Your Real Estate Agent Find an agent you can work with and someone who will work with you. Many agents will try to make the quick sale and before you arrive at their office they will pick 10 to 12 homes, encourage you to cut the list down to 5 or 6 take you out to see them and try to sell you one. How about something different. Meet the agent at their office go through a 20 to 30 minute interview. Work with the agent to determine what it is you are looking for and expect as a minimum in your new home. Have the agent enter your criteria into a VIP Buyer data base where the agent will send you daily emails with homes that meet your specifications. You drive around these neighborhoods without the agent you get the true feeling for the area and you decide if that area is good enough for you. When you have found the right neighborhood you bring the agent out to show you the home you picked. Youre in charge not the agent. Mortgage Pre-approval This process is part of the agent interview you can go online or complete a phone call application with the mortgage company prior to meeting the agent. In any case pre approval is the first step in what price home you can look for. Start with a pre approval on a standard 30 year or 40 year fixed rate loan this will be your base. Having a conservative more realistic starting point will allow you to stretch for a more expensive home if you chose. By not by starting out with ARM or interest only you have a room for the extras when you compare houses. As an example; if a 30 year fixed mortgage allows you to buy a $130,000 home and the ARM will let you get into a $145,000 home and the interest only gets you a $160,000 home you have the choice you know where you stand. Remember this is your first house of many more through for your life time. Stretch or Not to Stretch You are pre approved and found the right neighborhood. How much do you want to spend? You know what the mortgage company will allow you, but will that still leave you money to go on the summer vacation each year, weekend getaways, New Years Eve in Times Square? Will you be able to furnish the new home the way you want to or will you have to wait or start racking up credit card charges? This is where the big question comes, if you stretch and stretch too far and something happens like a job loss, sickness, company downsizing no promotions or raises that you will need because next year your mortgage payment will increase what do you do? Things can happen and do happen to good people everyday. Thats just something to consider. There are thousands of houses to choose from in every marketplace. Pick the one that fits you best, pick the one you can afford this year and next year along with all the other things you want to do. |
