6 Things to Avoid When Buying a Home in 2018

To make your home purchase go smoothly and quickly in 2018, there are six things you must avoid doing.

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Here are the six things you must avoid doing if you’re planning on buying a home this year: 

1. Don’t shop for a home without an agent. Looking at homes online is a great way to start your home search, but once you’re ready to start the home buying process, I encourage you to use a professional agent. Their job is to help you move through the process smoothly, including writing and negotiating the winning contract and getting the right purchase price for you and your family. 

2. Don’t meet with just one lender. Many times, people starting the home buying process will meet with just one lender. Lenders require things like W-2s, tax returns, and pay stubs, and most don’t want to deal with the extra work of providing those things to multiple lenders. Make sure you reach out to a minimum of two to three lenders so you get the best rate and loan type when you purchase a home. 

3. Don’t understate your budget. If you’re looking to purchase a home for, say, $200,000, I would encourage you not to tell your agent you can afford a house for only $150,000. That agent will send you homes that can fit your budget, but there might be that perfect house out there for $200,000 that you might miss out on because you didn’t tell your agent what your actual budget is. 

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I hope these six tips will help you with purchasing a home in 2018.

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4. Don’t make lowball offers. In this market, there are a lot of great things happening. If you make a lowball offer, you could potentially upset the seller to the point where they don’t even want to make a counteroffer. Communicate with your agent about things like list-to-sale ratios so you understand the numbers. Also, make sure you pick an agent who understands the numbers so they can help you make the right offer on the house you’ve fallen in love with. 

5. Don’t forget to budget for closing costs. Anytime you purchase a home, there will be closing costs, so make sure you budget for those. The best person to ask about this kind of thing is your agent, your lender, or the title and escrow agent you’ve chosen for that transaction. 

6. Don’t make large purchases until your house closes. Your credit score and mortgage are both important, and I would avoid making any big purchases until your house closes. Any big purchase can affect your credit score and affect whether your mortgage gets accepted or denied. 

If you have any questions about this topic or you’re thinking of buying or selling a home, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’d be happy to help you.

4 Tips for Moving Into a New Construction Home

Today I’m going to be discussing something that’s becoming more and more relevant in our market: new construction. Before moving into a new construction home, however, there are a few things you should know.

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New construction is beginning to really take off in our market. Lack of inventory and rising values are two key factors which have really pushed demand toward this trend.

However, there are some things you should be aware of when it comes to purchasing a new construction home.

First, have a list of items that need to be finished. The builders in our area are thankfully very honest, but it’s still very important to have an agreed-upon list and a common understanding of what is expected.

Secondly, always be careful as you are walking through the property during construction. Construction sites can be very dangerous.

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New construction is beginning to really take off.

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Always be aware of your surroundings and take proper precautions when entering, so as to avoid common injuries like stepping on a nail, being struck by falling material, or tripping.
 
You should also remember to perform a thorough final walkthrough. You should not only make sure that all the agreed upon items are present in the home, but that everything is functioning properly as well.

Having an inspection can help ease any concern that you may have missed something.

Finally, get a list of repairs to the contractor early. You will almost definitely find some small issues once you’ve moved into the home. When you do, don’t wait until things get worse until you have them fixed.

If you’re interested in new constructions in Mohave County, click here. Or, if you’re interested in new construction homes in the Flagstaff area, click here.

If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Always Check These 4 Items When Viewing a Home

When viewing homes to buy, pay close attention to these four items to avoid any costly surprises down the road.

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When you’re looking at homes to potentially buy, there are four things you should look for specifically:

1. Wear and tear: Pay attention to things like the carpet, paint, and cabinetry and whether you’ll need to repair or replace them. You might love the layout of a home, but you might not like the cost to get the home up to the quality of living you want.
2. Water leaks: They typically happen under sinks, so take the time to look under every sink and turn on the water to make sure there are no leaks. You’ll be able to tell if there have been leaks under a kitchen or bathroom sink. Similarly, you want to check for leaks in the roof or ceiling. These leaks can seep right down into the drywall, and you can usually see yellowish outlines in the drywall or bubbling paint where the leak happened.


