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Before You Buy A House - Top 10 Tips


There are serveral things you need to think about and check on before you buy a house. Even looking at so many houses can be confusing. Below is a list of the top ten things to help you before you buy.

1. Pre-qualify for a mortgage. Now you know how much house you can afford before you start looking. This will narrow your search and keep you "real" and not disappointed on houses you can't afford.

2. Find a good neighborhood. Know the school district and is it a good one if you have kids attending. Is shopping convenient? Is the area growing and can you look forward to appreciation on your house? What's the area like? Are you next to vacant land that could be a freeway or a new mall in your backyard?

3. Log. Log your visits to potential houses. Sounds silly, but after you look at several, it can get confusing later on. Write down advantages and disadvantages of each house. Even draw a simple layout sketch to refresh your memory.

4. Money. How much more is your house going to cost than just your house payment? Taxes and Insurance. And if you are new home buyer and don't have a huge down payment (20%) then add in mortgage insurance. Required by the government. Check with your mortgage company. They can give you the rate. Realtors sometimes forget to tell you these added costs. This will be your real payment. You also have to look at utilities. And certainly it would be hard to move into a house without repainting or wallpapering or something.

5. Shop till you drop. Don't stop at the 3rd house and say that's it and pick one. You should look at a bunch of homes to get a good comparison. And you'll remember number 3 above. You should look at 15 homes at least as an average guideline.

6. Inspect. Found the house you want? Ready to make an offer? Not yet. Hire a professional inspection service. Once they make their inspection, you are better armed with any potential problems and can adjust your price accordingly.

7. Let the negotiations begin! Now you are armed with your inspection information, you are ready to negotiate carefully. Put it ALL in writing. No exceptions.

8. Moving. Allow extra time to move. Something always happens. Make sure you have plenty of overlap and plenty of time to get out of your old house. One word. Rain.

9. A word on insurance. Shop around. Consider a high deductible. $250 deductible seems a little low these days. And you pay for it. Also, consider your car insurance while shopping. Most offer discounts when they get all of your business.

10. Real Estate Agents. Yes, you can find a house on your own, but agents are helpful to assess your needs and show you houses that may match what you are looking for. They also get on your side for the negotiating. Get a referral from a friend or family.

Buying a house is a big deal. No need to rush. They make them everyday. Shopping for financing can be as big a step as actually finding the house. Don't give up. It's work. Then you have to move everything.

Stuart Simpson has a neat mortgage calculator you can try.


MORE RESOURCES:

Houston-Based Real Estate Developer Closes More Than $75 Million in Healthcare ...
MarketWatch (press release)
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Tossed® Hires Real Estate Veteran A. Michael Toroyan as Chief Development Officer
MarketWatch (press release)
Toroyan, a 20-year veteran of the restaurant real estate, and franchising, will bring even greater momentum to Tossed's strong and growing franchise development efforts across the US Toroyan comes to Tossed Franchise Corporation from a previous post as ...

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Property Magazine

Web Winners: Navigating real estate industry
News & Observer
By REID KANALEY - The Philadelphia Inquirer Real estate is no easy game, as "underwater" homeowners have found in recent years. You need your wits about you, and these sites help you do that with plain language and suggestions. -The home-buying page at ...
REALTOR(R) University Granted Approval to Offer Master of Real Estate Degree ...MarketWatch (press release)
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SmartTouch Interactive Launches New Lead Adapter to Integrate with Third Party ...
MarketWatch (press release)
AUSTIN, Texas, Feb 08, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- SmartTouch(R) Interactive, an interactive real estate marketing agency and real estate marketing automation and CRM software development company, today announced that it has made available the new Smart ...

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Seacoast real estate sales off to a robust 2012 start
Seacoastonline.com
“Without a doubt, the favorable weather conditions are helping the Seacoast real estate market, especially compared to a year ago at this time,” said Lauren Kane, president of the Seacoast Board of Realtors. “The residential sales decline for January ...

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CBS Local

Real estate developer says he plans to make cash bid for Philadelphia's 2 ...
Washington Post
PHILADELPHIA — A wealthy real estate developer said Tuesday he and four partners plan to make an offer to buy the city's two largest newspapers, whose downtown offices he already owns. Bart Blatstein said he plans to pursue an acquisition of some or ...
Developer Blatstein seeking to buy Inquirer, Daily News companyBizjournals.com (blog)

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Cole Real Estate Investments Executes Nearly 640000 Square Feet in Retail ...
San Francisco Chronicle (press release)
Cole Real Estate Investments (Cole), one of the nation's leading investors in high-quality, income-producing retail, office and industrial real estate assets, announced it signed leases totaling nearly 640000 square feet at Cole-related retail ...

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Sam Zell "Comes Clean" for Penton's National Real Estate Investor (nreionline.com)
Sacramento Bee
7, 2012 -- /PRNewswire/ -- In an interview in the February 2012 issue of National Real Estate Investor, Sam Zell, chairman of Equity Group Investments, stated that the commercial real estate industry needs to "come clean" with expectations.
Brian Collins Joins Equity Office Properties as Regional Director of OperationsBoston/SF

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Big deals highlight 2011 real estate in Snowmass
Snowmass Sun Online News
SNOWMASS VILLAGE, Colorado — 2011 won't go down in Snowmass Village as the most lucrative year for real estate sales, but it could be remembered as a pivotal one. Glenwood Springs-based Land Title Guarantee Co. recently issued its year-end report for ...

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Many Homeowners and Real Estate Agents Plead Guilty in $20 Million Mortgage ...
LoanSafe
by Alex Ferreras on February 8, 2012 in Scams OAKLAND (Source: Kristin J. Bender The Oakland Tribune, Calif.) – Four people last week pleaded guilty in federal court to charges relating to a far-reaching mortgage loan fraud scheme involving at least 20 ...

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