I am an agent that lives the lives of most my buyers. I understand our needs for communication, education, flexibility and need for instant access and well wanting more then we can truly afford. I was a first time home buyer and now specialize working with first time home buyers in the Orlando area to help them realize their dreams of home ownership

With that being said I am contacted on a daily basis by first time home buyers who have found me via the internet on my first time home buyers site and via my blogs here on ActiveRain.

So I thought I would use some of these questions to create a blog to answer some of those questions that most first time home buyers have.

1. My husband and I are planning on buying a home next year, so we are renewing our lease.  The main reason we are waiting so long is mainly because we wanted to have something saved up for closing costs and some sort of down payment, how much will we need?

Great question. First off if choosing to renew your lease talk to your apartment complex before hand, tell them you are looking for a home and should you find something you want to work out a deal where you can break your lease with 30 days notice and not pay penalties. Next with down payment programs like Nehemiah and Ameridream it's still possible to move into a home with little to no money out of pocket. The seller can gift to you through these programs your closing costs and down payment. Closing costs and prepaids run between 3.5-6% of the purchase price and FHA loans require 3% down payment, again we can generally get these funds gifted to you and do not need to be repaid.

However generally in order to be approved for a loan the bank will want to see some funds in savings generally 2-3 months worth of mortgage payments is a good rule of thumb. Contact me today to find out how much home you qualify for, hjoubran@remax.net

2. I noticed on your website that the seller would be responsible for your commission. Is that normal or are there instances where the buyer would pay the commission?

The buyers agent who works for you the buyer is paid from the seller. The only time this would not be the case is if you were to purchase a For Sale By Owner and they would not pay the buyers agent commission, however in todays market I would say that would be less then 1% of FSBOs. This is a strong arguement for why you should work with a realtor, you pay nothing out of pocket, you have someone negotiating on your behalf, lending their expertise to your transaction. They also do the leg work in finding properties and showing them. There is a much longer list of why you should use a realtor, but simply email me, hjoubran@remax.net if you have additional questions.

3.Once we start looking for a home, will you only send listings for homes you or Remax are the selling agents for or will you be sending listings for homes that are represented by other agents and companies? If we were to notice a property we wanted to look at, how would we go about doing so?

To me this was not a question I have thought about but is generally the top of the list for most home buyers. As a Realtor I am part of the board of realtors, meaning that I will send you all properties that meet your housing criteria, whether it's listed by me, remax or any other realtor out there. So if it's on the MLS  (Multiple Listing Service or the back end of what feeds realtor.com) I will send it to you. Also I work closely with home builders so I will provide you with new construction options as they become available. Now if you are driving around see a property that you like simply write down the address and provide this information to me and I will gladly do the leg work. Also if you see a For Sale By Owner, write down the address of the property and the telephone number and I will handle the rest.

4. Are you a full or part-time realtor, what “office hours” do you normally keep, and if you show homes on weekends?

When looking for an agent to help you in your home purchase this is an important question to ask. I am a full time realtor. This is my profession and I continually attend additional education classes throughout the year to grow my knoweldge of my industry, hone  my negotiations skills and to stay abreast of programs available for my buyers. In real estate there are no true normal business hours.

I am always available via Text Messaging and email even during off peak hours unless Im sleeping. But I am generally available via phone from the hours of 9-7 pm. I do make exception for those that are out of state or work odd hours. Please note if I am with a client I will not answer my phone, I feel it's inconsiderate of my clients time when they are with me and will give you the same respect when you work with me. I will however return your call as soon as possible. Or simply send me a text for a quicker response.

Over the next few week I will add more question and answers and hope that you continue to come back to my blog or click to subscribe to my RSS feed

For information on buying, selling, or auctions in Central Florida, Orange County and Seminole County, new construction, bank owned, short sale and foreclosure properties and Relocation services contact your Lake Mary Real Estate Agent Heather Joubran @ 407-810-6304 or hjoubran@remax.net.

Seminole County consists of Lake Mary, Sanford, Heathrow, Longwood, Altamonte springs, Winter Springs, Oviedo. Orange County consists of Orlando, Downtown Orlando, Baldwin Park, Windermere, Apopka, Winter Park, Maitland, Disney, UCF, East Orlando, Lake Nona.

I can help you with all your housing needs from Luxury Homes to First Time Home Buyers

"Always work with a Realtor when selling a home. Would you hire a Realtor who has never sold a house before, knows nothing about real estate law, contract negotiation, or sales? Of course not – but that describes you. Don’t hire yourself – hire a real estate sales professional." ~ Ric Edelman