Real Estate Investing -- Motivated Buyer?

What's the first image that comes to mind when you hear the term -- motivated seller?

You probably think of someone who is desperate to sell his property, as quickly as possible, for well below the market price - right?

Well, sometimes that's true but often it's not.

There are many reasons, other than desperation, that motivate a person to put their property on the market.

Maybe needed repairs are too costly for the property owner or perhaps the owner is relocating to a different area. Maybe the owner, for various reasons, is trying to avoid the pressure of waiting to the last minute to sell his property so time isn't always a consideration.

Whatever the reason a motivated seller puts his property on the market, the opportunity to make a better than average deal is greatly increased and that means more profit for you.

It's important to remember however, no matter how motivated a seller is, nobody wants to give away the farm (so to speak). A house represents a great deal of money and there will be limitations on how far a seller is willing to go to sell his property.

Enter the motivated buyer!

A motivated buyer is, first and foremost, a salesman and his product is himself. A seller needs to know that he's dealing with someone who is knowledgeable, that has a creative solution to his Real Estate problem and, more importantly, that he's dealing with someone that can be trusted (and, of course, you can be trusted).

Creating an emotional connection with the seller will get you through the front door far easier than spouting off a flood of meaningless facts and figures. He's really not interested that you know 50 different ways to buy a house. He's interested in you as a reliable Real Estate expert and how you can satisfy HIS needs right now.

Makes sense, right?

A motivated seller doesn't need to seek out buyers. If a seller is willing to offer his property at a better than market value price, buyers will find him. What he does need to know is that he's dealing with a Real Estate professional -- someone he can trust, someone who understands his position and someone who will make him an attractive and fair offer.

Your greatest assets as a motivated buyer are to be able to understand the seller's needs, have viable and yet profitable solutions to his needs and to have the ability to instill the seller's trust in you as a Real Estate expert -- a win, win situation.

Happy investing from http://www.thelearntocenter.com.

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Attention Ezine editors or website owners -- Feel free to reprint this article in it's entirety as long as you do not modify the content and leave the links intact.

About The Author

Mike Burke is the author of numerous articles and has an affection for investing in Real Estate. You can start to invest in Real Estate with only a few bucks and the desire to make lots of money. For more Real Estate investing tips and information visit http://www.thelearntocenter.com.

12 Great Things About Successful Real Estate Note Holders

1. They make sure that the insurance policy on the property is issued for an amount that represents at least the full value of the note still owed to them.

2. They also make sure that the note is recorded and they are listed as mortgagee, trustee, or the first contract holder on the policy. This guarantees that they will be entitled to any proceeds from any claim ahead of the borrower.

3. They make sure that they get a notice of cancellation if the borrower fails to keep a current policy on the property.

4. They make sure that real estate taxes are paid on time by the borrower, and if necessary the note holder will pay the taxes themselves.

5. They make it a habit to drive by the property on a regular basis or have someone drive by to make sure that their investment is still intact.

6. They keep all pertinent information on the buyer in a safe place in case of fire, flood, earthquake, hurricane, tornado or any other type of catastrophe.

7. They make sure that they have received an amortization schedule from their attorney or title company so that they can keep up with all payments that are made to them.

8. They notify the borrower well in advance (at least 3–6 months) before a balloon payment is due. This gives the borrower more than enough time to find favorable financing; this reduces the threat of default.

9. They don’t allow the borrower to get comfortable making late payments. They install a late payment clause in the contract and enforce it.

10. They are serious about their money and initiate foreclosure proceedings at the first sign of trouble. They are not childish in this area. They obtain the services of an experienced foreclosure attorney to handle the problem instead of trying to save a few bucks and “do it yourself”.

11. They realize that a note is a depreciating asset. They understand that each month and each year the value of their note becomes less and less due to inflation.

12. They understand the time value of money and are able to answer these questions:

. How much is my note really worth in today’s market?
. If I decide to sell today for all cash, how much would I get?
. Can I sell a partial of my note?
. How fast can I get the money?
. Who will buy it?
. What is my risk factor in the long run?
. What if things don’t work out as planned?
. What is my exit strategy?
. Should I continue to receive monthly payments for the duration of my note?

