Realtor

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8 Tips For Finding Your New Home

A solid game plan can help you narrow your homebuying search to find the best home for you.

House hunting is just like any other shopping expedition. If you identify exactly what you want and do some research, you’ll zoom in on the home you want at the best price. These eight tips will guide you through a smart homebuying process.

1. Know thyself
Understand the type of home that suits your personality. Do you prefer a new or existing home? A ranch or a multistory home? If you’re leaning toward a fixer-upper, are you truly handy, or will you need to budget for contractors?

2. Research before you look
List the features you most want in a home and identify which are necessities and which are extras. Identify three to four neighborhoods you’d like to live in based on commute time, schools, recreation, crime, and price. Then hop onto REALTOR.com to get a feel for the homes available in your price range in your favorite neighborhoods. Use the results to prioritize your wants and needs so you can add in and weed out properties from the inventory you’d like to view.

3. Get your finances in order
Generally, lenders say you can afford a home priced two to three times your gross income. Create a budget so you know how much you’re comfortable spending each month on housing. Don’t wait until you’ve found a home and made an offer to investigate financing.

Gather your financial records and meet with a lender to get a prequalification letter spelling out how much you’re eligible to borrow. The lender won’t necessarily consider the extra fees you’ll pay when you purchase or your plans to begin a family or purchase a new car, so shop in a price range you’re comfortable with. Also, presenting an offer contingent on financing will make your bid less attractive to sellers.

4. Set a moving timeline
Do you have blemishes on your credit that will take time to clear up? If you already own, have you sold your current home? If not, you’ll need to factor in the time needed to sell. If you rent, when is your lease up? Do you expect interest rates to jump anytime soon? All these factors will affect your buying, closing, and moving timelines.

5. Think long term
Your future plans may dictate the type of home you’ll buy. Are you looking for a starter house with plans to move up in a few years, or do you hope to stay in the home for five to 10 years? With a starter, you may need to adjust your expectations. If you plan to nest, be sure your priority list helps you identify a home you’ll still love years from now.

6. Work with a REALTOR®
Ask people you trust for referrals to a real estate professional they trust. Interview agents to determine which have expertise in the neighborhoods and type of homes you’re interested in. Because homebuying triggers many emotions, consider whether an agent’s style meshes with your personality.

Also ask if the agent specializes in buyer representation. Unlike listing agents, whose first duty is to the seller, buyers’ reps work only for you even though they’re typically paid by the seller. Finally, check whether agents are REALTORS®, which means they’re members of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. NAR has been a champion of homeownership rights for more than a century.

7. Be realistic
It’s OK to be picky about the home and neighborhood you want, but don’t be close-minded, unrealistic, or blinded by minor imperfections. If you insist on living in a cul-de-sac, you may miss out on great homes on streets that are just as quiet and secluded.

On the flip side, don’t be so swayed by a “wow” feature that you forget about other issues—like noise levels—that can have a big impact on your quality of life. Use your priority list to evaluate each property, remembering there’s no such thing as the perfect home.

8. Limit the opinions you solicit
It’s natural to seek reassurance when making a big financial decision. But you know that saying about too many cooks in the kitchen. If you need a second opinion, select one or two people. But remain true to your list of wants and needs so the final decision is based on criteria you’ve identified as important.

G.M. Filisko is an attorney and award-winning writer who has found happiness in a brownstone in a historic Chicago neighborhood. A frequent contributor to many national publications including Bankrate.com, REALTOR® Magazine, and the American Bar Association Journal, she specializes in real estate, business, personal finance, and legal topics.

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Realtor

Twitter Real Estate Tips – Tweet Your Listings

By Kevin Curtis

New technologies continue to make business easier and more exciting than ever. The recent introduction of social media websites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are creating quite a buzz among the Real Estate community. It has never been easier to connect with people and share your listings.

Twitter provides a large chat room feel where Realtors may list properties and answer questions asked by interested parties. It also gives the Realtor a chance to connect with new lenders and real estate investors. At Twitter, people choose the people they wish to follow and create a tailored list of friends. They may also choose to un-follow certain people at any given time.

Be Honest

Create your Tweets with honesty in mind. Don’t mislead potential clients or trick them into visiting a home that isn’t what they’re looking for. A wasted trip may cost you a great lead. Home owners have become much more knowledgeable about the real estate business in the last couple of years. Mass foreclosures have taught home buyers what to look for and warning signs to avoid.

Be Brief

Twitter limits each message to 140 characters. As a Realtor, certain acronyms are used on a regular basis to describe a home. For instance when someone reads “4bed, 2.5 bth” it’s readily understood that the home has 4 bedrooms and 2 and one half bathrooms. Make the most of those acronyms while “Tweeting” your listings.

Create Curiosity

Provide a city name and brief description of the home. Links to photos or videos can take up valuable space and should always be shortened by using a service like TinyURL. A properly written Tweet may look similar to this: “New Listing Minneapolis. Single Fam Home 4bed, 2bth, fenced yard, great neighborhood. Starts at $98k.” Thirty-nine more characters allow you to link to the listing on your website or photos.

This example provides valuable information for home buyers and real estate investors. They know up front that the home is an affordable single family home in Minneapolis with 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a fenced yard and a great neighborhood. Encourage your Twitter followers to ask questions and answer them promptly.

Obviously the information contained within a 140 character message isn’t going to provide all of the information buyers are looking for. Engage in conversation via tweets with followers. Really get to know what they’re looking for in a home so you can effectively tweet about listings they may be interested in.

Tweet Open Houses

Any time you have an open house, Tweet about it. Let your followers know when you will be there so they can plan to attend and get information about the property. Every professional Realtor knows that getting the interested party to tour the home is incredibly important to sealing the deal.

Tweeting an open house should be done in much the same way as a new listing. When you tweet an open house, include the address. Make sure your followers know exactly where the home is. Interested followers will show up, especially if you’ve already created a relationship with them on Twitter.

Make Use of Media Sharing Websites

The Internet makes it possible for a variety of websites to communicate. Posting your message to multiple sites can be quite time consuming. Look for websites that offer the possibility to post to multiple communities simultaneously. For example, when you post a photo to FriendFeed or TwitPic you have the option to post it to Twitter in the same instant.

Use these services and others like them to your advantage. Don’t spam your followers with message after message, just share the important stuff. Keep a close eye on each community website you use and keep communication flowing freely. Buyers and investors enjoy building a relationship with their Realtor. Be the Realtor that provides them that opportunity.

Kevin Curtis is a licensed agent with RE/MAX Advantage Plus and The Minnesota Real Estate Team. The #1 Re/Max team in MN For 06, 07,08 & 09. Search for Minnesota and Minneapolis Real Estate at mn mls and get ongoing insights into the Minnesota Real Estate market at MinnesotaPropertiesOnline.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kevin_Curtis
http://EzineArticles.com/?Twitter-Real-Estate-Tips—Tweet-Your-Listings&id=2395798

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