What You NEED to Know When Buying A Home

Work with a home buying specialist you trust:

Buying a home is one of the most important decisions you will make in your life. There are many steps to buying a home and many different parties that are involved. It is very important that you work with someone who has YOUR best interest in mind. Don’t be afraid to ask your REALTOR questions about their level of experience, success rates with other clients, and how they plan to help you get the best deal possible.

Work with a lender you trust :

The lending party will be an important fixture in the home buying process and it is important that you choose someone that you or your Real Estate professional trust. Some key indicators of a solid mortgage professional, is their ability to answer and respond to both you, and your agent in a timely manner. If they can’t do it before you get into escrow, they certainly once you are in escrow.

Have your pre-approval letter from your lender BEFORE you begin your search:

Having your pre-approval letter from your trusted lender is very important to have when beginning your search. There have been many instances when people have thought they could afford more than they actually could, and were disappointed when their was not within their reach.Today, in order to submit an offer for review, you need to have your pre-approval, otherwise the listing agent will disregard your offer.

When you like something, submit an offer:

If you find a place that you love, do not hesitate to submit an offer! In this market, you need to move quick to stand a chance at getting your offer accepted. In the San Diego real estate market, many homes have multiple offers, the day that they come on the market. After speaking with the other involved parties, your real estate professional will advise you as to what your offer will look like.

Write a competitive offer:

This is an extension of point #4. When writing an offer, it is important to make it competitive, to give you a fighting chance. Again, your agent should contact all the involved parties and conduct research on the surrounding neighborhoods. They will then be able to come up with a good price point and write in the proper conditions to make the offer a strong one.

Avoid ” Low Balling” your offers:

This is the term that is used when someone has the intention of submitting offers below list price without conducting the proper research. As stated above, there is a significant amount of competition in the market.It is important that you discuss with your real estate agent what the best way to get the property you love will be. A strategy that is purely focused on getting the deepest discount possible, tends to be one that is unrealistic.

Be prepared for “speed bumps” during the transaction:

It is important to understand that a myriad of problems and issues can arise during the home buying process and slows down the entire transaction.This is actually the purpose of the escrow process and contingency removal period, to make sure that any problems are uncovered and relayed to the buyer so they are making an educated purchase.

Set realistic expectations:

Purchasing a home is a fun and exciting process but it can become overwhelming. It is important to expect problems (as discussed in point#6) and not to let them get you down. As stated previously, more often than not, there will be bumps in the road.

Prepare for ALL of the costs:

There are costs that can add up outside of the down payment amount that come out of the buyer’s and seller’s pocket. These are known as closing costs. A conservative number to anticipate for these closing costs is 3% of the purchase price. So, let’s say that we are going to purchase a property for $300,000, expect to pay about $9,000 in closing costs. What do these closing costs cover? Title and escrow fees, lender fees, appraisals etc.

What not to do during the home buying process:

Do not make extravagant purchases i.e. Cars or other high expense items that can put your financing at risk, do not forget to pay your bills, do not take out other loans, or anything that may compromise the purchase of your home…especially financially.