buying a home: How To Pick A Neighborhood You’ll Love When Buying A Home
- 02/26/19 07:47 AM
How To Pick A Neighborhood You’ll Love When Buying A Home
Real estate and details go hand in hand and when you’re buying a home there are a lot of details to consider. When you purchase a home you’re making a commitment to more than just the home itself. You’re also committing to the neighborhood it’s located in.
In most cases you’re going to be living there for at least a few years and on average homeowners stay in their homes 7 years. There are certain things you should consider before you purchase a home and the neighborhood it’s located in is one … (51 comments)
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buying a home: 5 Must Do’s After Buying A Home
- 12/28/18 03:00 PM
5 Must Do’s After Buying A Home
After going through all of the steps it takes to buy a home it’s finally ALL yours! You are a happy new homeowner. You can paint the walls and customize it as much as you like but, before you dive into setting up your nest be sure to take care of these things first. The reason behind them are obvious!
Change The Locks – unless you purchased a new construction home you have no idea how many keys are floating around. Maybe the seller forgot they’d given a key to someone years ago or maybe someone … (28 comments)
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buying a home: 5 Ways Buyers Sabotage Their Home Purchase
- 07/10/18 05:49 AM
5 Ways Buyers Sabotage Their Home Purchase
Buying a home is a big event and it can lead to a lot of different emotions. The excitement is wonderful but, the stress can get to you if you let it. Don’t sabotage your dream of owning a home. Steer clear of these mistakes and you’ll stay on track right through closing on your new home!
Maintain Your Pre-Approval – just because you’re pre-approved doesn’t mean it’s good forever or that it can’t be changed. You need to stay pre-approved until after closing – even after your loan is fully approved do not make any … (38 comments)
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buying a home: Buying A Home vs. Renting A Home
- 06/08/18 02:17 PM
Buying A Home vs. Renting A Home
In the spirit of June being National Homeownership Month I thought I’d revisit the topic of buying a home vs. renting. Long before I became a real estate agent I was a big believer in buying a home or multiple homes. My belief has only strengthened as the years have gone by. Many still consider it to be the American Dream to own a home and it’s truly not as hard as one might think. Gone are the days of needing 20% down in order to get a mortgage. Home prices are rising, so are interest … (25 comments)
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buying a home: Tips For Home Buyers In A Seller’s Market
- 03/02/18 12:46 PM
Tips For Home Buyers In A Seller’s Market
Many areas are experiencing extreme seller's markets right now and Alexandria is no exception. How can you prepare as a buyer who is looking for a home in a seller’s market?
Get Pre-Approved – the market is moving very quickly and when you find the home you want to make an offer on you need to act quickly. If you have to wait one to two days to make an offer because you’re waiting for a pre-approval you risk the house going under contract. Sellers are not going to consider an offer that doesn’t have … (16 comments)
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buying a home: Buying A Home In Northern Virginia In 2018 – Part 2
- 02/17/18 05:02 AM
Buying A Home In Northern Virginia In 2018 – Part 2
This is part 2 of our buying a home in Northern Virginia in 2018 series. You can read part 1 of our series here. We pick up where we left off with senior loan officer Brian Pawsat of Caliber home loans to talk about taking the right steps to purchase a home this year and what the current market conditions mean for home buyers.
Brian makes an excellent point that unless you live with your parents you’re going to have a housing payment – that could be rent or it could be … (15 comments)
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buying a home: How Much Should I Offer on a Home?
- 02/15/18 05:50 AM
Beth Atalay, Broker and Owner of CAM Realty in Clermont, Florida gives excellent advice in her post. There are common myths about how much to offer on a home. Considering the current market conditions and the home itself are a must before deciding what to offer.
How Much Should I Offer on a Home?Buying a home is a major event in our lives and we want to make sure we’re doing everything right and not overpaying for our dream home. How do we know what that price is? It’s really not that complicated but time isn’t on your side as a buyer, … (11 comments)
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buying a home: How Many Homes Should You Tour Before Making An Offer?
- 02/04/18 09:53 AM
How Many Homes Should You Tour Before Making An Offer?
This is a question I get asked a lot. It comes from first time home buyers the most but, there are many buyers out there who wonder just how many homes they should see. The answer … there is no magic number. Sorry to disappoint but, there really isn’t a one size fits all number.
A home buyer who is focused in on one specific neighborhood probably won’t see as many homes as one who is looking at multiple neighborhoods or even multiple cities. That just comes down to the number of … (21 comments)
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buying a home: Home Buyer Pitfalls – Part 3
- 02/04/17 06:29 AM
Home Buyer Pitfalls – Part 3
This week we will conclude our Home Buyer Pitfalls series with part 3. We originally planned to share a 2 part series but, after talking with one of our preferred lenders, Brian Kempf with George Mason Mortgage we wanted to share some insight on what he is seeing buyers struggle with when getting their financing in place.
