Caveats For First Time Homebuyers

Good Morning,

   Hope you had a nice weekend, and enthralled to have you back with me again today!

   "First Time Homebuyers can be the most fun to work with of any client.", says Realtor Dawn Ohnstad, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Burnet in Wayzata MN, who says that first time homebuyers are, "excited, they want to learn, they ask great questions and once they have selected an agent, they operate as a team member. It makes our job fun!". David Mawyer of the CSSNMawyer Realty Group, says that first time home buyers want to be, "treated with honesty and respect. Regardless of the down payment amount or the price of the home, they are making a significant investment and want to insure that it is a good one."

   This brings us to our topic, of course, which is regarding some Caveats, or tips/warnings, from some Real Estate Professionals.

   Kris Bickell of the Website of Housebuying-tips.com, says that the best advice for new homebuyers is to get, "a good realtor, good mortgage broker, and good home inspector.". Ohnstad suggests that one of the first things they should do is to identify an experienced, reputable loan officer who will, "take the time to meet with them face to face, educate them about their various loan product options and provide a letter of pre-approval." Mawyer also concurs that the it is very important to select the Right Realtor and Lender, who will, "put the buyer’s interest ahead of their own interest". Mawyer says that this will require some homework/research by the potential buyer (asking for references, ask questions about honesty, integrity, and consistency, etc.). He warns that buyers should look out for pressure, as this should be viewed as a “red flag”."

   Mawyer says that it is important to, "Be honest about your requirements", and to assess what is important in the decision (size of the home? location? features? price?), and adds that the buyer should feel free to ask questions.

   Bickell says that she had an unfortunate incident when buying her home since her Realtors ended up being "lazy", since they, "don't make nearly as much money from home buyers". Ohnstad says that it is important to caution them about going to open houses and talking with lots of listing agents. She says that if they happen to find the house that is right for them, "that listing agent will be doing all they can in the interest of the seller.", and says, "This happens quite often, and I wish I could let them all know, that we Realtors prefer to be brought into the equation to represent a buyer sooner, not later." Ohnstad adds that, "Our negotiation power on behalf of our buyer is diminished significantly when all the cards have already been shown to the other side. Any questions they may have, can be answered by their own Buyers' Representative and since the commission is already being paid by the seller, there is simply no down side to getting a pro on their team early." Ohnstad also cautions that First Time Buyers think that good Realtors who have been in the business a long time, "do not want to work on the small transactions.", but she says this is not true, and that, "A good agent wants to work with any qualified buyer who has been pre- approved by a lender and is ready to begin the process."

   When it comes to the home inspector, Bickell says that hers was, "referred by the Realtors, and really didn't do a good job.", but, "Not just because he was referred, but because he missed a lot.". Ultimately, Bickell says that they ended up having to sue him later because he missed a big electrical problem. Due to the issues she experienced during the process, Bickell started her website, "to share the lessons I learned the hard way."

   Onto another caveat; Mawyer suggest that you choose the right search engine, and says that, "If the first time buyer wants to find a home on the Internet, make sure that the search engine being used provides “real time” access to the live database", since, "finding homes that are no longer available for sale can be a major frustration for the first time home buyer." Seems like a great time to plug my website? (Yes - HomeRun Homes, the Classified Ads/Search Engine for Rent to Own Homes.

   These Pros have provided some fantastic tips. Is there anything that should be added to this? We would love to hear from you!

Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes Blog http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Website http://www.lease2buy.com

TAGS: #firsttimehomebuyer #realtor #mortgagebroker #openhouse #homeinspector