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Build your Dream Home!

Blog by David Britt
Olathe, Kansas

Made the decision to build your Dream Home, now looking for resources and answers? Need a resource to ask questions on topics related to building your dream home? Just want some tips on building your new home? Come to our site and capitalize on over 75 years of experience in home building and remodeling. We can find the answers for you.

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Build your Dream Home!

Real Estate Strategies: Buying Strategy 5

Mar. 17, 2007
5. STOP CALLING ADS!
Whether you decide to work with me or not, pick an agent you feel comfortable with and stay with that agent if he or she is doing the job. Agents work on commission and are paid by the seller, NOT THE BUYER! I charge NOTHING for my time when I work for you. To get 100% effort from me, I have to know that you value and appreciate my work on your behalf. Get your own personal representation by using a Buyers Brokers Agreement. It is your right to have your own representation when buying a home. You do not have the same representation when using the sellers agent to buy the house. If you see a sign or an ad that interests you, call me and I can get all the information for you. I can get information for you on any property you are interested in: homes, condos, new development homes & condos (contractors require that I accompany you the 1st time you visit), mobile homes, land, leases, FSBO’s (for sale by owner),apartments, income property, commercial and industrial property.

How I help you get your dream home. I have a program called PBS for Preferred Buyers Search. It is a program for those people who are serious about buying a property now. We get you pre-approved with a lender so you have the bargaining power of a cash buyer. Then I program your parameters into the PBS Program and search the MLS computerized listings on a daily basis so you can be one of the first people to know when a property comes on the market.

Real Estate Strategies: Buying Strategy 4

Mar. 17, 2007
4. SELL FIRST, THEN BUY.
If you have a house to sell, let me help you sell it before selecting a house to buy! I have seen few contingent sales work in the last 3 years, unless it’s with a new home builder who has other houses to sell and can afford to put one on a contingency.

Let’s pretend that we go out looking for the perfect house for you. We find it and you love it! Now you have to go make an offer to the seller. You want the seller to reduce the price and wait until you sell your house. The seller figures that’s a risky deal, since he might pass up a buyer who DOESN’T have to sell a house while he’s waiting for you. So he says OK, he’ll do the contingency but it has to be a full price offer! So you see, you paid more for the house than you could have because of the contingency.

Now you have to sell your existing house, and in a hurry! Otherwise you lose the dream house! So to sell quickly you might take an offer that’s lower than if you had more time. The bottom line is that buying before selling might cost you TENS OF THOUSANDS of dollars. I always recommend that you sell first, then buy.

If you’re concerned that there’s not a house out there for you, then let’s do a little window shopping. We can identify possible houses and location without falling in love with a specific house. If you feel confident after that, then put your house on the market.

Another tactic is to make the sale “subject to seller finding suitable housing”. Adding this phrase to the listing means that WHEN YOU DO FIND A BUYER, you will have some time to find your new home. If you don’t find anything to your liking, you don’t have to sell your present home. This strategy can make your home less desirable to both buyers and agents because they are not sure when you will find the new home.

Real Estate Strategies: Buying Strategy 3

Mar. 17, 2007
3. PLAY THE GAME OF NINES.
Before house hunting, make a list of nine things you want in the new place. Then make a list of the nine things you don’t want. I call this “NINE OF THIS & NONE OF THAT”. You can use this list as a scorecard to rate each property that you see. The one with the biggest score wins! This helps avoid confusion and keeps things in perspective when you’re comparing dozens of homes.

When house hunting, keep in mind the difference between “SKIN & BONES”. The BONES are things that cannot be changed such as the location, view, size of lot, noise in the area, school district, and floor plan. The SKIN represents easily changed surface finishes like carpet, wallpaper, color, and window coverings. Buy the house with good BONES, because the SKIN can always be changed to match your tastes. I always recommend that you imagine each house as if it were vacant. Consider each house on its underlying merits, not the seller’s decorating skills.

Real Estate Strategies: Buying Strategy 2

Mar. 17, 2007
2. DON’T BUY ANYTHING ON CREDIT!
Please check with your lender before you buy anything on credit or apply for ANY credit. In most cases you can buy the same car, furniture, vacation, etc. after you buy your home. BUT, if you buy it before the close of escrow you may significantly impact your ability to buy your new home.

At today’s interest rates, a new monthly debt of $70 could reduce your purchase price by $10,000. A new lease on a car for $350 per month could drop your buying power by $50,000. Depending on your price point, that could be a significant difference in the homes that are available for you.

Applying for credit other than your home loan could take you out of your desired price range or even completely eliminate your chances at a quality loan. Lenders look at how many credit checks you have had in the last 6 to 12 months. More than 2 and you could be in trouble. That includes cell phones and “no payment till anytime” deals. Refuse offers to increase existing credit lines. Pay off and close accounts with finance companies if possible-they are viewed negatively. Maintain at least one of your oldest cards to show a long credit history.