, but the MLS has multiple photos, room sizes, HOA fees and information, tax rates, etc that are not usually listed on the public sites such as Realtor.com. By working with a Realtor® as your buyer's agent, you can eliminate some homes without spending the time to go out and view them.
Access to sales comparisons is essential during the search for a new home. Many homes in our area are currently overpriced. Without access to the sales "comps", you will not be able to determine if the home is priced correctly. I have had people tell me that they can tell a home is overpriced or under priced based on the other homes for sale in an area......not true. In many areas, all of the current homes are priced too high based on comparative sales of the past 6 months or so. As a buyer, you need to know that. Your buyers agent can provide that.
You should also know things about the home such as how many days it has been on the market, what is the average sales time for homes in that area, what did the current owners paid for it, and home many comparable homes are currently available. All of these things need to be taken into consideration when formulating an offer to present to the sellers. All of these are things that your buyer's agent will provide to you.
Once you find a home that you want to make an offer on, your agent will help you put together a convincing offer that both enhances your ability to purchase and protects you against any potential problems with the home. They will negotiate on your behalf such things as purchase price, date of possession, repair contingencies, repair lists, and appraisal contingencies. This is very important and it takes a particular attention to detail to make sure it is done properly.
The contract to closing period is full of activity for the buyers agent. They will coordinate with the loan provider, home inspector, appraiser, and closing attorney to ensure a painless and timely closing. Can this be done by the buyer without the help of a buyers agent? In most cases yes...but considering that they deal with these issues and situations daily and know how to get them done quickly and professionally, it is much easier to have them handle it....particularly if you are relocating from out of town and are in your new area until closing.
In summary, you can purchase a home without using a buyers agent. But chances are that if you do, you will pay too much for your home, take too much time to find the right home, and generally have a much more painful buying experience. Trust a professional....Trust a Realtor as your buyer's agent.