5 SECRETS TO BUYING A HOME

1. Get "Pre-Approved" - Not "Pre-Qualified!" 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 length of escrow, are critical to a seller. In years past,
we always recommended that our client’s get "pre-qualified" by a lender. This 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 we've seen
include recorded judgments, alimony payments due, glitches on the credit report due to any number
of reasons both accurately and inaccurately, and down payments that have not been in the clients'
bank account long enough. So the way to make the strongest offer today is to get "pre-approved".
This happens AFTER all information has been checked and verified. You are actually APPROVED for
the loan and the only loose end is the particular property you are going to chose to purchase and the
required appraisal for the loan on that particular property. This process takes anywhere from a few
days to a few weeks depending on your situation. It's VERY POWERFUL and a weapon we recommend
all our clients have in their negotiating arsenal.

2. If You Have a House to Sell, Sell it Before Selecting a House to Buy! Contingency sales aren't
nearly as strong as one that comes in with a ready, willing and able buyer and sellers almost never
taken them when a property is well priced. Consider this scenario: You've found the perfect house -
now you have 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. 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. Another tactic is to make the sale "subject to seller finding suitable
housing". Adding this phrase to the listing means that WHEN YOU DO FIND A BUYER, you will have
some time to find the new place. If you don't find anything to your liking, you don't have to sell your
present home.

3. Make a Wish List. 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.
we always recommend that you imagine each house as if it were vacant. Consider each house on its
underlying merits, not the seller's decorating skills.

4. Don't Be Rushed Into Making An Offer Prematurely. Your agent should show you everything
available that meets your requirements. Don't make a decision on a house until you feel that you've
seen enough to pick the best one. A decade ago, In these last couple of years homes were selling
quickly, usually a few days after listing. In that kind of market, agents advised their clients to make an
offer ON THE SPOT if they liked the house. That was good advice at the time. Today we are still in a
face paced market, however, there are so many properties out there and the market for sellers has
slowed down a bit. There isn't any urgency because if this house doesn’t work out, another one will.
Do be aware that you may loose a house that is drastically under priced, (and you'll know if it is after
you’ve looked at a few homes) if you wait to make an offer. Don't forget to check into the SCHOOL
DISTRICTS of the area you're considering. Information is available on every school; such as class
sizes, % of students that go on to college, SAT scores, etc. You can get this information from this web
site.

5. Don’t Believe the Advertisments in the Newspaper and On-Line....These ads are sometimes
created to make the phone ring! Because of the lead time necessary to get advertisements out,
anything that is well-priced is usually sold by the time you receive the advertisement. The ad is
placed to please the seller and to market the listing agent. Also, many of the properties have some
drawback that's not mentioned in the ad, such as traffic noise, power lines, or litigation in the
community. What's not mentioned in the ad is usually more important than what is. Remember that the
person 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 agent will critique the
property with an eye towards how well it meets your needs and will point out any drawbacks you
should know about. So whether you decide to work with us or not, pick an agent you feel comfortable
with and enlist the services of that agent as a buyer's broker. Then 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 agent. When an agent hears of a great buy, who do you think he's going to call? His client, who
he has a legal obligation to work hard for you, or someone who just called on the phone and said
"keep your eyes open"? So to get the best buy on a property, we always recommend that you work
with one agent exclusively and stick with him or her.