subject: What it takes to sell a house in this real estate market [print this page] What it takes to sell a house in this real estate market
Many home buying steps are standard yet there might be slight variations depending on where you live. Here are my TOP 10 suggestions to help you through this somtimes difficult process:
1. Check Your Credit
Getting finances in order is a VERY important step. You must know exactly what your credit reports say about your financial history before you apply for a mortgage, because the reports play an important role in the mortgage approval process.
2. Understanding Mortgages
Get familiar with the laws and your options. It's up to you to determine which lender is best for your needs, and it's always a good idea to have at least a bit of background about the loan process before you talk to a lender. Your Realtor can provide you with advice in this regard, or you could speak to a Mortgage Broker as well.
3. Getting a Mortgage Pre-Approval
Do you know how much house you can afford? Probably not, unless you've talked with a lender. Pre-approval helps you in other ways. Primarily, Sellers want to know that you, the Buyer are pre-qualified so that if they accept your offer, they're not missing out on an other opportunity with another Buyer who is more qualified than you. See the importance of this step?
4. Sorting Out What You Want and Need
Buying a home isn't as difficult as you might think, even if you're short on funds. But the process will go a lot smoother if you get familiar with your real estate market and narrow down your wants and needs before you start looking at houses. Look at everything that you dream of having in a house, see what's available in that price range by checking out the MLS for your area, and adjust accordingly!
5. Work with Real Estate Agents
Real estate agents represent buyers, sellers, or both and in some provinces they can work as neutral facilitators for either party. Understanding all that a Realtor can do for you will put you in a better position to determine what you want. Just make sure they're working for you and not letting YOU do the work! If that's the case, fire them, and hire someone better.
6. The Home Search
The Internet is a great tool you can spend endless hours searching the public version of the MLS. Your Realtor should also set up a search for you to view online. You can also pick up House For Sale magazines and read classified ads in your local newspapers. Often these magazines feature properties with pricing that is out of whack, so trust your Realtor to help you through this stage. You might even plan afternoon drives to preview neighbourhoods. These are all excellent ways to see what's available out there. Check out open houses too!
7. Pre-Offer Investigation
Deciding whether or not you want to buy a house involves a look at its structure and its features. Your Realtor should have a deep knowledge of a home's major systems and quality, but you should still appoint a professional to conduct the home inspection. Your Realtor can refer you to a professional property inspector, or you can search the best ones out online.
8. Making an Offer
There's no ONE set of instructions that can cover all the differences in real estate laws and customs that exist. This is why you should sit down with your Realtor, lawyer, property inspector, and any other parties to the transaction to get all the information you need to make the best offer for you and your needs.
9. Avoiding Last-Minute Changes
As your closing date gets closer, everyone involved in your Lethbridge real estate transaction should check its progress on a daily basis.Staying on top of things means you'll know immediately if there's a problem that must be dealt with. In my opinion, this is your Realtor's job. If you find they're not doing this, perhaps you made the wrong choice.
10. Before Closing
Most of your home buying concerns are behind you now and you're on your way to closing the transaction, or possession as we call it here in the Lethbridge real estate market. You will encounter issues specific to your location and your transaction, issues that can best be explained and handled by your local realtor, your lender, your lawyer, or others.
Never hesitate to ask questions. These people are all paid to work for you! Ensure they're doing their best so you can be in the best position as possible.
There is a lot of property for sale in Lethbridge and having a real estate professional on your team can help you to navigate the difficult process of buying or selling a home in Lethbridge. Call me at 403.795.7777 or email me at info@lethbridgehomeshop.ca to discuss Lethbridge real estate or Lethbridge land for sale and I will be more than happy to answer all your questions. Or, if you would like instant access to information about buying, selling, or building a home in Lethbridge, including Lethbridge real estate values and more, please visit the most complete website dedicated to everything Lethbridge real estate at http://www.lethbridgehomeshop.ca.
