Marlboro Homes - Roy Giordano Helping First Time Home Buyers

Roy Giordano Helping First Time Home Buyers in Marlboro NJ


Marlboro Homes - Roy Giordano

Is this the right time to buy a home?  Waiting to take advantage of the $8,000 Tax Credit? There are a lot of good reasons to buy a home right now, interest rates are at their lowest in years, there are a lot of homes to choose from, and buying your first home will most likely be the best long-term investment you ever make.

As first time home buyers, there are some things you need to know.

First you must realize that you are not alone, many people are now seriously looking to buy their first home and the competition when bidding on homes can be fierce. The following are some explanations of the different ownership types of homes for sale, and what you might expect to encounter.

With a bank-owned home, there is usually little or no negotiating on price, repairs, or closing costs.  That can mean you maybe out additional dollars fixing up a house, and you may have to weigh that into how much you want to spend out of pocket, and if you can afford any extras.  A bank-owned home is usually priced below the rest of the competition making it even more competitive with first-time buyers and investors who are looking for a good deal to 'flip'. 

With an investor-owned home, it may have been 're-habbed' with new carpet, appliances, landscaping, and if lucky a new roof.  These homes may have originally been bought with the sole purpose to resell and make a profit.  These homes are also very competitive with first-time buyers as you seldom need to make or request repairs, it's already been done.  You may also be able to request help with closing costs!

A short sale home is where the current owner is behind with their mortgage payments, and are negotiating with their lender to sell their home for it's current value, have the lender take a loss on the mortgage amount and the seller walk away.  This process can take up to 4 - 6 months depending on the listing agent and their background experience in negotiating the short sale process.  There may be a refusal for any repairs, closing costs, termite, etc as you are not dealing with the actual seller but their mortgage company or bank, who is already losing a lot of money by letting the home sell for less that what it was purchased at.

A property in today's market may have more than one offer, if you get lucky you may get an acceptance the first time, the 3rd, 5th, or more.  It all depends on several things:

If you have sufficient savings to cover your closing costs on top of your initial deposit and any additional funds for possibly repairs/termite clearance.

If you have a lender who can guarantee to close escrow within 30 days.

If you can possibly qualify for a conventional loan (at least 10% or more down) versus an FHA loan (3.5% down)

If you are not signed up for a rental lease that still has over 2 months to expire - do you want to pay rent and a mortgage for a month while they overlap?

And if you have an agent who knows the market area in which you are buying, can communicate on a regular basis with other agents who may be holding your offers, and does not encourage you to over-bid.

There are many variables, but if you know what to expect, it will make it a little easier to understand if your offer is rejected, it's not personal, you just keep trying.

GOOD LUCK!  Here's to owning your very first home!

If you would like more information about first time home buying, contact me at 732-213-2438.

You can also get a Free Market Snapshot of the area you're interested in, it's easy and it's FREE!

Roy Giordano 732-213-2438. Just one call away.

                                   Helping first time home buyers in Marlboro NJ