If you are looking to buy or sell a house, we have some very useful tips you should check.
Hire an agent
You don’t have to hire a buyer’s agent if you prefer to go to open houses and look through a mumbo-jumbo of homes online, but hiring an agent will save you time. Here’s why:
An agent can send you listings directly from MLS that fit your parameters, and you won’t waste time looking at active short contingent listings that are under contract.
Agents often know of new listings coming up that are not yet on the market.
You can waste the agent’s gas and not your own when you tour homes.
Some agents will preview homes for you.
An agent can generally spot overpriced listings and advise you accordingly.
Find a Home to Buy
Buying a home can be an overwhelming process and emotionally draining. Finding the right home is not always an easy task. Schedule a maximum of seven homes at a time because any more than that will make a buyer’s head spin.
Most buyers conduct a lot of research online before ever stepping foot in a home. Buyers spend an average of six to eight weeks, trying to figure out where they want to live. Once the neighborhood is selected, most buyers end up buying a home after two or three home tours.
Get a Loan
It’s not always necessary to have a mortgage broker or bank in your back pocket before buying a home, but it’s smarter to get loan pre-approval in advance. This way you know for certain how much home to buy. Many sellers won’t look at an offer if the seller doesn’t have an assurance that the buyer can get a loan.
Negotiate the Offer
Buyers sometimes make the mistake of comparing the sales price of a home to other homes they have seen. It’s a mistake to compare sales prices among homes for sale. That’s because sellers can ask any price they want. It doesn’t mean the home will sell at that price.
An agent can provide comparable sales and examine the pending sales. Comparable sales are similar home types in the same condition and location that have sold within the past three months. Pending sales will become the comparable sales by the time your home closes.