When buying a home, there are many questions.
Ask away but be ready to make a decision.
When you are looking to purchase, make sure you want the house. Contracts are legally binding, and this is not the time to be wishy-washy.
When accepting your offer, the seller takes it off the market, starts packing, hires a moving company, and all the myriad things that go into preparing the family.
Have you talked to anyone who has had a house under contract, and there is buyer remorse? It can be devastating.
They have trusted you, your agent, and your legally binding offer.
For sure, check it out. Buying and selling a home is not to be taken lightly. Do your research, ask tons of questions about the neighborhood, the schools, the commute, HVAC age, roof, condition, previous updates, and maintenance costs. Ask anything to answer your concerns. Some are questions you can find out before you even see a house.
Make an offer, check your dates, and have a substantial deposit and your financing in place. The listing agent will talk to the lender and call the title company to ensure your EMD is good before your inspections.
But it would help if you made sure this is the final decision. There comes a time when you have to fish or get off the yacht.
Make sure you hire the best-experienced Realtor® and professionals you trust and have enough confidence to guide and address your concerns.
But there comes a time when you, the buyer, must make a decision. There is a time to stop asking the immediate world their opinion of what you want to do. Because...almost everyone who has lived in a house somehow becomes the "expert" and is ready and willing to give advice. These experts may include friends, neighbors, barbers, retired or unsuccessful real estate agents, babysitters, parents, and in-laws.
When this questioning becomes excessive, I use the term analysis paralysis.
In a seller's market, your chances of winning the house under these circumstances are not favorable.
Of course, you have to protect yourself with the guidance of an excellent professional agent—making demands or renegotiating after the contract is signed can and probably will backfire.
And remember, your history, along with your agent's history, follows you.
Ask the other agent how long they have been working with you, have they made previous offers, and why they didn't move forward. Agents know their areas, inventories, colleagues, when a property falls through, and the reasons. Word travels. As an agent, you do not want to get a reputation for being difficult or unreasonable. The Realtor® can make and break deals.
So go ahead, do your research, ask your questions, get the information, but it is time to decide!
Thinking about buying or selling a home
Call Margaret Rome
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