When Buying a  House

Thou Shalt Not

Quit your job, change jobs, or become self employed.

Buy a car or van.  Even when shopping car dealers accessing your credit pushes it down.

Use charge cards for large purchases, or fall behind on payments.

Spend the cash you will need for closing (downpayment, insurance, repairs, moving, etc)

Forget, omit, lie about, or conceal information needed to obtain financing.

Make large purchases for your new home (furniture, riding lawn mowers, outdoor grills, etc)

Allow credit inquiries to the credit agencies while shopping for anything.

Make transfers, deposits, withdrawals of large sums from accounts without talking to your lender.

Change accounts, open credit, close credit to add information to the credit bureaus.

Allow others to use your credit or co sign for another.

Tips for Finding the Perfect Neighborhood

The neighborhood you choose can have a big impact on your lifestyle—safety, available amenities, and convenience all play their part.

1. Make a list of the activities—movies, health club, church—you engage in regularly and stores you visit frequently. See how far you would have to travel from each neighborhood you’re considering to engaging in your most common activities.

2. Check out the school district. The Department of Education in your town can probably provide information on test scores, class size, percentage of students who attend college, and special enrichment programs. If you have school-age children, also consider paying a visit to schools in the neighborhoods you’re considering. Even if you don’t have children, a house in a good school district will be easier to sell in the future.

3. Find out if the neighborhood is safe. Ask the police department for neighborhood crime statistics. Consider not only the number of crimes but also the type—burglaries, armed robberies—and the trend of increasing or decreasing crime. Also, is crime centered in only one part of the neighborhood, such as near a retail area?

4. Determine if the neighborhood is economically stable. Check with your local city economic development office to see if income and property values in the neighborhood are stable or rising. What is the percentage of homes to apartments? Apartments don’t necessarily diminish value, but they do mean a more transient population. Do you see vacant businesses or homes that have been for sale for months?

5. See if you’ll make money. Ask a local REALTOR^Ò or call the local REALTOR^Ò association to get information about price appreciation trends in the neighborhood. Although past performance is no guarantee of future results, this information may give you a sense of how good an investment your home will be. A REALTOR^Ò or the government planning agency also may be able to tell you about planned developments or other changes in the neighborhood—like a new school or highway—that might affect value.

6. See for yourself. Once you’ve narrowed your focus to two or three neighborhoods, go there, and walk around. Are homes tidy and well maintained? Are streets quiet? Pick a warm day if you can and chat with people working or playing outside. Are they friendly? Are their children to play with your family?

8 Steps to Getting Your Finances in Order

Develop a family budget. Instead of budgeting what you’d like to spend, use receipts to create a budget for what you actually spent over the last six months. One advantage of this approach is that it factors in unexpected expenses, such as car repairs, illnesses, etc., as well as predictable costs such as rent.   Reduce your debt. Generally speaking, lenders look for a total debt load of no more than 36 percent of income. Since this figure includes your mortgage, which typically ranges between 25 percent and 28 percent of income, you need to get the rest of installment debt—car loans, student loans, revolving balances on credit cards—down to between 8 percent and 10 percent of your total income.   Get a handle on expenses. You probably know how much you spend on rent and utilities, but little expenses add up. Try writing down everything you spend for one month. You’ll probably see some great ways to save.   Increase your income. It may be necessary to take on a second, part-time job to get your income at a high-enough level to qualify for the home you want.   Save for a downpayment. Although it’s possible to get a mortgage with only 5 percent down—or even less in some cases—you can usually get a better rate and a lower overall cost if you put down more. Shoot for saving a 20 percent downpayment.   Create a house fund. Don’t just plan on saving whatever’s left toward a downpayment. Instead decide on a certain amount a month you want to save, then put it away as you pay your monthly bills.   Keep your job. While you don’t need to be in the same job forever to qualify, having a job for less than two years may mean you have to pay a higher interest rate.   Establish a good credit history. Get a credit card and make payments by the due date. Do the same for all your other bills. Pay off the entire balance promptly. 8 Ways to Improve Your Credit     Credit scores, along with your overall income and debt, are a big factor in determining if you’ll qualify for a loan and what loan terms you’ll be able to qualify for.   1.      Check for and correct errors in your credit report. Mistakes happen, and you could be paying for someone else’s poor financial management.   2.      Pay down credit card bills. If possible, pay off the entire balance every month. However, transferring credit card debt from one card to another could lower your score.   3.      Don’t charge your credit cards to the maximum limit.   4.      Wait 12 months after credit difficulties to apply for a mortgage. You’re penalized less for problems after a year.   5.      Don’t purchase big-ticket items for your new home on credit cards until after the loan is approved. The amounts will add to your debt.   6.      Don’t open new credit card accounts before applying for a mortgage. Having too much available credit can lower your score.   7.      Shop for mortgage rates all at once. Too many credit applications can lower your score, but multiple inquiries from the same type of lender are counted as one inquiry if submitted over a short period of time.   8.      Avoid finance companies. Even if you pay the loan on time, the interest is high and it will probably be considered a sign of poor credit management.   This information is copyrighted by the Fannie Mae Foundation and is used with permission of the Fannie Mae Foundation. To obtain a complete copy of the publication, “Knowing and Understanding Your Credit,” visit http://www.homebuyingguide.org.

