DON T SABOTAGE YOUR DREAM.

Transcription

1

2 DON T SABOTAGE YOUR DREAM. The home you ve dreamed about is right around the corner. You ve done all the right legwork up front: You ve gotten pre-approved for a mortgage. You re working with a great real estate agent. You ve found the home that fits you perfectly. You are officially a home buyer! This is a fun and exciting time in your life, and it can become very stressful if you let it. Buyers sabotage themselves all the time, unfortunately, and end up losing out on their dream home. I ve designed a proven process that makes living in the home you ve dreamed about a reality, and I can help make sure you stay on the path to living happily every after. Avoid these six mistakes, and you ll avoid costing yourself a ton of money, avert a lot of needless heartache, and won t miss out on your dream house. -Bill Streger

3 1 DESTROYING YOUR PRE-APPROVAL

4 So many buyers get pre-approved for their mortgage and assume that it s good forever. Not all lenders will take the time to explain the complexities that involve getting pre-approved, and therefore do not educate their client about how to STAY pre-approved. Your job, income, debt-to-income ratio, and credit score are all verified in order to determine if you can get a mortgage, and for how much you can borrow. This will be verified numerous times throughout the process, and up to the day you close on a home, so it cannot change! This means: NO new lines of credit can be opened. NO more credit card usage. NO late payments. And please, for the love of all that s holy in the world, do NOT go buy a new car or new furniture & appliances for the house you haven t even bought yet. Wait until after closing day, and then you can put yourself into as much debt as you want. After all, it is the American way, right? MISTAKE ONE

5 2 DELAYING/WAITING TOO LONG

6 During the home search process, you and your agent are partnering together to find the home you ve dreamed about. You look online every day at homes, and your agent s you with new listings that match your exact search criteria. The Houston market is competitive. When a home first hits the market, it s like a shark tank with tons of agents and their buyers are circling it like it s dinner. If you want to see a house, then you need to jump on it. This is especially true of the really special houses out there. Chances are, your favorite house is going to be every buyer s favorite house. And your job is to beat every other buyer to your favorite house. I know you re busy with work, or your kid s baseball practice, or you need to go grocery shopping, or you don t have a babysitter. The amount of obstacles are endless, but if you really want something, then you make the time to do it! Use an hour or two of vacation time and leave work early, or delay the errands, and bring the kids if you can t get a sitter. This could be THE ONE, and you can t see it on Monday and expect it to still be for sale by the weekend, when you have more time. MISTAKE TWO

7 3 NOT WRITING A STRATEGIC OFFER

8 As I mentioned, in many areas of Houston the market is very competitive. That means that the seller has an advantage because inventory is low and they have little competition. This means that YOU, the buyer, have a ton of competition and potentially dozens of other buyers wanting the same house. This is not the time to write a lowball offer, just to see if you get it! Lowball offers are often dismissed out of hand by sellers, with many of them choosing not to even counter your offer at all. Your agent will run comps to make sure the home is priced appropriately, and they will negotiate for you on everything from the price, to repairs needed, to the date of closing. You need to trust your agent, and if you really WANT THIS HOUSE, then don t mess around and lose it to someone else who wanted it more. Homes are worth what a buyer is willing to pay, so that sometimes could be less than asking price, or more than asking price. Remember, your goal is to have you living in the house you ve dreamed about, not another buyer. It s not worth losing the perfect house just by trying to save what turns out to be around $18 on your monthly payment. MISTAKE THREE

9 4 ASKING TOO MUCH FROM THE SELLER

10 Even if you write a full-price offer and on paper you look like the perfect buyer, you have to assume there is someone else even more perfect competing for the same house. You may want to ask for some help with closing costs, or you may not want to close for 60 days to make your moving process easier, or you may want the appliances or items that aren t included in the sale. Be careful about how much you ask for, because a seller will weigh all the pros and cons, especially in a multiple offer situation, and not necessarily accept the one that was for the most money. Another buyer may offer $5,000 less, but be able to close in 30 days, not need help with closing costs, and not want anything extra. In the end, it still nets the sellers more money, and less time waiting. Your real estate agent will help guide you on making the best offer, so trust their experience and advice! If you need help with closing costs, it may be wise to not shop at your maximum approved amount, and you may want to start look for some creative ways to save money so you don t have to ask for so much. MISTAKE FOUR

11 5 NIT-PICKING THE INSPECTION REPORT

12 Every home has issues. Not one home on this planet will produce a perfect score on an inspector s report. A home inspector will give you a thick report that makes it look like this house is about to blow up with all the code violations and recommended repairs. Their job is to find every tiny thing wrong with the house. This does not give you the right to go back to the seller and demand it all be fixed, or try to get them to lower the price. Depending on the severity of the needed repairs, sellers and buyers can work together to get those fixed or replaced if both agree, but a drippy faucet or few missing GFCI plugs doesn t constitute you wanting $5,000 off the price of the home. The inspections are done for your protection, and so you know what you are getting into. The goal of the home inspection is not to give you an opportunity to renegotiate the deal. The goal is so that you can make an informed decision about whether you still want to buy the house, now that you know what s happening behind the walls, on the roof, and under the floors. All homes are sold AS-IS, and it s your job as the new homeowner to maintain the home and make any repairs needed once you own it. MISTAKE FIVE

13 6 HAVING PREMATURE BUYER S REMORSE

14 Once your offer has been accepted, the appraisal is done, the inspection is done, and everything is good to go, there is one very important thing you need to do STOP home-shopping! If you don t, here s what will happen You are weeks away from closing and becoming the owner of this amazing new home. One morning you see more new listings pop up, and you start to second guess yourself. You start to wonder if these new listings are better than the one you re about to buy. You ve invested money into this sale already, and you have a legally binding contract, so stop daydreaming about the what-ifs that other homes may offer, and focus on the home that is about to be yours. There s no better deal out there if you got the house you wanted, and it s passed all the contingencies. You re on the home stretch now, so stay patient and if you must look at homes online, then look for all the new furniture, paint colors, and updates you plan to do. Hoard the ideas on Pinterest or put things on layaway, and DON T buy anything until you close. This has been a wild ride, and you really don t want to start all over again! MISTAKE SIX

15 SCHEDULE YOUR FREE HOME BUYER CONSULTATION We will walk you step-by-step through our proven process that makes living in the home you've dreamed of a reality. SCHEDULE NOW Your home isn't just a place to live - it's where you build your life. This is the place where relationships are deepened, meals are shared, and memories are made. You know what you want in your next home - maybe even down to the smallest detail. But how do you get there? How do you make sure that someone else doesn't end up living in your favorite house? Our proven process virtually guarantees that you will get the very best house available to you, because you deserve to love where you live.

16 OUR CONSULTATION WILL COVER: WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO YOU We will get crystal clear on what's most important to you about buying your next home, crafting our strategy to match your priorities. THE TRUE COSTS OF BUYING A HOME Our services are 100% free for home buyers like you. But there are other costs along the way you need to be aware of. We'll talk through them all so you're not blindsided by surprises on closing day. A PROVEN ROADMAP Time and time again, our process has been proven to get home buyers like you the results they deserve, ensuring that you end up living in your favorite house - not someone else! DANGERS TO WATCH FOR We will talk about the most common obstacles that can threaten your home buying process, detailing exactly how we'll avoid each of them along the way. SCHEDULE NOW