I saw a list recently on a National Association of Realtors website stating what real estate experts consider to be the most common mistakes that first-time home buyers make. According to this list they are: (1) They don’t act quickly enough to make a decision and someone else buys the house. (2) They don’t do enough to make their offer look appealing to a seller. (3) They don’t think about resale before they buy. (4) They don’t ask enough questions of their lender and end up missing out on the best deal. (5) They don’t find the right agent who’s willing to help them through the home buying process.
Well, that’s a pretty accurate list although I don’t know if the order is arranged in terms of importance. But what struck me is that most of these same “mistakes” are made by a lot of experienced home buyers too.
Re: Offers. Because of over-generalized and inaccurate reporting by the media, in the last year or so especially, a lot of buyers believe that the market is so slow, and so tilted in their favor that no other buyers are out there looking, and therefore they can take their time about making an offer. That’s just not true. They also seem to think all sellers are desperate and should be willing to take a huge reduction on price. It does happen…but is rarely the case. For instance, I just attended a closing this morning where the Seller I represented got very close to their asking price and there were two other buyers waiting to purchase the home if the sale were to fall through for some reason. Here in Indianapolis, the 2009-2010 market is a good solid market…not on a record pace obviously like 2006…but still very good like the 2003-2004 market. So what I’m saying is that in most cases, slow or low-ball offers don’t work, unless it’s an inferior listing that is way over-priced.
Re: Resale Value. The fact is, the average first-time buyer stays in their first home for only four years. And on average, all home owners stay about seven years. So everyone should always, always, always consider resale value before one makes an offer on a home.
Re: Lenders. Financing is the key component to any transaction. I had a customer once who insisted on using an online mortgage source because their rate looked attractive. The only trouble was, the loan didn’t fund on time for the closing which caused a huge problem, and there were some “surprises” in the fine print in the terms of the loan that they were unhappy with. There are local lenders that will match or beat any rate out there, as well as closing costs, plus are a lot more accessible to answer questions and provide customer service. Local is always better for a number of reasons. I usually recommend a lender when someone is ready to buy. I know which lender will have the best product to fit their situation and I simply want my customers to get the best deal out there.
If a buyer chooses the right agent to assist them, the whole process should go smoothly from start to finish. Knowledge and experience is crucial, but someone with a pleasant demeanor and a positive attitude is important too. If an agent has all of those qualities, then the process should be comfortable all the way through. No surprises…and actually fun.