These are considered some of the best reasons why some people are successful note holders and some are not. There are more, but these will make the greatest impact on you if you can emulate them. If circumstances in your life indicate that now is the time to convert your note into cash, please give us a call and let us help you.

Also, if you need to only raise a specific amount of capital, we can structure a partial so that you receive exactly the amount you need without having to cash out your entire note.

About The Author

© 2005 by Richard Wills

This article was written by Richard Wills, CEO at Charter West Investments. Richard Wills is an expert in private Real Estate Financing and cash flow settlements. He is a former Licensed Real Estate Professional and Bail Agent for the state of California, as well as a noted author, professional coach and consultant. He has helped 100s of real estate professionals, attorneys, financial planners, business owners, accountants and others, in converting paper assets into cash. To learn more visit http://www.a-znotebuyer.com.

Real Estate Investors find old fashion Lead Generation the Best!

Door Knocking is back! Tired of the poor results from “we buy houses” advertising, Real Estate Investors are tapping an old resource to generate higher profit deals.

Door knocking is a lead generation, qualification, and development tool used by real estate investor for years to gather information, build rapport, and negotiate with the seller. Historically this method takes the most work and is the most costly per lead. So why is it suddenly gaining popularity in the real estate investing industry? An influx of Investors and Investment sources in the real estate investment world, has caused a massive increases in “We Buy Houses” ad campaigns, direct mail campaigns, and internet lead sources that are accessible by virtually all investors with the click off a button. Homeowners in major metropolitan areas may see as many as 20 signs on one corner advertising “We Buy Houses” with different contact information on each sign. Get in trouble on a mortgage and your names lands on an “NOD” list that is available to every Investor on the planet resulting in the phone jammed and mailbox full of letters. If a homeowner is brave enough to get on the internet and look for a buyer or a way to solve their financial problems, their information is instantly put up for sale and they find themselves flooded with Investors inquiries. To stand out from the crowd, Investors are offering unreasonable amounts or making promises they can’t keep. Homeowners are just as frustrated trying to determine the good guys from the bad guys.

Door knocking gets you away from the crowd and gives you that chance to make an impression and build rapport that is becoming more and more difficult with most other systems. Investors are finding that the extra effort and hard work can result in big profits.

What is Door Knocking? For illustrative purposes, let’s break door knocking down into three steps or levels of involvement. 1. Birddog 2. Direct Field Contact 3. Negotiating the contract or “Getting the Dead”

Birddog. A birddog basically finds the lead and points at it. Just like hunting. The birddog sniffs out the lead and points at it for the Investor. A lead that looks and smells like what the investor has trained the birddog to look for. Maybe the investor is looking for pretty houses, ugly houses, vacant houses, foreclosures, single family, low income or whatever he wants. But the birddog has to be trained what to look for and how to point. The Birddog does not usually interact with the seller and provides very limited information to the Investor.

Direct Field Contact. The second level requires direct field contact in order to develop and qualify the lead. The birddog or another team member contacts the property owner directly at the property to gather information, build rapport and ultimately to determine if property owner is a motivated seller and has a need to sell. Sometimes we refer to this as “developing” or “qualifying” the lead.

Negotiating the Contract. The third level of negotiating the contract or “getting the dead”, consists of negotiating with the Seller, putting the property under contract and obtaining the necessary paperwork from the Seller. It is imperative that this be the job description of someone on the team that is skilled at understanding the Seller’s needs and formulating win-win offers that satisfy the Seller as well as meets the Investor’s investment criteria.

