PART 2 (RESIDENTS- Non Military Relocating to Hawaii)
Click here for MILITARY
Celeste: Century 21 Liberty Homes. This is "Sally", may I help you?
Client (Potential): Hi, my name is ______ and we recently decided we would like to purchase a home but have no idea how to start the process.
Celeste: Are you currently working with another agent? No? Well, let me give you a little info to get started and then we can set an appointment time/date to meet.
The following tips will help you in your first steps with the home buying process.
1) You know that with buying you have tax benefits at the end of the year whereas with renting you are just paying someone else's mortgage payment and get to claim nothing at the end of the year (concerning rent vs. buying) Not only that, you will not have to worry about your rent increasing, having to move because they are selling and basically it is YOUR OWN HOME!
2) Have you talked with a local lender to see what you are qualified for? (I mean, anyone with outstanding credit can qualify for a half a million dollar home...but you need to let the lender know what kind of monthly payments you want to stay around and there's no sense looking at something that would be out of your budget/price range) We need to see what price range you qualify for so we can specifically look at property in that price range.
3) I can give you a few referrals for loan officers whom I have worked with in the past. Just make sure that you only have your credit pulled once. (If you give out your info many times your credit score goes down) My suggestion is to check with the loan officers regarding differnt types of loans. And make sure you let them know what you want to spend per month. (For condo/townhouses make sure you have the loan officer include maintenance and association fees, mo. payments for property taxes etc.) You will most likely have less worries with a fixed rate loan but go ahead and click on the following links for info regarding: Beware of Predatory Loans; Specialty Mortgages- Risks and Advantages; and last but not least TRADITIONAL MORTGAGES
4) When we find out the price range you are qualified for we can start looking at listings in the areas you prefer to live. do you have a preference for neighborhood yet? If you are unsure about the neighborhoods because you are brand new to the islands then we can look at a few properties in different areas OR if you have a couple of neighborhoods we can check those out. You may want to check out the areas schools for your children: Oahu Public Schools or Oahu Private Schools Bottom line: To be in a neighborhood you will be happy in!
Now, let's make that appointment for the time/date we can meet. Tuesday at 4pm? Great!
**Start making a list of wants/needs for the type of criteria you are wanting for your home.
Also, please click on the following link to get more info on: Suggestions (Rules) while attending Open Houses in Hawaii . So often buyer's do not know that the best representation through your purchase is if you have your own agent. (Buyer's agent) And the most likely you will pay nothing for representation as the seller's agent pays the commission. (split between seller/buyer brokerage firms) The seller's agent is the one hosting the Open House and is determined to get the best price for the seller....NOT YOU.
A short summary of (click on link) Why You Should Use a Realtor
**If you have not arrived in Hawaii yet you may want to scale down on the furniture and don't expect to have loads of sq. ft. interior to accomodate all that "stuff" you've been accumulating for the past ten years. I've learned to do a sweep of my small townhouse every six months. If I haven't used it in 6 months it most likely should be on it's way to the shelter. So when packing up your "valuables" you may want to take a look at it that way.
Celeste "Sally" Cheeseman (RA) , e-PRO
Century 21 Liberty Homes
95-221 Kipapa Drive
Mililani, Hawaii 96789
Contact: (808) 375-1404
mailto: celestecheeseman@hawaii.rr.com
http://www.hawaiihomesmarket.com/
Each Office Is Independently Owned And Operated
Celeste "SALLY" Cheeseman (RA), e-PRO HAWAII Relocations & HAWAII Real Estate
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I like your "Why you should use a Realtor" link!!!