Tips for Buyers

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Buying a property is a complex matter and could be confusing especially for the first time buyer. It is a financial and emotional decision that requires support of a team of reliable professionals including a realtor, a lender, a lawyer, among other specialists.

Choosing a realtor

As a buyer, it usually costs nothing to hire a real estate professional to help you find and purchase a home. Your Realtor will likely get a portion of the commission the seller pays to his Realtor.  

A realtor will be the person to guide you in the whole process and provide you with the necessary support of professionals to complete your purchase.  When choosing a realtor make sure that person has the knowledge of the area you intend to buy and can provide you statistics of the area or particular building.  This knowledge is very important as the realtor will help you evaluate if the property you are about to make an offer for is right priced.  Ask for references, check his background, interview, the relationship with your realtor is based on trust and you need someone you can rely on.

Are you financially ready for buying a home?

It is very important to do the math and be prepared to cover all expenses of being a homeowner. Use the mortgage calculator to estimate your monthly payments. Although qualifying for a loan gives us an idea of our monthly expenses, there are some one time costs and other monthly expenses to consider. One time costs are paying for the inspection during the sale process or paying the closing costs. Once you own the property you need to consider the property taxes, home owners insurance (includes hurricane insurance in South Florida), condominium fees (HOA fees) if it is a condo. And there has to be savings to cover for emergencies as fixing something that breaks, for example the A/C.

Looking for properties

All properties listed for sale are in the MLS System. A unique database that every licensed realtor has access to. It is wrong  to think that one realtor will know about different properties that are listed, all realtors have access to the same database and in asking more than one realtor you will not get more properties. If the properties selected by your realtor do not match your requirements, give him/her feedback as to help him understand what you want.  It is important to read all the information in the listing before selecting the property to visit. Consider all costs, especially property taxes and HOA monthly fees, as these could kill the deal.

After finding a property the Buyer is ready to start the purchase processMore Info.