Some investors use one or a combination of these methods to help them acquire properties. We recommend whoever is responsible for the third level of negotiating the contract is not the same person who is responsible for the first two. Although there are many reasons, a few of the more prominent are: 1. The education and skill required to negotiate deals and generate appropriate legal documents would needlessly limit the pool of available doorknockers. 2. The time and cost associated with training someone to that level brings with it a high level of risk relative to the investment if the doorknocker drops out or becomes the Investor’s competition. 3. Having one person perform all three levels puts the Investor at a great risk of theft by the Doorknocker. Getting a good lead is one thing, but having it negotiated and under contract can be an overwhelming temptation for some people. Separation of duties is usually a very effective method to control theft in any business and this is no exception. How does a Door Knocking system work? Typically an Investor would place and ad for a door knocker in some media source such as the newspaper, magazine or online advertising. The ad will attract an extremely diverse group of interest people ranging from professionals with experience and education, to the unemployed and inexperienced looking for a new beginning. It then becomes the Investor’s responsibility to interview, train, organize and follow through with those who respond to the ad in an effort to build a team that generates leads. Depending on the system the Investor deploys or the resources available, the doorknockers are trained and managed until they can operate on their own or they drop out.

The results of this type of system can be incredible. Building rapport directly with the customer and getting a deep understanding of their needs helps to create a win-win situation. Finding those bigger profit margin deals from motivated sellers becomes more likely. With so much less competition and increased depth of information about the Seller’s situation, the Investor can create offers that meet the needs of the Seller in more ways than just the purchase price.

The Bad News. In a perfect world, the Investor would find a team of people that are attentive, receptive, and follow exactly the training and wisdom offered them from the investor, freeing up their time and talents to close more deals. But what can happen in the real world is strikingly different. The investor’s time becomes completely consumed interviewing, screening, training and keeping up with the paperwork and headaches. The training is inconsistent for each person. The Investor’s time becomes totally absorbed leaving them little time to capitalize on the leads that are being generating. The leads start pouring in, but the Investor simply does not have the time needed to close the deals.

The Investor usually reacts to that by shifting the focus to negotiating the deals, Leaving the door knocking team without the needed training and focus to keep going. Then the team starts to fall apart. Some leave from a lack of self motivation. Others drop out because they aren’t getting the support they need. And others drop out simply because they can’t connect the dots. Others were just wasting the Investor’s time from the beginning trying to get a free education. This forces the Investor to give up or start the cycle all over again of advertising, screening, training, etc. while buying and selling houses gets neglected.

The Good News. There is very little competition using a door knocking system compared to the conventional methods employed by the masses of real estate investors. Although the down side can seem a little daunting, there are solutions using today’s technologies and resources that virtually eliminate the training and time that the investor would normally need to commit to bring together a successful door knocking system. In the past the solutions available have fallen short of providing the real solutions needed for today’s fast paced and technologically advanced world. For more information visit www.MrDoorKnocker.com.

Copyright 2005 Stewart Knudson

About The Author

Stewart Knudson For more information visit http://www.MrDoorKnocker.com - Automated Lead Generation System! Don't spend your time or money for another lead. Real solution for real estate investors by SmartREISolutions.com – Technology made simple! SmartREISolutions@hotmail.com.

Why Sell Your House to an Investor?

When talking to people who are trying to sell their house I'm often asked the question, "Why should I sell my house to you?"

That's a great question. Today's house seller has lots of options: they can list their house with a real estate agent, they can try to sell the house themselves or they can sell their house to a real estate investor. None of these choices is necessarily better than the others: they each have their own advantages and disadvantages.

Here is what I say when asked why someone should sell their house to me:

1. I'm fast. In many cases, sellers are in a rush to get their house sold. Maybe they're facing foreclosure or they're settling a divorce. Sometimes the seller has moved because of a job and needs to sell the house quickly to avoid two mortgage payments. Or someone might inherit a house and they don't want the hassle of dealing with the repairs and marketing necessary to sell the house.

Most people who try selling their house themselves or through a real estate agent find that it is anything but a "fast" process in most cases. Unless you are willing to sell your house at a significantly reduced price, in many markets you could find yourself waiting one to three months before you accept an offer.

On the other hand, because I'm an independent investor with private funds I can often close a house purchase in 7 days or less.