As a Buyer's Representative I can by contract work for and represent the interests of my client.  In most normal situations having my services to represent your needs is something that you are not paying for.  The commission is paid by the seller.  My sources of information are much more complete and up to date.  I  can help with finding a lender most appropriate for your needs.  Downpayment assistance, first time home owner programs, equity based, etc. are used as needed.  The more information I get from the client the better the service I supply.  There are times that a person really is not ready to initiate the purchase program.  I understand that.  However, that is the best time for me to start working with you.  I do not just react to the quick sale.  My objective is to be the families Professional Realtor of Choice.

We take the buying process as seriously as our buyers do, therefore we offer nothing but the highest quality of service to our clients. When you decide to purchase your home, make sure you hire someone whom you can trust and someone who wants to earn your business. Buying your home is one of the most important purchases you will make, so make sure you have the right agent who can provide you with the experience and the service you deserve.

When you understand current market conditions, you are better able to position yourself as a Seller. It helps to know if you are in a Seller's, Buyer's or Balanced market when setting your asking price. In a Buyer's market there is a lot more competition and Buyers have plenty of choices and room to negotiate, forcing you to be very competitive when setting your price.

Here are some of the steps I will take to find your perfect home:

Determine Your Wants and Needs
This is the single most important step. By asking you a series of questions I will establish what you are looking for. My goal is to not waste your time by looking at properties that are not
in your price range or homes that don't meet your needs. Throughout the buying process I will maintain your confidentiality and represent your best interests.

Help You Get Pre-Qualified
This step will show you how much you can afford.  This is accomplished by speaking with your financial institution and establishing what monthly payments you will be comfortable with.  Be aware of your credit score and how to improve it.Home Shopping
We will use every available method to locate a property that matches your search parameters.  This will include properties listed with our office, offered through other real estate companies, as well as unlisted properties.  We will disclose all known facts about the property that are likely to affect your decision. When we find the home that meets your criteria, I will assist you in writing an offer and act as a liaison between you and the seller.

Yesterday, I took a call from a lady asking about one of our listings.  The listing was in an area too far from the area she wanted.  I asked whether she was working with a Realtor, and she said "no".  I asked if I might be allowed to help locate the house to become her home, "no".  She wanted to use the internet to continue her own search.  That is one method of getting a feel of the market, maybe.  It is an inefficient, dangerous, and costly approach.  She is searching FOR SALE advertisements.  She is a BUYER.  The Seller hires an agent to sell the house.  That agent is working for that seller.  If the Buyer is dealing with that same agent, it is called dual agency, and there is no way the agent can represent both equally.  I would much rather have a professional Realtor working for just one side of the transaction.