Charleston Flat Fee Real Estate - Behren Kittrell

Avoid The Most Common Buyer Errors

Shopping for a new home is an emotional experience. It’s also time consuming and comes with a myriad of details. Some home buyers, however, caught up in the excitement of buying a new home tend to overlook some items.  Their home purchase turns into an expensive process. Charleston Flat Fee Real Estate will guide you. These errors generally fall into three areas:

  • Shopping without pre- approval
  • Losing a dream home to another buyer
  • Buying the wrong home
     

When you have a systematic plan before you buy your home, you’ll be sure to avoid these costly errors. Here are some tips from Behren Kittrell Charleston Realtor on making the most of your home purchase:

Bidding without sufficient information
What price do you offer a seller? Is the seller’s asking price too high? Is it a deal? Without research on the market and comparable homes, you could lose thousands of dollars. Before you make that offer, be sure you have researched the market. A professional realtor, such as Behren can offer an unbiased opinion on the value of a home, based on market conditions, condition of the home and neighborhood. Without knowledge of the market, your offer could be too much. Or worse, you could miss out on a great buying opportunity.

Buying a mis-matched home
What do you need and want in a home? Sounds simple. Yet, clearly identifying your needs and bringing an objective view to home shopping, leaves you in a better position. Sometimes, home buyers buy a home that is too large or too small. Perhaps they didn’t consider the drive to work, the distance to school, or the many repair jobs waiting for completion. Plan ahead. Use your needs list as a guideline for every home you view.

Unexpected repairs
For $400 - $600 a licensed, professional inspector will conduct a thorough inspection of the home. This way, you’ll have an idea of the cost of future repairs. Make the final contract subject to a favourable report.

Shopping without pre-approval
It only takes a few days to get financing pre-approval. When you are shopping for a home, this gives you more power. A seller is more likely to consider an offer from a serious buyer.  

Mortgage Preapproval Vs. Prequalification: What To Expect When You Apply

Both prequalification and preapproval provide borrowers with an estimation of how much home they can afford. However, a mortgage preapproval is a more official step that requires the lender to verify your financial information and credit history.  Documents required for a preapproval may include pay stubs, tax returns and even your Social Security card.  This means a preapproval is a stronger sign of what you can afford and adds more credibility to your offer than a prequalification. This will also allow you to show sellers a preapproval letter to demonstrate that your financial information has been verified and you can afford a mortgage. However, check with your lender to be sure.

Information provided by Behren Kittrell, Realtor, BIC Charleston Flat Fee Real Estate.  Low commission fee guaranteed!


Home Buying Calculator

Let us help you find out what you can afford! Our mortgage calculator will help you determine loan amounts, mortgage qualification, or whether you should be renting or buying.

Complete the fields below (e.g., Cost of Home, Down Payment, Monthly Income) and click Calculate Now. To view the different results of your calculation, click on the various tabs. To mail yourself a copy of your results, click the Receive this Detailed Analysis link.

 

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