Real Estate Blog - FIVE BIGGEST MISTAKES BUYERS MAKE WHEN LOOKING FOR HOUSES

Home : Blogs : GITA BANTWAL, REALTOR BUCKS COUNTY, PA HOMES : Philadelphia, Bucks and Montgomery Counties Real Estate. Tips for home buyers, home sellers by Gita Bantwal,Realtor at ReMax Centre Realtors.

FIVE BIGGEST MISTAKES BUYERS MAKE WHEN LOOKING FOR HOUSES

1. Failing to get preapproved. Before you start your home search, please sit down with a loan officer and discuss your financing options. There may be some issues with your credit that you might not be aware of. It is a good idea to know how much you qualify for and what to expect in monthly payments and how much cash you will need.

2. Not working with a Real Estate Agent. Real Estate Agents have knowledge of the homes for sale and homes that sold. If you just look at the open houses and sale by owners you will be wasting a lot of time and may not get to see many homes that are listed.

3.Working with many Real Estate agents. You may not want to be stuck with an inefficient agent so you should ask your friends for referrals or go to a few open houses and see if you are comfortable with an agent. But if you call different agents from the sale signs and look at those houses, you should remember that the listing agent represents the seller. You could ofcourse ask the agent to be a dual agent . You should check out your state laws on agency. Some do not allow dual agency. If you work with many agents, they may sense it, and they may not want to waste time with you and you might miss out on some good opportunities.

4. Not working with a Buyers Agent. A Buyers agent can help you by showing you homes that suit your criteria, the agent will save you time by emailing you listings, by making appointments and coordinating the showings. Once you find a house you like, the agent will do a market evaluation to determine a price and help with negotiations. The agent will help you every step of the way .

5. Not searching for homes online. You can save a lot of time and gas by narrowing your search online. the agent may recommend the site, you may go on www.Realtor.com or some other sites .Many companies like ReMax, Prudential,Century 21, etc show all listings on web site through cooperation with other Brokerages.

If you are a home buyer in Pa, go to www.parealtor.org and read the consumer notice to read about agency relationships in Pa .

If you are looking for homes in Philadelphia and suburbs look up listings on my web site www.gitabantwal.com

Posted by GITA BANTWAL, REALTOR BUCKS COUNTY, PA HOMES on 08/03/2007 07:21 AM

Comments (5)

tips for home buyers

Originally posted at: Philadelphia, Bucks and Montgomery Counties Real Estate. Tips for home buyers, home sellers by Gita Bantwal,Realtor at ReMax Centre Realtors.: FIVE BIGGEST MISTAKES BUYERS MAKE WHEN LOOKING FOR HOUSES

5 Comments on FIVE BIGGEST MISTAKES BUYERS MAKE WHEN LOOKING FOR HOUSES

AUG

2007

Gita- Very true. Getting pre-approved would have to be #1. Without pre-approval your not going to be looked at as a serious buyer. I know I would never let a seller client even think about accepting an offer without a pre-approval.

AUG

2007

Gita- I hope this information is on Google :) it would help a lot if some people understood their options/resources before just trying to buy.

I have it posted on localism. Hope people will find it. I do not know how people would find it on google.

Gita - Pre Approval is a definate number 1 for buyers. Another mistake buyers make, especially the first time ones, is understanding the process from start to finish. I find that not only do I send them to get pre approved, but I also do an education process with them. None seem to know about the deposit escrow, inspections so i make an effort to explain everything that they might encounter.

AUG

2007

I agree. When I first meet buyers they are so eager to start looking at houses that they do not want to spend time at my office , I try to spend half an hour explaining the process, and give them some hand outs. I wish they can spare more time to learn more about the home buying process. Then when they are ready to make the offer, I spend a lot more time explaining the process before they sign anything.

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