Buying Real Estate
Ten Mistakes to Avoid When Purchasing Real Estate
1. Not being pre-approved: If you are serious about purchasing, applying for the mortgage before you begin your search will strengthen your position. In a strong market, buyers compete for properties...and a buyer coming pre-approved by a bank is always more appealing to the seller.
2. Offering too low: A buyer working with a Realtor who has shared valuable market knowledge will recognize a good value when he sees it. Trying to "steal" the property can alienate the seller...or, in the case of multiple offers, lose the buyer a property he may really want.
3. Working with more than one Realtor: Realtors work out of the same inventory; they are all able to sell property listing in the Multiple Listing Service. Most buyers don't realize that Realtors are not salaried; they are paid only when they sell a house. Consequently, they will give excellent service to buyers who are loyal to them. If a Realtor knows a buyer calls various Realtors, the chances of his getting paid are reduced - so he may invest less effort on the buyer's behalf. Buyers who commit their loyalty to one Realtor can expect a full commitment from the Realtor to provide outstanding service.
4. Looking at everything on the market: A good Realtor spends days each week previewing homes and can show you the best choices in a relatively short period of time. There's simply no reason to look at scores of properties not meeting your needs "just to look"...and you may lose out on the perfect one while someone else moves more quickly.
5. Not realizing that purchasing is a compromise - that no one gets 100 percent of what they want: The 80 percent rule reads that if a buyer finds 80 percent of what he wants, he should seriously consider making an offer. Anyone expecting to find a perfect house offering 100 percent of their needs and wants will spend the rest of their lives in the car looking at real estate.
6. Not acting quickly enough after seeing the right property: In an active market, the good properties sell quickly, and if one buyer is attracted to a property because it is the best he's seen, probably others will be, as well. Too many buyers have lost the perfect property while "sleeping on it." If your gut tells you it's right, listen to it before it's too late.
7. Being uninformed about values: Your Realtor studies the market and knows what similar properties have sold and what inventory is available meeting your requirements. Such information is public record and can take you days to research, while your agent can readily provide it.
8. Expecting unrealistic repairs from the seller after an inspection: The purpose of a home inspection is to protect the buyer should there be serious, unexpected structural damage. The inspection is not intended to be a shopping list, and the seller of a home should not be expected to put it in "new" condition if it is not new construction. If the buyer knows this from the start, the purchase is more likely to close.
9. Not being represented by counsel: Realtors sell property and facilitate transactions, but they are not attorneys. Attorneys representing buyers will review legal documents to assure that they protect buyers' interests.
10. Not consulting qualified trades-people when a question is raised on a home or pest inspection: The furnace repair Uncle Willie says will cost thirty dollars may in fact be a defective furnace needing replacement to the tune of a few thousand dollars. And the termites the home inspector suspects may in fact be peeling wood that needs repainting. The professionals who know their business should be your source of information on which you base one of the most important decisions of your life.