Buying a home is a long, complicated process, especially for first-time home buyers. It is not something I would recommend you do alone. I remember when we bought our first home. OMG!!! It was stressful and caused me much anxiety. So if you are considering buying your first home, or any home for that matter, it is my suggestion you team up with a professional real estate agent. No, I am not just saying that because I am a real estate broker. It's really true!
Here in Texas, we are required to stay current with the law and keep our license active through mandatory continuing education or MCE. If not, the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC ( http://www.trec.state.tx.us/ )) pulls our ticket! Period.
Using an agent will save you time, energy and most of all worry or concern over the process. What is better than having someone who works for you at your side to answer all your questions?!?
An agent will help you with your credit score. You may think it is too low for a loan. However, agents know within as little as 45 days, you can change your score to a level acceptable to most financial institutions. Ask her or him to introduce you to their financial contact who will sit down and work with you.
An item we discussed in the Real Estate Law class I took this week was about externalities. Most home buyers do not even know what that is. Well, to be direct, an externality is something outside of the property you are considering to buy, having a usually negative impact on the value or future value of the property. No, I am not trying any double talk with you. Most folks look at the property when searching for a home and not the neighborhood around it. This can be a terrible mistake.
A home along the exterior of a development with a large empty field between the homes and the nearest street usually means the vacant property is zoned for commercial uses. If you buy a home along this perimeter, it will be worth less than the homes on the interior of the development when it comes time to sell.
Another item first-time buyers want to pass up is a home inspection. Big mistake!! A home inspection will tell you whether or not there are any undiscovered latent defects with the property. It is even possible the owners were not aware of a problem until discovered by the inspector. This gives you the high ground with negotiations and/or will help you to decide to move on to another property.
We could go one, however my hope is you now know there are a lot of small items you are not aware of a professional agent will help you with. And remember, an agent works for you, has your best interests in mind and can only get paid when they are successful.
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