Yes, there are things to fear when buying a home. But this page (and I) will show you how to anticipate those potential problems before they ever happen.
So what is there to fear when buying a home? In my view, several things:
1. Buying a home in an unsafe area, or an area where the home won't appreciate well.
2. Buying a type of property that will not appreciate well, no matter what kind of neighborhood it is in.
3. Over-paying for a home.
4. Buying a home with physical problems, such as a leaky roof, a bad furnace, or any other things that will take a lot of money to fix... and/or buying a home that is unsafe (like wiring, structure, etc.)
In my opinion, those are the main things to fear.
So. How do we make sure these problems don't occur?
Well, in the first place, you need a really trustworthy Buyer Agent. This is probably the largest purchase you will ever make in your life. Make sure you work with someone who not only knows what they are doing, but who cares about you.
Sure, that may sound hokey. That may sound like a "line". But it's still true. If you are a first-time buyer, you can't do this on your own. You need someone who will "hold your hand" through the entire process, from start to finish.
Hey, we all like money, don't we? We all like it when we get our paychecks. We need to take care of our families, we need to put food on the table, and maybe even buy some cool toys now and then. :-) I'm no different.
BUT...
My paycheck never comes ahead of my client. I have many times advised clients not to buy a particular home, because it wasn't right for them. There are too many homes out there to settle for one that isn't right for you.
So let's go back to fears #1 and #2: Simply put, you don't want to buy a home that will not go up in value.
Quite simply, I am not going to let that happen to my clients. Hey, I want you to be as educated as possible. That's why I created this website. I want you to do all the research that you want to do. But even if someone is totally clueless about buying a home, know this: When you work with Mike Davis, you won't have to worry about buying a home that won't appreciate.
Now let's address fear #3: Over-paying for a home.
You actually have three "safety nets" on this one. First, again, you have your Buyer Agent. I will never let a client of mine over-pay for a home.
Second -- and this may sounds strange at first -- you have yourself. What do I mean by that?
I mean that if you look at more than a few homes, you start getting a feel for what homes in your price range go for. Let me show you what I mean.
Let's say you want to buy a TV. So it's a Saturday, and you decide to go to Best Buy, to Wal-Mart, to Target, and other stores. You know how much money you want to spend.
At the end of a few hours of going to all these stores, will you know which store has the best price on the TV you want? Of course you will. Why? Because you've shopped around -- you didn't just go to one store.
It's the same with shopping for a home. Your Buyer Agent has seen thousands of homes and has the experience to not let you over-pay for a home. But once he or she shows you more than 4 or 5 homes, you start to get an idea yourself. You may see a home, and then go see another home a few minutes later. Then you start to think: "Hmmmm.... this one is $10,000 more than the other one, and it's not nearly as nice!"
See what I mean?
There's a final "safety net". After you write an offer on the home with your Buyer Agent, your loan officer will send out an appraiser to make sure that you are not over-paying. After all, the bank does not want to lend you the money for the home if it's not worth what you are paying for it!
If that happens, the seller either has to sell it to you at the appraised price, or cancel the transaction. The latter would be inconvenient, but you will at least not have over-paid for the home.
I hope you can see how hard it is to over-pay for a home (that is, if you are working with a trustworthy Buyer Agent and Loan Officer).
OK, so on to fear #4: Buying a home with problems. (I'm sure you don't want to star in the sequel to The Money Pit!) How do we avoid this?
Have you ever heard of a "Home Inspection"? Probably. Here's how it works:
When you and I write an offer on a home, we will make that offer subject to a satisfactory home inspection. Within a few days, you, a qualified Home Inspector, and me will go through the entire home, from top to bottom. A professional Home Inspector will take hours to inspect the home. What is nice is that you can follow him around and ask him questions. The Inspector I recommend tells people that he is available any time with questions, even after you move in.
A good Home Inspector will give you a typed professional report on everything to do with your new home.
So: What if there are problems?
If you are buying a home that is not brand new, there are always going to be maintenance things to watch. But what I don't want is for one of my clients to buy a home with major problems or safety issues. I don't want you to move in and then have to spend $1000 on the furnace.
If there are problems, then you and I will discuss that. YOU will decide what you want the seller to fix, and I will advise you as well. We will put that in writing, and if the seller does not honor our request, then you do not have to buy the home.
So as you can see, if you have a good Home Inspector, it is pretty hard to buy a home with problems. But beware: There are unprofessional people in every field. That's why I recommend only one: He's very thorough.
In addition, with every offer that my team and I write, we have the seller pay for a home warranty for you. This is FREE to you -- and by the way, I don't make any money on this. It covers you for the first 12 months, and you can always renew it if you want to. The warranty company that we use covers almost everything that can go wrong with a home. It's really nice piece of mind.
To sum up, there are a lot of things that can go wrong when you buy a home. Please don't trust the biggest financial decision of your life to just anyone. Work with me -- I will take great care of you.
Questions? Please post them below, or contact me:
mike@mikedavishomes.com
515.259.1078
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