Wise Homebuyers make Informed Decisions

Every relationship with a home buyer starts with a thorough consultation, where the agent learns how you live your life and which homes and communities best meet your needs.   If you are an ocean lover you might want to live within 15-30 minutes from the beach or if you are the outdoors type, you might prefer a more rural setting with more land.  Hampton Roads has a very active housing market, with many new construction communities, established resale communities and a healthy inventory of rehabbed homes that offer new construction look and feel, often at the price of a resale home.  Each of these home buying opportunities is explained so that you understand what your options are before you make your first home shopping trip.

When buying a home you must consider the possibility that you will resell the home later.  Your Trustworthy agent will help you evaluate the attractiveness of the community and home to future buyers.  Or - you might find that you are a great candidate for a community that is undergoing aggressive gentrification.   There is a cycle that many communities follow, that includes the value of the homes dropping to the point that builders and investors recognize the opportunity to buy, tear down, and build new homes.  New construction homes are more aggressively priced early in a communities gentrification process, so you can typically get more home for the money, and have higher hopes for equity as the community values improve with the process.

Once you find a potential home:

Finding the home is only the first step in the process.  Your Trustworthy agent will help you evaluate the home and its community.

Home Condition  

This might be one of the trickiest parts in the home buying process.   While you are looking at the layout of the home, your Trustworthy agent is taking notes on the condition of the windows, roof, appliances . . .   They also look to see how well the home is maintained.   Waiting for the home inspection to uncover things easily seen at this stage is a mistake often made by first-time homebuyers and newer agents.  The condition of the home is a factor in verifying the homes market value and its potential for sweat equity should you decide that this is the right home for you.  For most, the most important benefit of knowing the condition of the home at this stage is avoiding the expense of a home inspection and the time you are off the market only to decide later that the home will not meet your needs, and you have to start all over.   A Trustworthy agent will flag certain conditions in the purchase offer so that you know "before" you have an accepted contract that the Seller will agree to correct these conditions. 

Pricing

Is the home priced at market value?  A competitive market analysis (CMA) is conducted to determine the fair market value (FMV). Fair market value is the price you want to avoid exceeding if at all possible.   Your Trustworthy agent will take the condition of the home into consideration when determining the fair market value.  Does the value reflect that the windows need to be replaced?  Is the general condition of the home better or worse than the comparable sales?  What adjustments need to be made to bring the home price in line with other sales in the community. 

Negotiation strategy

Too many buyers want to open with an offer based on a gut feeling, not its fair market value.  But there is more involved than gut feelings when deciding on what to offer, and what is your walk away point.  Your Trustworthy agent will seek to determine how much equity a Seller has in the home.  A Seller that has lots of equity is more likely to accept a lower offer than a Seller bringing money to closing.  When you need to take possession of a home will impact your offer as well.  If you can offer and close in 30-45 days, it might be worth the Seller taking a lower offer when they know that they can move on with their life quickly, avoiding the uncertainty of waiting for a distant closing date.

Home Inspection

Now that you know the homes general condition, and have an accepted offer at a price consistent with its condition and comparable sales, it is time to make sure that the home isn't a disguised money pit.  A good home inspection will uncover maintenance issues, the general age and useful life remaining on the mechanicals and appliances, code compliance, electrical systems, plumbing systems and of course the need for costly repairs or structural issues. The single most important value in a home inspection is the identification of costly or structural issues that can turn a dream home into a nightmare.  Your Trustworthy agent will help you review, understand and digest the home inspection report so that you can make an informed decision about walking away or asking the Seller to remedy items of greatest concern. 

Are you ready for your buyers consultation? Contact Us now to schedule your appointment with a Trustworthy agent.