Buying a Home Money Saving Tips, Ideas and Advice on How to Save Money on the Cost a House

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BUYING A HOME

BUYING A HOME MONEY SAVING & BUDGETING TIPS

Locating Your Next Home

Making An Offer & Negotiating A Deal

Financing Your New Home

Having A Successful Closing

Buying A Condominium

Locating Your Next Home

Locating the right home can be a lot of fun, and also a lot of work. It is also the most important step in buying a home. So take as much time as you can to find the neighborhood that fits you best, the home you will enjoy the most, and a price that fits in your budget. Here are some ideas on finding that perfect place.

1. The most common way to find a home is to find a good realtor, and work with them until you find the right house. There is no “out-of-pocket” cost for this service and, with the right realtor, can be a pleasant and rewarding experience.

a. If possible, ask for recommendations from friends and workers on who may be the right realtor to show you homes, given your budget and preferences. If you are new to the community, and/or do not know anyone you can ask for a recommendation, stop by three or four major real estate brokers in the area, tell them what your are looking for, and decide who may be the best realtor for you to work with.

b. Realtors obviously have different personalities and strengths, and often specialize in various communities and price ranges. The idea is to find a realtor who is able to understand what you are looking for, is familiar with the types of neighborhoods that are of interest to you, and is willing to make a concerted effort to find you the “right” home.

c. If the realtor you have chosen does not seem to understand, or is unfamiliar with what you are looking for, or does not seem to spend the time you feel your search for a home requires, consider switching realtors. This is done all the time. Finding the right home is a very important objective, and if you choose to work with a realtor make sure they are doing their job well. Remember, while you may not be paying them directly, they are getting paid through commissions from the seller. So expect them to do their job.

d. While there is no “out-of-pocket” cost to use a realtor to find a home, there may be a hidden cost, depending on the home you find. For instance, if you find a home that is for sale by owner, and you are working with a realtor, a commission most likely will be due from the seller. If no commission was due, the seller may be willing to sell the home at a lower price. So, the end result is that even though the commission was not paid directly by you, the price of the home to you will most likely be higher.

e. If you do choose to work with a realtor, it is quite possible the realtor will not show you homes that are not listed with a real estate broker, since they may not receive a commission. To make sure you are able to see these homes, you may need to do a little research on your own (as well as take note of the for-sale-by- owner signs you see while driving through neighborhoods). You may choose to ask your realtor to contact these homeowners, to see if they will work with a realtor, in which case a commission will be due from the seller. Or you may choose to contact them by yourself, in which case no commission will be due (although you may feel that you still have some obligation to the realtor you had been working with).

2. While using a realtor for your home search does have many advantages, there is a cost, as noted above. If you feel you already know which neighborhoods will work best for you, in today’s world, especially with the Internet, finding a home without a realtor is fairly easy.

a. Sites like Realtor.com, ZipRealty.com, and Redfin.com usually include information on most all houses listed by realtors. Enter the zip code, type of home, and price range and you will see pictures and listing information. Other sites like Trulia.com allow users to check out a home’s surroundings through a street-level view of its real estate listings. With BestHomeSearchEver.com buyers, should they so choose, can limit their search to homes that have been on the market for more than three months and may be more likely to offer a price reduction. In any case, since homes on these sites are usually listed by realtors, to see these homes you will need to contact the realtor noted on the web site for that particular listing. While a commission will be due from the seller, since only the “listing realtor” will be involved in the sale there may be some flexibility to negotiate the commission down, resulting in a lower price for the home.

b. To find homes that are directly for sale by their owner, in order for the sales price to not include any commission, consult the local newspaper ads or look for lawn signs in your neighborhoods of choice. Or, you can go to web sites like Buyowner.com that list homes for sale directly by the owner. You will need to contact the owner directly to see the for-sale-by-owner homes, but that is a easy as a phone call. And since you will only be visiting homes you already have seen from the outside, you may actually save a little time looking at homes.