7 Tips to “Hacking” the Buying Process

Source: http://www.904living.com/buying/how-to-buy-a-house-in-florida/

Tip One

EDUCATE YOURSELF ON THE MORTGAGE APPLICATION PROCESS

A stitch in time saves nine.  Or maybe you prefer Abraham Lincoln’s,

If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend six hours sharpening my ax.  

Point being, don’t wait until you’re ready to start looking for homes to go out and get a loan pre-approval.  Start sooner.   

Don’t worry about getting multiple pre-approval letters from different lenders though.  Just get one from a reputable lender and then get a couple of competing quotes when you’ve actually put a house under contract and are beginning the actual application process. 

A good benchmark for your mortgage pre-approval quote is the Freddie Mac weekly mortgage survey.  This will give you an interest rate average for all conventional loans from the week prior.  It also breaks the information down by region, which is helpful. 

Tip Two

USE RSS FEEDS – OR, EMAIL ALERTS… 

Because when you’re trying to get a great deal.  Speed matters!  Click below if you’d like a quick tutorial on how to set up an RSS feed for your favorite neighborhood(s).

Tip Three

SINGLE AGENCY VS. TRANSACTION BROKERAGE

Do some research to understand the agency relationship you have as a buyer in Florida.  I’ve known many a buyer who thinks calling off of the sign in the yard, and using the same agent as the seller, is the standard operating procedure.  Not the case.  In that scenario, the agent putting the deal together would be functioning as a Transaction Broker (you can see the list of duties provided by a Transaction Broker below).  Long story short, the job of the agent becomes as simple as sending paperwork back and forth.  No negotiating tips or advice, no strategy to make this a better deal for you, none of that…

If you’re looking to maximize your real estate agents negotiating ability, transaction knowledge, and area expertise – then you need a Single Agent.  The technical difference is this: Loyalty, Confidentiality, Obedience, and Full Disclosure.  The practical difference is that now you have someone, by contractual duty, on your side to get you the best deal.       

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Tip Four

NARROW YOUR FOCUS

One of the biggest mistakes I see buyers make in the early stages of their search, is allowing themselves to think that everything on the market is an option for them.  In The Art of Choosing, Sheena Iyengar makes an interesting observation about human behavior.  She points out our distinct inability to make a decision when we have too many options available to us.  Inversely, we are more able to make a decision and are happier with the choice when fewer options are available.  From the book, “those consumers that were presented with fewer options were six times more likely to make a decision as to which jam they’d be happy purchasing.” So, you might have to get rid of some good areas, neighborhoods, or even houses to get to the great areas, neighborhoods, and houses!

Tip Five

DON’T FALL IN LOVE WITH THE PROPERTY

Or, feel free to fall in love with the property, but realize that getting a good deal and loving the house can be two competing interests.  Reason being, a good deal is derived by finding an owner who is motivated to sell at a compelling price because they either: 1) Don’t care, or 2)Don’t know.  The house itself has very little to do with it.  Even if it’s in terrible condition, you still need an owner whodoesn’t care about doing the repairs, and that’s why they’re selling for a good price.This can be a bit of a rarity as Dan Ariely pointed out in his book Predictably Irrational.  “When we own something – whether it’s a car or a violin, a cat or a basketball ticket – we begin to value it more than other people do.”

Sticking point.  Focus on making multiple offers on properties that fit your criteria. Don’t pick one house and go after it with all of your might.  This is not something you would normally hear from a real estate agent – as agents only get paid when you buy a home.  So for you to make multiple offers means that the agent has to do more work.  But that’s the truth about getting a good deal!  

Tip Six

KNOW THE AREA

Drive by potential neighborhoods during odd hours.  Maybe you hate garage sales?  Then you should check that subdivision out on a Saturday morning to see if you need to steer clear!  Or, maybe loud parties aren’t your thing…  Take a cruise down the street on a Friday at 11PM with the windows down.  It’s not a difficult thing to do, and it may drastically effect your opinion of the neighborhood. 

Tip Seven

STAY ON MISSION

The home inspection has more issues than you anticipated.  

The lender starts asking for paperwork that you’ve already given them twice.

The closing date that was originally scheduled gets pushed back, and then it’s changed for a second and even third time!

All of these things can seriously add to the stress level of an expectant homeowner.  But expect something to happen. Buying a house isn’t like buying a TV, or even a car.  Given the value of the asset and the longevity of the decision, the stakes are a bit higher.  

So, whatever it takes to persist until the closing papers are signed.  Deep breathing, exercise, or a lot of coffee!  You’ll be happy you didn’t blow-up on the loan officer, title agent, or real estate agent  once everything is done.

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All the best in your house hunting endeavors! 

If you’d like to begin your home search now, feel free to click one of the links below!

      

I think we were still in River Oaks, driving around looking at houses when I made D. stop and back up a little so I could get this shot. Up and down street after street of luxury homes in this Houston suburb known for its history and planned layout. The rich and quasi famous have lived here for generations. Traditions are as old as the real estate itself. When I was there, Halloween was approaching and some of the decorations were downright outrageous like giant purple spiders draped across an entire roof. We must have driven around looking at real estate in just this one neighborhood for close to an hour. No two houses were alike. These luxurious homes are all custom built.

In the Morning Break at the Home SEO Office, I took a few minutes to look at linguistic patterning and techniques of communicating, which goes on at many levels. Real estate is one of those things that seems so solid and defined, but really it is much more of a psychological concept of owning property. Assigns in days of old received property rights from sovereigns and kings. Without the state the entire concept collapses. Native Americans had no need or concept of property rights. There was far more land than anyone needed so it was just there like the sky. Now, even the sky is controlled by the state under the auspices of the FAA. Try entering the sky too close to the capitol and you’ll quickly find out in real terms what real estate means whether in the sky or on the ground.

You can still garden around houses in Houston The landscape of luxury Homes is well manicured.

I need to organize the recent Houston photos I took in River Oaks.

Houston real estate

Houston real estate values are among the best in the nation. River Oaks is a community of old money and exquisite custom homes

Orange County Photographers | Real Estate | Dave Keys

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