"Five
Powerful Saratoga Home Buying Strategies"
details simple but often overlooked tips for finding your
CA dream home faster and easier, and improving your bargaining
position when making an offer.
1. Get Pre-Approved not Pre-Qualified
Do you want to get the best house you can for the least
amount of money? Then make sure you are in the strongest
negotiating position possible. Price is only one bargaining
chip in the negotiations, and not necessarily the most
important one. Often other terms, such as the strength
of the buyer or the length of escrow, are critical to
a seller. Getting "pre-qualified" means that
you spend a few minutes on the phone with a lender who
asks you a few questions. Based on your answers, the lender
pronounces you “pre-qualified” and issues
a certificate that you can show to a seller. Sellers are
aware that such certificates are WORTHLESS because none
of the information has been verified! Oftentimes-unknown
problems surface! Some of the problems include recorded
judgments, child support payments due, glitches on the
credit report due to any number of reasons both accurate
and inaccurate, down payments that have not been in the
client’s bank account long enough, etc. So the way
to make a strong offer today is to get "pre-approved".
This happens AFTER all information has been checked and
verified. You are actually APPROVED for the loan and the
only loose end is the appraisal on the property. This
process takes anywhere from a few days to a few weeks
depending on your situation. A pre-approval letter is
not only POWERFUL, in most cases it is required by the
Seller(s).
2. Sell First, Then Buy
If you have a house to sell, sell it before selecting
a house to buy! Contingent sales have not worked well
for several years. Imagine finding the perfect house.
You make an offer to the seller. You want the seller to
reduce the price and wait until you sell your house. From
the seller’s perspective that is a risky deal. A
seller might pass up a buyer who does not have to sell
a house while waiting for you to sell your house. They
sellers may say OK to the contingency but it has to be
a full price offer! You end up paying more for the house
because of the contingency. Now you have to sell your
existing house, and in a hurry! Otherwise you lose the
dream house! So to sell quickly you might take an offer
that is lower than if you had more time. The bottom line
is that buying before selling might cost you TENS OF THOUSANDS
of dollars. It’s possible to make the sale “subject
to seller finding suitable housing.” Adding this
language to the listing means that WHEN YOU DO FIND A
BUYER, you will have some time to find the new place.
If you do not find anything to your liking, you don’t
have to sell your present home.
3. Create
a List of What you Want and Don’t Want
Before house hunting, make a list of the things you want
in your new home. Then make a list of the things you don’t
want. Use the lists as a scorecard to rate each property
that you see. The one with the biggest score wins! This
helps avoid confusion and keeps things in perspective
when you are comparing dozens of homes. When looking for
a house consider the difference between the things that
cannot be changed such as the location, view, size of
lot, noise in the area, school district, and floor plan
and the things that can easily be changed like carpet,
wallpaper, color, and window coverings.
4.
Don’t Be Forced Into A House
Your agent should show you all available properties that
meet your requirements. Do not make a decision on a house
until you feel that you have seen enough houses and can
pick the right one for you. Search the Multiple Listing
Service (“MLS”) and make sure that you are
getting a complete list. Be sure to check into the school
districts. There is information available on every school;
such as class sizes, % of students that go on to college,
SAT scores, etc. The internet is a great source of information.
If you can’t find the information you need, ask
you agent for help!
5. Stop Calling
Ads!
A word of caution - CA real estate agents create ads solely
to make the phone ring! Many of the homes have drawbacks
that are not mentioned in the ad, such as traffic noise,
power lines, or litigation in the community. What is not
mentioned in the ad is usually more important than what
is. Be very careful when reading ads. Remember that the
person writing the ad is representing the California seller
and not you! It’s important to have someone on your
side looking out for your best interests. Your own agent
will critique the property with an eye towards how well
it meets your needs and will point out any drawbacks you
should know about. Choose an agent you feel comfortable
with and enlist the services of that agent as a buyer’s
broker. You then become a client with all the rights,
benefits, and privileges created by this agency relationship.
Did you know that many homes are sold WITHOUT A SIGN ever
going up or an AD EVER BEING PUT IN THE PAPER? These deals
go to the people who are committed to working with one
agent. When an agent hears of a great buy, who do you
think they are going to call? His client, who he has an
obligation to work hard for or someone who just called
on the phone?
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Finding
a Saratoga Realtor
My
Promise
Benefits
of a Buyer's Agent
Buying a Saratoga
Home
Should
You Own
Stop
Paying Rent
Ways
to Save Buying Your Home
Ways
to Hold Title
First
Home
Getting
Prepared
First
Time Buyers
Renting
vs. Owning
How
Much Do I Need?
What
Can I Afford?
Income
vs. Debt Ratios
Estimate
Your Buying Power
Understanding
Credit Scores
Examining
Credit History
Getting
Pre-Approved
Ways
To Save
Finding A Property
Ready
To Find A Property?
Online Property Search
Identify
Your Points Of Interest
Visiting
Saratoga Open Homes
Property
Checklist
Other
Considerations
Making an Offer
Basics
Of Making An Offer
Purchase
Agreement
What
You Need To Know
Negotiating
How
Much Should I Offer?
Finding a Home Loan
What
Is A Mortgage?
Typical
Mortgage Providers
Choosing
A Mortgage
Fixed
Rate Mortgages
Adjustable
Rate Mortgages
Common
Questions
Loan
Applications
Loan
Application Checklist
The
Underwriter
Included In My Mortgage Payments?
Your
Rights As A Consumer
Closing The Deal
What
Is Escrow?
The
Sale Process
Your
Responsibilities
Disclosures
101
Ways
to Hold Title
The
Loan Process
Closing
Costs
Who
Pays What?
The
Escrow Process
Property
Tax and Saratoga Tax Calendar
Misc
Understanding
Foreclosure
Secrets
Lenders Don't Want You To Know |
Saratoga
MLS Search