Real Estate


Mortgages Real Estate Investments Plus

Home Loan Deals & Mortgage Refinancing Tips


 RSS  feed      Home      

Real Estate - Click here to save on your mortgage

Be A Successful Loan Officer - Insider Land Secrets - Building Business Credit - Mortgage Secrets - Personal Loan - Bad Credit Loans


Share |


You are free to use content from this page in your blog or website, in return for a link back to this page from that blog or website.



Buying a Home: The 5 Biggest Mistakes that a Home Buyer Makes


As a Professional Real Estate Inspector I get to see and hear the right and wrong things people do when buying a home. These 5 tips will help you choose the right Real Estate Agent the first time.

Mistake #1: Not using an agent at all or using the Listing Agent as your 'Agent'. Not smart at all. By law, the listing agent is required to keep the Sellers best interest at stake, not yours! Why would anyone enter into a relationship handicapped like this'

I'm not aware of any state that makes a Buyer pay for their Agent. The Buyers agent normally gets paid from a cut of the Listing fees or the commissions are split.

If you choose wisely, you can put a trained real estate professional on your side for free! A true Buyers agent can help you negotiate a contract, fly through the mountain of paperwork, help you find the right home and help you schedule the needed inspections and appointments necessary when you do find your dream home.

Mistake #2: Relying on the Home Inspector your Agent recommends: I'm still amazed at how many people will blindly take the advice and recommendation of their Agent, or of the Listing Agent, when choosing an Inspector.

The agents have a financial stake in seeing the deal go through. Why risk the conflict of interest by solely relying on their choice of Inspectors? With a little research you can find your own home inspector who will have your best interest at stake. Don't know where to start? The American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) has an easy to use search tool on their web site. You can choose by zip code or by state and city. You can find it here: http://www.ashi.org

Mistake #3: Putting up "Non-Refundable" earnest money. This is like giving the Sellers a check and saying, "Here, you keep this. Even if we don't buy your home, you can keep our money". That's just plain stupid. If your Agent recommends it, find another agent because they don't have your best interest at stake.

I've seen Sellers request up to a $20,000 non-refundable earnest money check. Luckily my Client had a good agent and she told the Listing Agent "That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. We'll give you the standard $1000 refundable earnest check. Take it or find another Buyer." The Seller accepted rather quickly since her home had been sitting on the market for 5 months.

Mistake #4: Falling in love with the home: "Earth to love struck home Buyer, they're building more homes every day!" The one group of consumers I see getting taken advantage of the most are those that "fall in love" with a home.

They will accept any terms set by a Seller. They will buy the home and tell themselves "It just needs a little work, I can do that myself." Even though they have never picked up a hammer in their life. They let their "love" cloud their vision and Judgement and end up paying hefty 'stupid tax'.

Mistake #5: Buying more home than what they can afford. There is a rule of thumb that says you should not buy a home that cost you more per month that 20 to 25% of your take home pay. I rarely see anyone following that rule of thumb today.

What I do see is consumers buying homes that take a large part of their monthly income. This leaves little room in their finances for emergency's, furniture, vacations, investing, etc. With the relaxed lending requirements, people are buying way more home than what they can realistically afford. If you go down this road, chances are that you'll grow to hate this home. You should own a home, the home should not own you.

I'm not a real estate agent, broker or attorney, nor am I a financial consultant nor do I claim to be an expert in any of these fields. The above views are my own and have been obtained from experiences in the Home Inspection field. Always consult with your financial planner and/or Real Estate Agent before making any decisions.

Donald Lawson is a Professional Real Estate Inspector licensed in Oklahoma (454) and Texas (#5824) and currently owns V.I.P. Home Inspections in Houston Texas. V.I.P. Home Inspections is a multi-inspector firm that inspects both commercial and residential inspections. You can find out more by clicking on this link to his site: http://www.best2inspect.com


Cat 10542


Fairly LEVEL Wooded Land Lot Sale on PAVED STREET For House Cabin Home c25/17on
ebay image$112.50 (5 Bids)
End Date: Thursday Feb-9-2012 21:00:30 PST
Bid now | Add to watch list

LAKE ARROWHEAD Vacation Home
ebay image$395,000.00
End Date: Saturday Mar-10-2012 10:28:11 PST
Buy It Now for only: $395,000.00
Buy It Now | Add to watch list

Great Home or Rental Potential in MOUNT MORRIS,MI -TAXES OR PAID
ebay image$4,150.00 (23 Bids)
End Date: Thursday Feb-9-2012 22:51:33 PST
Bid now | Add to watch list

Country home for sale by owner
ebay image$10,000.00
End Date: Tuesday Feb-28-2012 12:07:18 PST
Buy It Now for only: $10,000.00
Buy It Now | Add to watch list

SINGLE FAMILY HOME- CLEVELAND OH- NO RESERVE!!
ebay image$1,525.00 (14 Bids)
End Date: Friday Feb-10-2012 8:53:40 PST
Bid now | Add to watch list

$1 No Reserve! Phoenix Suburb! Built 2007! 3 Bedroom 2 Baths! Shea Home! Invest
ebay image$65,100.00 (90 Bids)
End Date: Friday Feb-10-2012 16:43:24 PST
Bid now | Add to watch list

Myrtle Beach Water Front Home-WOW!! Elevator ,Dock,Pool **Owner Financing**
ebay image$35,000.00
End Date: Monday Feb-13-2012 14:28:58 PST
Buy It Now for only: $35,000.00
Buy It Now | Add to watch list

4 Bed room 1 .5 bath room fully remodeled home. Near all FL beaches. Holiday FL
ebay image$70,000.00 (0 Bids)
End Date: Friday Feb-10-2012 18:23:19 PST
Buy It Now for only: $77,600.00
Buy It Now | Bid now | Add to watch list

mountain view home on 9 acres
ebay image$142,900.00
End Date: Monday Feb-13-2012 12:29:02 PST
Buy It Now for only: $142,900.00
Buy It Now | Add to watch list

OKLAHOMA MTN/HUNTING LAND, 5 Acres - 0% for 5 yrs *$172/mo*
ebay image$100.00 (0 Bids)
End Date: Friday Feb-10-2012 19:30:06 PST
Bid now | Add to watch list

Wyoming Land - 40 Acres - 0% for 5 yrs - *$123 per/mo*
ebay image$51.00 (7 Bids)
End Date: Friday Feb-10-2012 19:30:25 PST
Bid now | Add to watch list

EXECUTIVE DREAM HOME ON 5 ACRES, SHOP, POOL, SECURITY SYSTEM, WORK SHOP, FENCED
ebay image$499,000.00
End Date: Tuesday Feb-28-2012 10:56:27 PST
Buy It Now for only: $499,000.00
Buy It Now | Add to watch list

DUPLEX!!! 4/2 home in Springfield Ohio, 2006 sqft. Large lot!
ebay image$510.00 (13 Bids)
End Date: Friday Feb-10-2012 19:56:27 PST
Bid now | Add to watch list

Home Business Plan

Peel Away Ads Marketing And Advertising without Pop-Ups, Fly-Ins or Pop-Unders
home | Realestate site map | custom google search | Realestate articles | Privacy policy
Copyright © 2009 www.dovada.net.au