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— Mark Gunning (@MarkGunningTeam) September 30, 2015
September 30, 2015 at 01:56PM
via Twitter https://twitter.com/MarkGunningTeam
Check out our #listing in #Mesa on a #CuldeSac http://t.co/wlw6cyvNnK http://t.co/oa8qF3WCvL9/30/2015
September 30, 2015 at 01:56PM via Twitter https://twitter.com/MarkGunningTeam
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September 29, 2015 at 02:00PM via Twitter https://twitter.com/MarkGunningTeam As you start on your exciting journey of buying a home, you will most likely have to deal with one or two unforeseen factors. In a previous article, we talked about how to find an excellent real estate agent and why you should consider using a team versus just a single agent.
Even if you are the seller paying the real estate commissions, it won’t cost you a cent more to have 3 to 5 people, like The Mark Gunning Team, watching out for your interests versus one single agent. With that being said, here is a simple step by step road map to help you plan ahead for when you are ready to buy your home. Step 1 & 2. Getting loan pre-approval and determining how much home you can afford.I have lumped steps 1 & 2 together because they are all about determining how much home you can afford and getting preapproved for your mortgage through a lender. Most good agents can recommend a good mortgage broker/banker that will help you get preapproved and ready to go out and look for that new home. Typically you can find a better deal through a mortgage broker versus a standard bank because they have access to a pool of lenders who will vie against each other to be able to do your loan, but this is totally up to you. Step 3. Start your home buying research early.It is pretty easy to find homes for sale on the internet these days. There are many different websites you can visit. In the early stages of your online research, you might want to focus on learning more about neighborhoods, schools, shopping and subdivisions and not worry about the exact homes that are for sale. Make note of the average home selling prices and after a while you’ll be able to whittle down your search to a few areas that you like and can afford to live in. Note: When you are ready to go out and look for homes that are for sale, the best results online will be from an agent’s website that is providing live MLS searches. Typically out here in the Phoenix area, you have to give up your name and email address after the 2nd search if you want to keep the live access. You will find that having full access to the Phoenix MLS will allow you to search to your heart’s content and also save your favorite searches, & even set up alerts for new homes that just went onto the market. Hopefully by this time you have also begun researching agents and are narrowing that down to 2 or 3 that you can interview on the phone before making a final decision. Step 4. Go out find a home and make an offer.Now the fun begins. Search hard every morning and go out and look at homes in the afternoon with your real estate agent! Or whatever your schedule allows… You can set up email alerts for new homes going on the market in your desired area and in your price range. This works well if you are in a crazy, seller’s market and homes are gobbled up quickly by other buyers. When you find a home you want to make an offer on, walk through it thoroughly checking faucets and plumbing. Check light switches, etc. It is advisable to take a lot of pictures too. Not only is it fun for you to share the photos with friends and family, you now have a permanent record of what is in the house just in case something is “changed out.” Take as much time as you need to find the right home. Then work with your real estate agent to negotiate a fair offer based on the value of comparable homes in the same neighborhood. Once you and the seller have reached agreement on a price, the house will go into escrow, which is the period of time it takes to complete all of the remaining steps in the home buying process. Step 5. Get a home inspection!Typically after your offer is accepted you have a 10 day inspection period which allows you to bring in your home inspector and make sure there isn’t any structural or hidden major damage that will bring costly repairs in the future. You will send the final inspection report to the seller and then decide if you want any repairs done by the seller. This is also the time when you make your final decision whether to close on the home or walk away and continue your search. FYI: Typically at the expiration of your 10 day inspection period your earnest money become non-refundable but this is all negotiable between you and the seller. Step 6. Time to select your loan and have the home appraised.Lenders have a wide variety of loans available and most likely you will already know what type of loan will work best for you by this point in time. As soon as you give the word, your lender will order the appraisal of the home. Step 7. Finalize all of the paperwork.As the buyer, you get to choose the title company. They will handle all of the paperwork. Now is the time when having an entire real estate team can really help get the deal closed, as with all of the moving parts it is easy to forget something. Step 8. Close the sale and move in!You will meet at the title company to sign all of the paperwork & finalize the sale. At this time you will bring down your cashier’s check for your down payment. Once the check is delivered to the seller, the home closes, & you can move in your new home. Congratulations you are now a home owner! The post Steps to Buying a Home Successfully appeared first on The Mark Gunning Team West USA Realty. via The Mark Gunning Team West USA Realty http://ift.tt/1PJqr5l
September 23, 2015 at 09:00AM via Twitter https://twitter.com/MarkGunningTeam So, you have decided to purchase a new home. You also have your loan approval and down payment money ready. What’s next?