2. My offers are flexible. I make my offer fit the seller's needs. If the seller wants to close quickly, that can be arranged. If the seller wants cash all at once or a monthly cash flow, I can do those, too. I can also make up past payments and take over current payments to immediately relieve money burdens on the seller.

I can be a lot more flexible with my offers than the "traditional" offers sellers typically receive. That's because I'm independent and not part of a bank bureaucracy which has to follow lots of rules. I'm also aware of possible creative solutions to meet sellers' needs that your average home buyer wouldn't think of.

3. I'm open-minded. I might buy someone's house when no one else will. In many cases I buy houses that have fire damage, termites, mold, foundation problems, roof problems or need major repairs. Houses with these conditions scare most buyers and real estate agents hate listing them because they know such houses are hard to sell.

I actually enjoy talking to sellers with houses like these because I can see the house's potential value after all the repairs are made. I'm also not worried about extensive repairs as long as the after-repaired-value of the house justifies the expenses.

In conclusion, I encourage sellers to investigate all avenues of getting their house sold in the way that best meets their needs. If they decide that working with me to buy their house makes the most sense, then I'm more than happy to help.

About The Author

Marc Menninger is a real estate investor in Seattle, WA. For a free consultation about selling your house go to Seattle House Buyers (www.SeattleHouseBuyers.com).

Real Estate Investing--Starting Right Is the Key to Profits

You've heard of the potential payoff from real estate investing. The good news is, it's true! The bad news is, it won't happen for most people. Why? They have unrealistic expectations. Real estate investing isn't a "get rich quick" endeavor, although it sometimes happens. No real business is. So, prepare to make a serious time commitment. Would you expect to become extremely wealthy at anything in just a few months? Know that you'll have to keep learning, keep getting contracts, and keep putting time into it.

Still in? Great, you're a realist! Your first step is to choose an area to focus on. Do you want to purchase run-down properties and repair them to sell for profit (rehabilitate, or rehab them)? Do you want to buy properties and turn them quickly (flipping)? Maybe you want to buy properties, then lease them to potential buyers with an option for them to purchase them later, while you accumulate equity. There are pros and cons to each of these, depending on your financial position, your location, your available time, and other considerations. We'll be going over them all in future issues of the newsletter. You'll find the possibilities exciting.

Once you know what you're looking at draft your plan IN WRITING. People who do this get three times as much done in the same amount of time. Set long-term goals for 3, 5 and 10 years out for what you want your cash, equity, and cash flow to be. Then, you can work backwards from there to set 1-year, 6-month, and 3-month goals. Without this, you'll be driving without a map, taking or skipping deals without regard to how they fit into your big picture. Leaves lots of room for "Wish I'da's...." Don't do it! You can always adjust your plan as you go along.

Keep your day job for as long as possible. If and when it seems time to go, before you do, get some of those low- to no-interest credit cards that are out there. It could really ease some cash flow worries to be able to tap on a $10,000 line if you're doing a fixer-upper and run into an unforeseen problem with no additional bank draw in sight.

Get an attorney who knows and understands the creative options of real estate. Some banks just don't understand simultaneous closings, for example; you'll want your lawyer to know how to smooth things so that there aren't any snags that cost you time and money. Some even have their own title companies. A good place to ask for a referral is to ask a mid- to large-sized developer. This is one place not to haggle about price; he or she will be worth their weight in gold when they can get your deals done and you know that you can sleep at night because it's been done quickly and right.

As soon as you decide to get into real estate investing, begin building your list of buyers. We'll be covering more on this later; but, when you meet them, learn as much as you can about the kinds of deals they do, how long it takes them to conclude a deal, and so on. Most people love to talk about how they became successful, if you ask respectfully and don't waste their time.

Warning, warning! Think very long and hard before taking on a partner. If you do, it should be somebody who brings something to the party that you don't have, and it should be for one deal only until you see how things go.

