The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Buyers – Determined or dilettante?
Are you a buyer or a dreamer? The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Sunday Edition, May 4, 2008) offers excellent advice for buyers:
1) Get Pre-Approved Before You Begin Shopping. Let your mortgage provider guide you as you determine your purchase price. Most buyers guess what they can afford. The mortgage markets have become very conservative with their lending policies and many buyers are shocked when they find out that they can’t afford their price.
2) Know Your Credit Score. In this market, you must know your credit score and how this number plays a significant role in determining your interest rate and purchase price.
3) Know The Difference Between The Pre-Approved Amount And What You Want To Spend
4) Know What You Need Versus What You Want. If the market allows it, you might actually find a home that takes care of both lists. But, don’t be surprised if you have to negotiate and weigh all of your options. The key phrase in this market: Be realistic. Just because it is a buyers' market, doesn’t mean that the Taj Mahal will be in your price range.
5) Don’t Love Every House You See. If you do, then you don’t know what you want. If this is the case, go back to the drawing board and re-focus on your needs and wants.
6) Don’t Be Too Critical of Every House You See. Again, be realistic. You might have to lower your expectations.
7) Don’t Fool Yourself To Believe You Are In Control In This Buyers' Market. There are certain submarkets in Milwaukee that have yet to feel the effects of the sluggish housing market. Know the submarket in which you are shopping. If the house appeals to you, it will most likely appeal to other buyers too. Bidding wars are still seen in today’s market.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: The Clock Is Ticking – Agents tell buyers, sellers to be efficient (Joanne Cleaver)
This article focuses on a couple that has seen their friends make lots of mistakes when shopping for a home. They decided to take a more efficient approach.
Before contacting an agent, they visited open houses to determine the state of the real estate market. By visiting open houses, they were able to establish their expectations for what they can realistically afford. Also, they were able to determine their wants and needs as well as what they liked and didn’t like. They determined their preferred neighborhood location. They determined the style and age of the house. They were able to do all of this before hiring an agent to represent them in the transaction.
Many buyers, like this couple, prefer to do as much work as possible before speaking to an agent. When asked about this process, many of these buyers feel that they would be wasting an agent's time if an agent was involved from the very beginning of their search. However, if you know the name of the agent you will ultimately hire to represent you during your purchase, please let the open house agent know that you are working with an agent. Your agent will thank you for your assistance.
Although it is a buyers' market, that doesn’t mean that buyers have time to waste. This article suggests that buyers should not waste time by looking at several dozen properties before deciding on their home. The article also suggests that buyers should not waste time by submitting offers which they don’t think will stand a chance of being countered, at a minimum. The wife featured in this article said, “You’re always taking a chance that you might get a better deal, but while you’re worrying about that, you might lose something you love.”
Another reason to be efficient with your search has to do with the new lending practices of mortgage providers. These days, lenders are offering pre-approval letters with a much smaller window. Lenders are forcing time pressures on buyers. According to the article, “the tighter the time frame of prequalifying, making an offer and closing, the better the chances that the deal will hold together.”
Joanne Cleaver, writer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes more about the importance of being an efficient buyer in this marketplace. For more house hunting tips and suggestions, click here to read the entire article titled, “The clock is ticking: Agents tell buyers, sellers to be efficient”>>>
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