All that is left is to locate an excellent real estate agent that will help you find your dream home. Here is a handy step by step guide to make sure you can find the best agent to suit your needs. #1 Do your homework!Choose a few areas or neighborhoods that you would like to research and potentially live in. Also, if you have children, look into the schools in these areas to find out what they offer. Check out the area grocery stores, shopping malls and other locations you frequent to see if they are convenient to where you could be living. Don’t forget your route to work, does your potential neighborhood offer easy access and minimal traffic to the office? Once you have a good idea of the areas you want to look in, keep this in mind: The best agents typically are the ones who specialize in a certain area or neighborhood as they will know the ins and outs of living there. However, how do you find a good agent who might specialize in the areas you want to look at houses? #2 Ask for agent referrals from family and friends.Ask yourself, “Who do I know that has recently purchased a home?” Put together a short list of agents recommended by people close to you that have used an agent with good results. You can also approach friends who are agents but make sure they are good at what they do as a bad deal gone south can kill a good friendship quickly. If you don’t have any people close by that can give you a referral, ask your Facebook friends and do a few searches online. Reach out to your Twitter and Instagram friends as well. If you still haven’t found any likely suspects, then start searching on Google. Try searches like; “Name of subdivision or area” + “real estate agent.” Hopefully after all of this, you have a short list of 4 or 5 agents that you can check out in the next steps. #3 Research your short list of agents online.Look for reviews on sites like Google+ and Yelp. What are people saying about them? Previous people’s experiences will tell you a lot about the agent. Read through all of their reviews. This should give you a good idea their client approach and what kind of service they offer. However, remember one bad review doesn’t necessarily mean that the agent is not good. Nobody can please all the people all the time… Next, look for blog articles on their website. Do any of these agents write articles to help people with their real estate searches? This can also show their expertise in the real estate field. Some of the best agents out there will write a weekly blog article because they want to educate people as much as possible about buying and selling a home. Then, check out their social media. Do they have a professional Facebook business page? Do they regularly engage with their audience or is their last post from 2012? How about Twitter? Are they active? Do they send out valuable content to help people? You can learn a lot about prospective agents just by taking a few minutes by checking them out online. If they don’t have many people engaging and talking about them, it might be hard for you to determine how good they are. #4 Set up a quick phone interview.Before you meet with any agents in person, choose 2 or 3 and call them up. Be direct and ask them why you should hire them to represent your interests. Ask them about how knowledgeable they are on areas you want to look for houses in. Do they have any input on the schools or shopping malls? You are looking for a professional whose first interest should be to help you and your family locate the best home, in the best area, for the best price. Something else to keep in mind, as you are weeding through your list of agents. Do they work alone or are they part of a team? As a home buyer, you do not have to pay a buyer’s agent a commission to represent you, the seller of the home pays both commissions to the buying and selling agents. With that in mind, does it not make sense that an experienced real estate team made up of 3 to 5 agents will do a better and more thorough job representing you, versus just a solo agent? The Mark Gunning Team is such a team and would love the opportunity to work for you. Please be sure to include us in your short list to interview! The post How to Find an Excellent Real Estate Agent appeared first on The Mark Gunning Team West USA Realty. via The Mark Gunning Team West USA Realty http://ift.tt/1FdEyQe After the real estate crash of 2007 – 2008 banks and lenders are more cautious than ever with whom they will loan money to for a real estate purchase. If you find yourself dealing with some credit issues, you might want to really focus on getting them repaired before you start your new home search. If you are wondering what a decent to good credit score is, check out a blog post on credit.com Not only will your interest rate for your new home be higher if you have a lower credit score, but other things that come along with it will be affected as well. Did you know that your home owners insurance could cost you twice as much if you have a bad credit score? People with fair credit could pay as much as 32% more according to credit.com "You’re probably already aware that credit scores are a major factor when you’re buying a home, because your credit score affects the interest rate you get on your mortgage. Considering how big home loans are, a few credit score points could translate into a slightly higher rate, which ultimately can add up to thousands of dollars in interest over the life of the loan. Of course, there are many more expenses that come with buying a house than taking out a mortgage. Pretty much everyone takes out homeowners insurance, which can — on average — tack on nearly $100 or so to your monthly homeownership expenses. On top of that, you could be paying higher insurance premiums just because you don’t have a good credit score” Read more here… Also that new furniture you need for your new home will probably come with a higher interest rate, & you’ll have to make larger deposits for utilities. In short depending on your credit score, you could be paying a heck of a lot more to buy that new home now. But alas, hope is not all lost. How to Fix Your Credit Score Fast (6 Months from Poor to 700) There are a few steps you can take to start fixing your credit right now. Go out and get a secured credit card. These cards have you put up a security deposit usually in the $300 range. You will pay a higher rate, but if you completely pay the balance off every month you won’t see much extra costs. Maybe use the card for your monthly groceries? And pay it off at the end of the month in full. Make sure you pay all of your utility bills as fast as they come in. FICO recently announced that they will be incorporating new data into the algorithms that generate credit scores and how fast you pay your utility bills will be in this update. Make sure you pay them in full as well. Lastly, pick a bill you are struggling with and try to get it paid down as fast as you can. Taking a second part time job is a great way to earn extra dough to get that credit score fixed fast! |
Mark GunningHello my name is Mark Gunning and I have assembled a real estate team that's only focus is on giving exemplary service to each and every person we work with in the Phoenix area. http://markgunning.com ArchivesCategories |