Which brings us to how to set up your company. You should set up a separate corporate entity for each deal. An LLC is cheap and easy to set up. Land trusts are even better, because your name isn't personally in the public records, inviting some chump to sue you. The idea is to keep your personal assets off the table if something goes wrong. Talk with your attorney about it; he has forms that can have you done in a few minutes.

Finally, if you've made your plan, you have to work it to get anywhere. If you're not out there making any offers, you're never going to close any deals. No deals closed, no profits. If you're not making any profits, you're not in business, you're dreaming. Set a number of deals you're going to bid on per week and per month, and then get out there. Make it happen!

About The Author

Lynn Stonebraker has been profiting from real estate since 1987. Get free weekly training in her newsletter, available at www.RealEstateInvestingInformation.com.

Real Estate And Marketing; Part 1

There are two aspects of real estate and marketing that are paramount to your success as a real estate professional; the acquisition of new customers and the retention of old ones.

As is the case in other industries the cost of acquiring new customers is escalating. So, it becomes more prudent to continue marketing to past customers. It’s less expensive and can be equally profitable.

However, many real estate agents, to their financial detriment, often fail to maintain relationships with clients they have “closed” deals on.

Take you for example. If you’re like the majority of agents you probably spend a lot of time, money and effort acquiring new customers; and heaven knows it's anything but easy. But how effective are you at retaining past ones?

You probably feel, real or imagined, pressure to make the next "close", but in doing so you are leaving a lot of money on the table. Actually, it’s more like you’re putting money into a competitor’s pocket.

Marketing to past clients can be especially rewarding. You probably shared a genuine care for each other, and if they were satisfied with you and your services in the past, there is a greater chance than not that they will come back to you for future transactions. Also, they are likely to refer friends, family and colleagues in the interim.

Savvy real estate and marketing pros immediately shift their strategy to building long term relationships once they "close" buyers." You should, too! Rather than simply abandoning a client after a sale continue nurturing the relationship, but in a different way.

Savvy real estate and marketing pros also, maintain continuous, routine and ongoing contact and relations with past clients. This helps to you protect your customers/business from competitive encroachments.

For example; put them on an every other month "post sale marketing campaign", whether it's via post cards, letters or flyers.

Something is better than nothing, and it doesn't have to cost a lot of time or money. The alternative is to do nothing and let a competitive agent convert them to their client! If you snooze you'll lose!

An old friend once said. "Sometimes it's better to keep what you got than to replace it with something new." Avoid the pain of seeing a recent past client transact a real estate deal with another agent. Don't let them get away - you spent too much time and energy converting them into a customer.

About The Author

Lanard Perry is the author of "Farming Expired Listings." Average 1 or more listings a week. Visit him at http://www.farmingexpiredlistings.com and http://www.real-estate-marketing-talk.com for more business building ideas.

Real Estate Owners Biggest First Mistake

The single most common mistake that a note holder makes when creating a note is that they fail to check their buyer’s Credit Report. It seems so simple, but it is worth repeating "Most people fail to check the credit report of their prospective buyers!!" Can you believe this? Just by doing this one simple step can save you a bunch of money now and in the future.

How so? First and foremost by checking your potential buyers credit score can help resolve your worries of your buyer’s ability to repay their future debt to you. Heck, I don't know of any bank that would not check the credit score of any one of their customers seeking a mortgage. So why shouldn’t you?

The second benefit of checking your buyer’s credit score is what if you should ever decide to ever sell your real estate note, trust deed, or owner financed mortgage for all cash? By knowing your buyers credit score would not only benefit you now, but it would also make your real estate note more valuable in the future.

Here's why. The first thing a promissory note buyer/investor is going to require to sell your note is your payer’s credit score! Your buyer’s credit score is paramount to how much money you will ultimately receive for your real estate note. Of course the higher the credit score the less risky it is to a perspective promissory note buyer, thus making your note more valuable to them and ultimately you.

So, just what is an acceptable credit score concerning a real estate note? That is entirely up to you, but if it was my note I would not accept a score of less than a 550. The credit score counts for 40 percent of a total of 100 percent in rating your real estate notes value. So whether you are creating or selling your real estate note it pays to get your buyers credit score in more ways than one.

