Avoid Costly Mistakes when Buying a House
Home buyers can avoid costly mistakes when buying a house by heeding the advice of experts who know that although your home purchase is traditionally an excellent financial investment there are ways to put more money in your pocket from the transaction.
Choose an Exclusive Buyer’s Agent
Learn the local real estate market by choosing an exclusive buyer’s agent whose job is to educate you about homes available and what you should offer by preparing a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) or property value study. Your exclusive buyer’s agent will also protect your interests by including typical contingency clauses for a satisfactory appraisal, home inspection, and mortgage commitment.
Save Money on Your Mortgage
If you are looking for ways to save money on your mortgage, shop before you start looking at homes so that you can get your best rate and be sure of the amount of your pre-approval. A pre-approval is a negotiating advantage for you and is an absolute necessity in a hot market or ‘priced-right’ homes with competing offers.
Timing Your New Home Purchase
The best time of the year to buy a house is when the season slows down and there are fewer home buyers in the market – Thanksgiving to mid-January. Homes listed and available during the slow season are from serious home sellers. Most people don’t want to move until the summer months so they don’t start actively looking until early spring.
Protect Yourself with a Good Home Inspection
Home inspectors say that all houses, including brand new homes, have defects but some are incurable. Some defects will be obvious to you, such as a poor location, others may need the skill of a good home inspector and other testing for presence of pests, radon, or lead paint.