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I Remove The Pain From The Process And Keep The Buying Experience Memorable.
 

Most home buyers, especially the new ones, start with the internet when searching for a home. That's fine and dandy and a great place to start, but how do you know you can afford that $400,000 house on a $45,000 a year salary? You can if you have a HUGE down payment! There are steps to take in the right order that will make your experience flow smoothly.

The video below explains very well how the $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers works

 

How the Trulia Snapshot Works

The Trulia Snapshot is a great place to view homes that are listed all over the country on Trulia.com. I have customized this widget to start looking in Charlotte, NC and show you Trulia's newest listings. Slide the grey bar at the bottom of the screen to the left to view older listings. The "+" and "-" on the bottom left corner zooms in and out on the map. If your moving out of town or if your moving to NC and wish to see listings in your current area, click on Search Options at the top right hand of the widget screen you can choose the city and state where Trulia pulls it's listings, price range, bedrooms and bathrooms, how you want the homes sorted and even how you want to view the map. Click the Back to map button and your back to where you started. 

The prices in the widget are based on homes for sale on Trulia. The monthly change is calculated by comparing homes prices in the current week to prices four weeks ago. The prices are updated every week. If you require additional information on any city, visit Trulia's Real Estate State Guide - Enjoy!

 

 

Basic Steps That Make Your Transaction Flow

    Visit with a mortgage lender, not a mortgage broker. I have a list on my Professional Services page that I rely on that treat my clients with honesty and respect no matter what price range they are looking in. They will tell you about how much you can afford per month and  how much house this will buy. One common mistake buyers make is putting an offer on the house at the top of their  price range. This may buy you the biggest and the prettiest, but what happens if your income drops and you can't afford the payments? Be prepared for this and live under your means. Fix up the house that has a few blemishes and you'll appreciate it more.

    Can we go look at houses? No... well, only if your signed with an agent already. But normally you'll start interviewing real estate agents and find the one that will keep your head on your shoulders and keep your goal and your budget in focus. Some buyers seem to put on rose colored glasses at first and the wrong agent will have no control over them and they will be all over town looking at EVERYTHING. The love them all!

    Ok, now you found the right agent. NOW you can start looking at houses. Keep in mind your time frame to close - bank owned properties take longer, and this could eliminate some properties if your in a rush or if you want to take advantage of the newly expanded tax credit for 1st time buyers and long term buyers. (watch the video for an explanation how this works and my free forms page for the IRS credit form 5450) Keep in mind you have to be Under contract by April 30th and CLOSED by June 30th to qualify. Don't waste you and your agents time by looking at houses that won't work for you. You both will get frustrated and you could miss out on that house you really loved, but wanted to look at EVERYTHING... just in case.

    OK! You found "the" house... your still not sure though because there's still 2 more houses on your list to preview that day... in this market, if you love it, MAKE AN OFFER with earnest money delivered at a future date and subject to the acceptance. That is the safest way to place an offer when you don't have your checkbook ready. Your agent should be prepared for you to write an offer right then and right there. There is obviously more to the process than this, so if you haven't made a purchase in a few years, be sure to visit the Free Forms page for more informational brochures and samples of North Carolina Contracts.

If you or someone you know needs to be represented fairly & professionally, reach out to me.
 cell: (704)787-2068    DSummerfield@WilkinsonAndAssociates.com   fax: 866-756-1575