About The Author

Robert Pomerleau has been around Real Estate for over 20 years. I have built, remodeled, repaired, flipped houses, and sub-divided raw land. I have taken numerous real estate investing courses and as my love for real estate and the internet grew, I wanted to take it to the next level. So I started Fast Cash Funding in 2002 in helping people like you to create and sell their owner financed mortgages or trust deeds for the most money fast.

Feel free to benefit from this article but please do not copy and paste my original work. Thank-you.

fastcashfunding.com

admin@fastcashfunding.com

The Truth About Flipping Real Estate

There has been a lot written about "flipping" real estate these last two years - and much of it is more fiction than fact. Some say it is great way to make money fast. Some say it is very difficult. Some even claim it is illegal. So, just what is the truth?

Let's take care of the "illegal" claims, first. Flipping, if done the way it was meant to be done, is completely legal. But it becomes illegal when unscrupulous investors, working with unscrupulous appraisers or lenders, conspire to defraud either buyers or lenders. This is done when an investor gets an appraiser or lender to over-value a property for the purpose of selling for a higher-than-market value, or for the purposes of getting a bigger mortgage so the investor can pocket more cash. In short, it is not the flipping that is illegal -- rather, it is the fraud that sometimes accompanies it that is in violation of the law.

Such fraud is not necessary. You can use any legitimate method of flipping, and if you remain within the law and act in an ethical manner, you will profit immensely, and earn yourself a solid reputation as a good person to do business with. In the long run, as you gain a reputation for fairness and sound ethics, you will actually profit more than if you were to defraud anyone.

Now, as for it being difficult. Some so-called "gurus" claim that in order to flip, the investor must first buy the property and only then find a buyer to resell to. Let's put that falsehood to rest right now -- you can buy and resell at the same closing (called a double escrow, or simultaneous closing) without ever having to finance a single penny, because the buyer's money funds both transactions. Under the law, neither transaction takes place first or last in a double escrow, regardless of which one actually is completed first. Therefore, the transaction with your buyer can take place first, providing you with the funds to pay off your seller. In such a transaction, the only requirements are a) you contract to buy a property from the seller at one price, then b) contract to sell that same property to another buyer at a higher price, and for both contracts to call for closing at the same time and place. Both agreements are placed into the same escrow. The key, of course, is to buy at below market value, and sell at no more than market value, to avoid any possibility of fraud.

The reality is that there are a number of ways to flip properties, the double escrow is only one method. Some methods require financing - others do not. Some methods do not require cash or credit. And most methods are quite simple to do. In addition to the double escrow, the investor may also flip by way of "assigning". In this technique, a property is put under contract. Then, instead of reselling the property (double escrow), the investor sells (assigns) the contract to another buyer. The buyer pays an assignment fee -- usually $3000-$5000 -- to the investor at the time the contract is assigned. The investor does not have to participate in any closing -- he is out of the deal, and a few thousand dollars richer.

That said let us look at claims that it is very difficult and time-consuming. Since the most difficult part is finding a suitable property, the rest of the transaction consists of negotiating the deal (no different from any other transaction), find a new buyer (also no different from any other sale), then wait until closing when the closing agent takes care of everything else. Personally, I have never found laying on the beach waiting for a closing to be all that time-consuming or stressful. And I have been using these methods for over 35 years.

Then there are the unfounded fears that for some unknown reason, your seller and/or your buyer will revolt at closing when they "discover" you are making a profit.

We can only assume that the investors who have this fear feel it is necessary to keep it a secret that they are an investor. I do not advocate that. I stress ethical conduct. Simply make sure your seller and your buyer are fully aware that you are an investor - it is nothing to be ashamed of! If they know this, they will obviously know, up front, that you must make a profit - you would not be in the deal, otherwise. At closing there will be no anger because they were not deceived. In all my years of doing this, I have not seen one case where closing did not complete because of such problems, because the problems never arose in the first place.

