Speed is now essential for those hoping to buy a home before the expiration of the first-time homebuyers tax credit Nov. 30. For those working with a buyers agent, the process of finding and closing on the right residence will go much more quickly if you are up-front about your finances and what it is you want in the property you buy.
To help you find the right house, and in some cases even help you obtain financing, your agent is going to need to know your financial picture. So come to the homebuying process prepared to deal openly and honestly with your agent, and, of course, demand the same in return. Agents are required to keep your information confidential, and they risk losing their license and worse if they do not.
Be up-front, even if that means conceding to some credit mistakes, poor saving habits, employment problems or other glitches that may affect your homebuying power. Agents don’t make judgments; they sell houses, and their goal is to get you from contract ratification to settlement. Period.
You and your agent cannot do any serious house shopping until you have at least sat down with a lender and know what you can afford to spend.
If you’ve already met with a lender, your agent needs to know whom you are working with and where you are in the process. If you have been preapproved for a specific amount, your agent will ask your lender for a preapproval letter. That letter can be a little peace of mind for sellers when they consider a contract offer. That preapproval amount also guides your agent in searching for houses that you can afford. However, if you are preapproved for $500,000 but only are comfortable spending $400,000, say so and avoid spending time and gas looking at houses priced over your comfort level.
Discuss how you and your agent are going to make offers and negotiate. Give your agent the information needed to get the best deal. If you really want to low-ball offers, tell your agent before sitting down to write a contract. That can be a sore spot in the negotiating process. Agents can assess whether such an offer is likely to work on a property, based on its pricing history and signals from the listing agent. If it is obvious a low offer will not work, your agent would rather not risk losing a chance at a property you really want, and getting a nasty response from irate sellers and their agent.
But that’s not all the information your agent will need. Before you even begin the hunt for your first home, make a list of what you really want. A detailed list.
You will have a list of hundreds of houses to look at if you only tell your agent that you want a three- or four-bedroom home with a nice yard in Fairfax County. So include details about what you want — because the Metropolitan Regional Information Systems service that real estate agents use has a wonderful search feature.
For example, if you want a fenced yard or partially fenced yard, it can search for that. You want a raised rambler, not just a rambler? Condos but no co-ops? No problem. Eat-in kitchen, formal dining room, gas fireplace, first-floor bedroom, full baths, half-baths, number of rooms, acreage, fixers, new construction? Heck, that’s the easy stuff. Only want to look at foreclosures? Can do. Only want to look at houses listed for sale this week? Easily done.
So at the beginning, think about what you really want in a house in terms of location, age, architectural styles, condition, size and amenities. It’s very easy to broaden a search by removing items low on your priority list if you aren’t getting the results you want. But you never know; with a well-thought-out search, you may hit on that perfect home right off the bat.
