Five Realtor Secrets Home Buyers Should Know

Michael, 

Love your post!  These are great points that your Realtor can help you with.  Folks seem to like Greatschools.com for school info as well. 

Welcome to ActiveRain!

All the best, Michelle

Michal

We see pretty dramatic differences in our area along the ocean, in particular depending on schools, but also by neighborhood and proximity to the beach. And being west of the freeway here is huge in terms of pricing differentials, as are views. Not everyone who is looking for a home understands these issues, which is part of the value we bring to the picture.

Congrats on a well-deserved feature.

Jeff

Michal good tips and congrats on the feature, Happy New Year.

some good common sense points made ... know the area before yo fall n love with the house

Interesting list, however, I'm not sure those items are more important than the location, namely the area or neighborhood. The price of the home is relative to the neighborhood, so sometimes a good price may not be a really a good price.

Michal - The tax issue is an important one. Here in our small town, people who live within the City Limits pay just about double the property tax of those living in the County.

Of course there's a trade-off - we in the County don't have City water or sewer or garbage pickup at the curb. But... we don't have to pay a monthly fee for those services either. Once our wells and septic are in, they're in. We do have to take our own trash to the dump, but that's not a big deal. 

For me it's a no-brainer, since I wouldn't ever deliberately live on a city lot with other homes only a few feet away.

I'm sitting here trying to think of some advantage to living in town and paying more property tax. So far, nothing comes to mind.

The schools might trump prices in some cases. Taxes are an issue and can't be avoided. But schools may rank the highest with a young family.

Very good post and the sort of stuff I like to share.  I will get this reblogged tomorrow or next week.

you forgot....don't buy anything before close of escrow.  I have seen buyer loan ratios ruined because they bought new furniture for the house before closing or a new car.  It's a bummer.

Good things for buyers to know.  In some counties in my area, senior citizens get a discount on school taxes.  That makes a difference to some buyers.  Congrats on the feature. 

well said in

Five Realtor Secrets Home Buyers Should Know

Michal and thanks for sharing these wonderful points.

these points really helped

jimmy phan

Mike great post, a good school system is very important  when it is time to sell the home as it will be more sought after than a home in an area with a poor school system.

Succinctly said... however simplistic... but good stuff nonetheles

Michal - Thank you for sharing detailed quality information on five Realtor secrets home buyers should know.

Hi Michal, great post and advice for buyers.  Also, they need to know we don't get paid unless they use us all the way to close!

If schools, crime rates and/or tax millages are important for determining where to buy a house, find out this info Before you start looking. It will save a lot of time and disappointment early. Buyers agents can help you determine some of this and can point you to online resources for the rest.

Michal, smart tips that any home buyer should consider.  We did not have children and were not planning on having children, so we bought in an area with low EQAO (School measure) scores.  But we did consider the potential on resale values...

Great points to help buyers start to wrap their head around the strategies involved in purchasing.

Great facts to point out Michal.  The outskirts of big cities can grow extremely fast in some areas and next thing you know it is almost part of the city you wanted to live in. Great info to explain to buyers, particularly those relocating!  Thanks

That's agreat list. I guess we have a few less secrets now!