Excessive Use of Credit Cards – we’re all coming off the holidays and we know that’s the season of giving but, if you’re purchasing a home you have to be careful. Ideally utilizing 30% of your available credit is … (19 comments)
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buying a home: Home Buyer Pitfalls – Part 2
- 01/26/17 10:51 AM
Home Buyer Pitfalls – Part 2
As we mentioned last week in part 1 of our Home Buyer Pitfalls series buying a home is a big decision and an even bigger investment. Let’s look at three more pitfalls this week that home buyers should avoid.
Always Looking For A Better Deal – when you’re looking for a new home it’s important to understand there are always going to be homes entering the market; it’s inevitable inventory will fluctuate. Buyers know when they’ve found “the one” – sounds cliché but, it’s true. Trust your instincts and be prepared to make an offer. Always looking … (19 comments)
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buying a home: Home Buyer Pitfalls – Part 1
- 01/19/17 03:00 PM
Home Buyer Pitfalls – Part 1
Buying a home is one of, if not the biggest investment most people make during their lifetime. It can be a process with many unknowns because the majority of home buyers purchase between 1 and 4 homes throughout their lives. Planning ahead and preparing for your home purchase will save you a lot of time and stress. Emotional mistakes are common among home buyers because they let feelings cloud their judgment. Buyers shouldn't beat themselves up for getting emotional though, buying a home is a big deal! That said avoiding these pitfalls can save you a … (11 comments)
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buying a home: New Homes Need Home Inspections, Too
- 11/15/16 06:32 AM
Clarksville Realtor® Debbie Reynolds does an excellent job explaining why getting an inspection on a new construction home is just as important as if it were a resale home. The inspection will show you if there are any issues that need addressing. It’s not a pass to be knit picky but, an opportunity to address any major issues. Most builders have no problem addressing legitimate items that are found during a home inspection.
New Doesn't Mean It's Perfect, Get an Inspection
New homes are built by human hands. Thus errors occur and new homes can have flaws. This is why you … (10 comments)
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buying a home: Nine Steps to Buying A House
- 10/30/15 12:18 AM
Nine Steps to Buying A House
Step 1 and 2 – Decide If You’re Ready To Buy And Hire A Realtor®
Let me start by saying there are more (way more) than nine steps to buying a house but, the purpose of this post is to give home buyers a general overview of the process. There’s no blog post or infographic in the world that can replace the expertise of a local Realtor® and once you’re decided you’re ready to buy a house the very next step is to find an agent that is highly recommende, actively representing buyers, and someone who you … (43 comments)
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buying a home: Sorry To Inconvenience You With An Offer
- 08/12/12 12:30 AM
When I receive an offer I promptly confirm receipt with the agent that submitted it and let them know when I’ll present it to my sellers. I think it’s not only professional courtesy it also keeps everyone on the same page. An offer is like an open door; it’s the path to negotiations and with a lot of work in between it leads to a closing.
That being said I submitted an offer Friday and have yet to receive a response. I’ve emailed, left voicemails but, so far I’m only hearing crickets. Did our offer go into a black … (64 comments)
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buying a home: Closing On A House and Having A Baby
- 03/04/12 10:54 PM
I sat down at the closing table on Friday with a wonderful couple, they were closing on their first house and the wife was very pregnant. They had been great to work with and I was very excited for them.
They start signing the paperwork and all was going as planned until I heard “my water just broke.” Her husband jumped up in sort of a panic (I don’t blame him) and said we have to go to the hospital. The sellers had already left at this point and only the buyer’s paperwork remained. The wife calmly says no, … (5 comments)
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buying a home: Why I Chose Real Estate – And How I Knew We Were Meant To Be
- 07/19/11 04:49 AM
I can remember when I was little I wanted to be just like my Dad in every way including what I would do when I grew up; a small animal veterinarian with my own practice. I even learned how to spell veterinarian when I was 4 with my Mom's help so that I could impress my Dad. I grew up with animals; dogs, cats, at one point a pig, fish and horses. I loved horses, the minute I got off the bus my Mom would pick me up (we had a long driveway); I'd run inside change clothes and go to … (5 comments)
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buying a home: Financially Savvy Buyers
- 06/29/11 09:13 AM
As I was having a coaching session yesterday my coach and I discussed the market and the different buyers we are working with. We like to talk about what buyer's are looking for and how we can provide them with better service. As we talked both of have been observing the same trend; homebuyers are looking in price ranges that are less than what they are pre-qualified for. They aren't maxing out their finances in order to become homeowners. I am very mindful of the price range a client wants to stay within. It's very important to respect where they are financially comfortable but, … (5 comments)
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buying a home: You Should Buy A Home. That's What You've Been Hearing From Friends and Family, Right?
- 12/24/10 12:15 AM
Almost 80% of all home searches begin on the internet. In 10 seconds you can find a plethora of websites with virtual tours, photos of homes for sale, neighborhood information, tax records and mortgage information. Once you have made the decision and weighed the benefits of home ownership you have probably also imagined what type of home you'd like to buy, the area you want it in and the price range you want to stick to. When you reach the point you are ready to select an agent you are halfway to your goal of homeownership. That was easy right? Not … (0 comments)
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How To Pick A Neighborhood You’ll Love When Buying A Home
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