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Turn on every light switch and sink and open every cabinet door.

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3. The age of the roof and AC/furnace units: If it’s an older home, it could have the original heat or AC units. Replacing an old roof can also be very pricey when buying a home depending on the age.
4. Get your hands on everything: Turn on every light switch and sink and open every cabinet door, to name a few. You want to look at everything that could possibly go wrong. We also encourage all of our clients to get a home inspection. They run about $350, but it will be money well spent. If you don’t have a home inspection and an issue comes up, who knows how much money you could be out?

If you have any other questions about the home buying process or you’re thinking about buying or selling in the Greater Mohave area this year, give us a call or send us an email. We’d be glad to help!

What Happens When You Visit Our Home Search Site?

Have you visited our home search website recently? It has a ton of great features for buyers.

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Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.

Whether you want to begin your home search or just want to see all available homes for sale in Mohave County, our home search site can help you out. Here’s the link for it.

When you first start searching, it will ask you for some contact information. I know that it can get annoying, but we like to have this information to be able to make your search simpler. We will also ask you a few questions to help narrow down your options as well. Here are a few examples:

1. Are you working with a lender or do you plan on paying in cash?
2. Are you working with another real estate agent in the area?
3. What is your motivation for buying?
4. What kind of time frame do you want to buy in?

Our website will allow you to search through every available home on our MLS. If you register during normal hours, we will give you a call right then and there. Even if we aren’t able to connect at that time to help you narrow down your search even further, we want you to continue to use this site to help you with your search.

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We only want you to see homes that match your criteria.

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One great benefit this website will give you is the ability to get a customized list of the properties that match your specific criteria. There are so many homes out there. We only want you to be looking at the ones that fit your needs.

If you have any other questions, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

The 3 Main Benefits of Using a Buyer’s Agent

Not only are buyer’s agents highly capable professionals, but they also come free of charge.

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What are some of the benefits of using a buyer’s agent to help you buy a home?

For one thing, they come free of charge. There’s a common misconception floating around out there that buyer’s agents charge their clients to find houses. That simply isn’t true. The home seller will pay all of the commissions.

Another benefit is that buyer’s agents are professionals. They not only have access to every home within the market on the MLS, but they also have great negotiating power. They work for you to get you the lowest price possible on any home you’re interested in. Their knowledge about the market and the area is invaluable in getting the job done.

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Buyer’s agents come free of charge and have tremendous negotiating power.

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The last benefit I wanted to mention is the fact that they can help you with any transaction, whether it’s new construction, residential, vacant land, or commercial. A buyer’s agent in your area can help you with any area property that’s on the market. Since 90% of all sales are done by 10% of the agents, it’s crucial that you pick the right one to represent you.  

If you’re looking to buy or sell a home, feel free to send me an email or give me a call. Our team would be happy to serve you.

Which Is Cheaper: Renting or Buying?

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Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.

Today we’re going to be discussing the difference in the costs of renting a home vs. the costs of buying a home. Whether you are currently in the market to buy or still renting, it’s an important topic to discuss. First, let’s go over some statistics from our market.

A $100,000 loan in our market with a 4% interest rate would put your payments at about $600 a month. For a $150,000 home, that number is around $900. These are estimates, but they include the cost of your principal payment, interest, and mortgage insurance. A lot of times in our area, rent can be anywhere from $600 to $1,100, so today we’ll be covering some myths about why people think they can’t afford a home in our market.

A lot of people we’ve been talking to are simply unaware that there are affordable homes in our market under that $200,000 range. Currently in Mohave County, there are 131 homes for sale under $100,000 and 344 homes for sale under $150,000. To view the properties at $100,000 and under visit here. For $150,000 and under, visit here.

Some think that they can’t afford a home because of their credit. Well, we can tell you that we have several lenders that are offering amazing programs, and the government has changed lending guidelines up a little bit to allow you to purchase a home even if you’ve had issues in the past.
 

You really should stop throwing your money away on rent to pay your landlord’s mortgage, and get one of your own by becoming a homeowner. If you have any questions for us about the logistics of buying a home and why it’s such a smart investment in your future, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!