Dan & Melinda

image by  Tony The Misift

If the rule of real estate is location, location, location, then the rule for the first time home buyer should be research, research, research.  There is all kinds of information on this subject that you can find by searching online, at your local book store or by connecting with a local real estate agent. Buying a home is a major purchase and you need to have some answers before taking on a mortgage.

The following list is a good starting point for a first time home buyer.

• Income – Will there be one or two incomes in the house to make the mortgage?
• Future Income – Don’t count on your income going up (it might, it might not)
• Children – Is it possible you will lose an income to a stay home parent?
• Down Payment – How much will you need?  20% is a good starting point.
• Budgets – expenses, repairs, maintenance
• Type of Mortgage – A 30 year fixed is a good idea.
• Starter Home – it might not be your “dream home’ but it needs to be affordable.
• Monthly Payment – not just the mortgage, include taxes and insurance.
• Closing costs – this is not part of your down-payment, it is in addition to.
• Location – is it close to work and schools?
• Credit – do you know your credit score?  (credit scores can be improved

Buying a home is a big decision, getting an agent and asking lots of questions is a good starting point.

We published our first newsletter for Anaheim Hills and if you would like a copy you can download it here. The newsletter covers some of the current real estate market in Anaheim Hills along with some other community information.

Freedom First Newsletter vol 1

What is a buyer’s market? A buyer’s market takes place when the inventory of homes for sale is up and the number of buyers is down (large inventory with few buyers). This puts pressure on the seller since there are few buyers and those that are buying have lots to choose from.

There are several reasons for the current rise in inventory and one of the biggest reasons is the change in the economy. With everyone feeling the economic times we are in, people are not spending and buying homes like they were a few years ago. Another reason is that lending has become very tight and banks have made it harder to qualify for a loan, reducing the number of buyers that might otherwise want to buy a home.

So what can you do if you are trying to sell in today’s market? There are several things that you can do to help move your property and get it sold.

One of the most important things that you can do as a home owner to get your home sold is to price it correctly. How do you do this? If you are working with a real estate agent they can run CMA reports that will give you a view of the current market. Another way to get a good idea of the price on your home is to hire an appraiser who can look at several factors to come up with a price. Are you a do it yourself type person? Then you can take to the internet with a site such as Zillow.com that can give you an indication of the price.

Now that you have the house priced to sell in the market the next thing is to make your home “move-in-ready”, because a home that shows like a model is going to sell faster. This is a three part process consisting of the interior, the exterior and then your “stuff”. Starting with the exterior the yard should be green and all of the gardens looking well-kept, the home itself looking cared for and maintained. The interior needs to very clean and without the need of any repairs or updating. With this taken care of the final step is to remove your “stuff”. This is where a home staging company could come in handy, such as Staged4more.com, helping to make the house look bigger and less cluttered and allow the  buyer to imagine the home as theirs.

Since you now have a home that is priced right and looking fantastic, you need to get potential buyers in the door, and this is done through marketing. If you decide to use an agent they will put the listing into the local MLS as well as post your home on several websites such as Craigslist.org and Yahoo that will bring in buyers. If you are doing this yourself, FSBO, then you can post the listing on several web sites at little or no cost. Another key part of marketing is holding an open house and inviting potential buyers to come look at your home.

While it might take a little longer, and involve more effort on your part, it does not mean you should give up. Look at your house and see what you can do to make it look more appealing to a buyer. Search the web, pick up a book or hire some help where you might need it. It will sell, it just takes time and effort.

The foreclosure market is bad, really bad. When a house is listed for $1 and it takes 19 day to find a buyer, that is a picture of how bad it really is. The house is a shell and there is the issue of back taxes but to be able to purchase a home that sold in 2006 for $65,000 is almost unbelievable. To get the full story click here.

If you are thinking about buying a new home but concerned you will not be able to sell your current home, there are many things you can do in order to help get your home sold. The first and most important thing to do is price your house correctly in today’s market.

How do you do this? Look at other homes in your neighborhood that have sold recently and this should give you an idea of the value of your home. You could use the Internet to do some research and find a value. A great way to find the true value of your home is to hire a local appraiser who will come out and give you an appraisal for a small fee. A house that is priced in line with the market will sell, even in today’s economy.

Other things that you can do is hire a real estate agent. A good agent will market your home, add it to the MLS and put the listing up on several of the online sites so that your home has as many people looking at it as possible. Having your home on the Internet is not enough. The quality of the pictures and possibly a virtual tour will bring in and hold more attention, so a professional photographer should be used. An agent can do other things to help as well: hold open houses, mail out fliers, drop brochures door to door along with other marketing tasks.

Another way to help sell your home is to have it looking like a model home. This is not that hard to do and will give your home emotional appeal. First, remove all the excess clutter, knick-knacks and personal photographs from the home. Rooms need to be furnished but any excess items that could be removed or stored in the garage should be moved (chairs, tables, beds, etc.). When someone comes to view the home have all lights on, windows open and blinds pulled back. The smell of a home is very important and lighting a few scented candles that are not too strong is a good idea.

Of course there are many other things you could do and your local bookstore has entire books on this subject. So when you find that home that is “just perfect”, don’t turn away because you think you won’t be able to sell your home, use these tips and your home will sell.