First Time Buyers....

Moving out of mom and dad's house or decided to move out of your rental? Or, maybe you have not bought a home in 10 years or more and you are out of the loop in home-buying.  Here are 5 tips that Realtor.com suggests and I tend to agree. This of course comes along with my own zany touches and experiences.  http://www.realtor.com/advice/buy/what-every-first-time-home-buyer-needs-to-know/?is_wp_site=1

1. Figure out how much you can afford.  This is why pre-approval is so important.  Before you even think about buying a home or start your search I urge you to speak to a lender (Lucey Mortgage is a great lender based right here in Charleston and does a great job.  Click on the link for more information - http://www.luceymortgage.net/home.html)  Experts (whoever that may be) say your house payment should not exceed 28% of your gross income. For example if you make $4,000/month take that and multiply by 0.28. Your monthly payment should not exceed $1,120/month.  Always let your lender tell you what you can afford and don't exceed that.

2. Pick the right real estate agent.  That's an easy one - Pick me, Jason Gregg. I explain the process of home purchasing thoroughly from our very first meeting and explain to you what to expect. There's a lot of steps to buying a home and you need someone with experience and local knowledge to make sure you get to the closing table and you get the best deal.

3. Understand there is no such thing as a perfect home. This one drives me mad sometimes!  I see buyer's walk into 30 year old homes and expect it to be new construction (which is never perfect either).  I blame the buyer's agents for not clearly explaining clear expectations to their clients. I just emailed a buyer's agent yesterday and I told her if your client wanted new construction he should have bought it - we are not going to make a 15 year old home brand new.  Let the price, location and size drive your decisions...not the color of the carpet or the condition of the garage.

4. Do your homework.  This one can be quite extensive but a good agent will do all the stressful work for you.  See number 2 and choose Jason Gregg as your Realtor.  There is a lot that can go wrong in a real estate transaction and it all starts with the contract.  A good agent will build in contingencies to the contract that will allow the buyer to walk away if the deal is not going in their favor.  Some of these contingencies are financing, home inspection, CL100, buyer contingency that they have to sell their home first, appraisal and more. Here in SC we have the option of a Repair Procedure or Due Diligence (most agents don't even realize there is a difference but it's a big one).  This is too long and complicated for this blog but I'll explain it in a future post.)

5. Realtor.com says to know your tax credits. This is why we have accountants and attorneys that we work with.  Here in SC we are required to close with an attorney.  I am not an accountant or attorney and don't wish to be one. So, on this one I refer out to the professionals.  It is my suggestion to find a good local accountant that you work with so that he/she can advise you and get you the most out of your taxes.

There you have it folks.  

Looking to buy or sell a home. Call me at 

843.696.8627 or email me at Jason.Gregg@kw.com

-Jason

Using an Agent to sell your home...compliments of Lucey Mortgage

This article is compliments of Lucey Mortgage.  

When a homeowner decides to sell their house, they obviously want the best possible price with the least amount of hassles. However, for the vast majority of sellers, the most important result is to actually get the home sold.

In order to accomplish all three goals, a seller should realize the importance of using a real estate professional. We realize that technology has changed the purchaser’s behavior during the home buying process. For the past three years, 92% of all buyers have used the internet in their home search according to the National Association of Realtors’ most recent Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers.

However, the report also revealed that 95% percent of buyers that used the internet when searching for a home purchased their home through either a real estate agent/broker or from a builder or builder’s agent. Only 2% purchased their home directly from a seller whom the buyer didn’t know.

Buyers search for a home online, but then depend on an agent to find the actual home they will buy (53%), to negotiate the terms of the sale & price (48%), or to help understand the process (60%).

The plethora of information now available has resulted in an increase in the percentage of buyers that reach out to real estate professionals to “connect the dots.” This is obvious, as the percentage of overall buyers who used an agent to buy their home has steadily increased from 69% in 2001.

Bottom Line

If you are thinking of selling your home, don’t underestimate the role a real estate professional can play in the process.

 Thanks Lorcan for a great article and I whole-heatedly agree. See below for contact information on Lucey Mortgage.   

Lorcan Lucey
Lucey Mortgage Corporation
861 Coleman Blvd. Mt Pleasant SC 29464
 
Office:  843-884-8133
Mobile: 843-224-3650
Fax:       843-884-6575
NMLS License Per/Corp 185300/185310
lorcan@luceymortgage.net
www.luceymortgage.net