1. Get "Pre-Approved" not "Pre-Qualified!" to buy. Do you want to get the best property you can for the least amount of money? Then make sure you are in the strongest negotiating position possible. Price is only one element in the negotiations, and not necessarily the most important one. Often other terms, such as the strength of the buyer or the time to close are critical to a seller. "Pre-qualified" means that you spend a few minutes on the phone with a lender who asks you a few questions. Based on the answers, the lender pronounces you "pre-qualified" and issues a certificate that you can show to a seller. Sellers are aware that such certificates are worthless, and here's why! None of the information has been verified! Many times unknown problems can come to the surface! Some of the problems that can arise are recorded judgments, alimony payments due, glitches on the credit report due to any number of reasons both accurate and inaccurate, down payments that have not been in the clients' bank account long enough, etc. So the way to make the strongest offer today is to get "pre-approved". This happens after all information has been checked and verified. This process takes anywhere from a few hours to about a week depending on your situation. I have numerous lenders I can recommend that have helped with my clients over the years. Just give me a call at 864-335-8490 if you need one.
Greenville SC Real Estate at it's Best
2. Sell Your Property First, or get it under contract. Then Buy the House. Contingency sales aren't nearly as strong as ones that comes in with a ready, willing and able buyer. Consider this scenario: You've found the perfect house - now you want to go make an offer to the seller. You want the seller to reduce the price and wait until you sell your house. The seller figures that this is a risky deal, since he might pass up a buyer who doesn't have to sell a house while he's waiting for you. So he says OK, he'll do the contingency but it has to be a full price offer! You have now paid more for the house than you could have because of the contingency, and you have to sell your existing house in a hurry! Otherwise you lose the house! So to sell quickly you might take an offer that's lower than if you had more time. The bottom line is that buying before selling might cost you thousands of dollars.
Greenville SC Realtor and Buyer's Agent!
3. If you're concerned that there is not a house on the market for you, then go on a window-shopping trip. You can identify possible houses and locations without falling in love with a specific house. If you feel confident after that then put your house on the market. Play the Game of Nines Before house hunting, make a list of things you want in the new place. Then make a list of the things you don't want. You can use this list as a guide to rate each property that you see. The one with the biggest score wins! This helps avoid confusion and keeps things in perspective when you're comparing dozens of homes. When house hunting, keep in mind the difference between "style and substance". The substance are things that cannot be changed such as the location, view, size of lot, noise in the area, school district, and floor plan. The style represents easily changed surface finishes like carpet, wallpaper, color, and window coverings. Buy the house with good substance, because the style can always be changed to match your tastes. Consider each house on its underlying merits, not the seller's decorating skills.
Wow Upstate Realty, I'm located in beautiful downtown Greenville on Main St.
4. Be very skeptical of ads. Please note - many listing agents sometime create ads to make the phone ring! Many homes in ads you call are already sold, have expired or have been taken off the market. Many of the homes have some drawback that's not mentioned in the ad, such as traffic noise, power lines, etc.. What's not mentioned in the ad is usually more important than what is. For this reason, I want you to be very careful when reading ads. Remember that the listing agent writing the ad is representing the seller and not you. The most important thing you can do is have someone on your side looking out for your best interests. Your own buyers agent will critique the property with an eye towards how well it meets your needs and will point out drawbacks that may bother you. Become a client with all the rights, benefits, and privileges created by this agency relationship, and you're no longer just a shopper. Did you know that many homes are sold without a sign ever going up or an ad ever being put in the paper? These "great deals" go to those people who are committed to working with one buyers agent. When a buyers agent hears of a great buy, who do you think he's going to call? His client, who he has a obligation to work hard for, or someone who just called on the phone and said "keep your eyes open"? So to get the best buy on a property, I always recommend that you engage a buyers agent and stick with him or her. Thanks for visiting.
Don
Always use an Exclusive Buyer's Agent.