Yes, flipping is a great way to make a lot of money in a short period of time. And it, like any other endeavor, can be stressful at times. It is not as easy as many "gurus" would have you believe, but it is not all that difficult, either. The secret lies in 1) knowing which properties lend themselves to flipping , 2) being honest and up front, and 3) using the right contracts, specially designed for flipping.

I have developed a program that can teach you #1, and the program includes software that takes care of #3. And if you are the kind of person deserving of success, #2 should not be a problem, either - just be honest and forthright. If you would like more information on the program, please visit me at www.intellibiz.com.

So, now you know that "flipping" is legal, relatively simple and requires no cash or credit. So, what are you waiting for? There is a lot of excitement in making money in this fashion!

About The Author

Bill Vaughn has been investing in real estate for over 35 years, and has developed "The Simple Man's Guide to Real Estate" program (www.intellibiz.com), which has been sold in 14 countries. He has written several self-help books and articles, as well as books on real estate, and is the founder of IntelliBiz.

First Time Real Estate Purchase

Nothing can be more exciting & terrifying at the same time than buying your 1st home. Everyone talks about all the advantages of buying real estate such as the tax benefits, appreciation etc. But there are some risks involved and the more knowledge you have before you start the process the less vulnerable you will be to those risks. Now that you have decided to take the plunge there are some things you can go to make the experience exciting and pleasurable.

One of the 1st things you should do is interview 3 Mortgage Specialists. This accomplishes 3 things, 1st you know in advance how much home you can afford. The worst feeling is to go out looking, find your dream home and then realize you cannot afford it. After that it will be really frustrating trying to find another home. Knowing what your price range is before you start looking assures that when you do find a home you will be able to afford it. 2nd, once you decide to put in an offer, being “Pre-Approved” puts you in a stronger bargaining position, especially it you happen to be in a multiple offer situation. 3nd you will have a relationship established with a mortgage broker. This will move things along much more efficiently once you have found your home.

Now that you have been “Pre- Approved” it is time to start the Search for your dream Home. 95% of people turn to the Internet to start that search. There are many options but realtor.com is probably the most popular. This tool can help you get to know the real estate market in the area you want to live. Check out the average home prices for the size of home you are looking to purchase in any given area. Real Estate prices can really fluctuate greatly even in the same city.

Once you have found a few homes that interest you, it is time to call a real estate agent. Having a buyer’s agent costs you nothing, the seller pays all the fees. So take advantage of all the benefits they have to offer. Here is a sample:

• Evaluate the specific needs and wants of the buyer and locate properties that fit those specifications.

• Assist the buyer in determining the amount that they can afford (pre-qualify) and show properties in that price range and locale the consumer has determined.

• Assist in viewing properties and either accompany the client on the showings or preview the properties on behalf of the client to insure that the identified specifications are met.

• Research the selected properties to identify any problems or issues to help the consumer in making an informed decision prior to making an appropriate offer on the property.

• Advise the client on structuring an appropriate offer to purchase the selected property.

• Present the offer to the sellers agent and seller on the clients behalf.

• Negotiate on behalf of the buyer client to help obtain the identified property. Keep in mind that the buyer agent will be doing so with their clients best interests in mind.

• Review and explain all legal documents to their buyer client.

• Recommendations and assistance in securing appropriate financing for the selected property. • Provide a list of potential qualified vendors e.g. movers, attorneys, carpenters if these services are needed by the consumer.

Now that you are ready to buy, you will begin the negotiating process. The seller wants the most money and the buyer wants to pay the least amount. This is where the expertise of your real estate agent comes in. Usually the seller gives a little and the buyer gives a little.

Knowledge is power when it comes to purchasing real estate, so educate yourself and the whole process will be exciting & pleasurable!

http://www.getanewhome.net/

About The Author

Christine Hancock began her real estate career proving herself a top producer on a new high rise development. This experience gave her valuable knowledge of construction as well as the buying process and resulted in 4-million dollars in sales during her first year. Her specialty is working ith 1st time home buyers.

chris@getanewhome.net