Top Three Things You Can Do To Make Your Home Purchase Smoother
February 16th, 2008 by LoadRunner
You’ve just decided to buy a home! Perhaps you are moving to a new area, or maybe you are moving up from an apartment into a local neighborhood. This could be your first home, or your twenty-first. Regardless, there are a few things that you should always keep in mind:
1. USE AN AGENT - Many buyers do not understand the value that a licensed Realtor can bring to a transaction. I know several past clients who say that they will never again try to “go it alone” after attempting this previously. Buying a home is the largest investment that most people ever make. If you were going to court, you would probably seek competent legal counsel before proceeding. While the average home purchase is not as complicated as the average lawsuit, it can be devastating to realize that you bought a home that is not appreciating well, or, worse, actually depreciating. Good agents build their businesses based on referrals and this means treating people well, so they will look out for you so that you will refer your friends, family, and co-workers in the future.
2. GET AN INSPECTION - We highly recommend getting a third-party general inspection on every home we sell. Additionally, we will normally suggest a “wood destroying insect report” to check for the presence of termites and/or carpenter ants. Beyond this, there are other specialized reports that may be necessary or at least advisable, such as septic inspections, structural engineer’s reports, and roof inspections. If the property was recently inspected, you should still pay for your own inspector to evaluate the property. Typically, your agent can recommend a couple of good inspectors for you to consider.
3. SHOP YOUR LOAN - As an experienced broker, I have seen many of our company’s clients use disreputable mortgage companies over the years. Recently, one of our agents had a buyer who showed up to close on her new home, and she was asked to sign documents with an interest rate that was almost 1% higher than her original quote. At that point, since they didn’t have a rate lock in place, there was very little that could be done. Although our agent tried repeatedly to get her to speak with our local mortgage broker (who has integrity), they felt like they had to use the other company because they had already paid them $300 as a “good faith” fee. When we explained that our guy would save them more than that on the day of closing, it didn’t really sink in.
On another recent occasion, we had a closing delayed for FIVE weeks because the lender, although from a national bank, was working out of state and was simply unfamiliar with the way things work in Texas. Thankfully, it held together until the end, but needless to say, it was stressful for all of us until it finally came to fruition.
Jason Crouch has been selling homes in the Austin, Texas area since January 1997. He is the managing broker of a company with roughly 20 agents, and he consistently sells millions of dollars in Austin real estate each year. Feel free to visit his website anytime at http://www.austintexashomes.com
Tags: buying a home, buying real estate, home buying, real estate
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