Much of the time, there are 5 key players walking you through the interesting and often complex process of buying a home. There is the buyer, the person in charge of the decision process. The buyer is the final say for every aspect of the buying process. Hopefully, the buyer listens to the advice of the other key players on his/her home buying team. A savvy buyer will hire a buyer agent to walk him/her through the process of finding and purchasing the right home. A buyer agent is no longer someone who holds a key to homes for sale. Those days are long gone. These days a good buyer agent will council the buyer by listening to the buyer’s needs and helping the buyer decide on what kinds of properties fulfill those needs. A good buyer agent will evaluate the home for the resale value based on condition, neighborhood, and market. A true buyer agent will negotiate on the buyer’s behalf irregardless what the seller or listing agent is offering for a commission and advises the buyer on the best negotiating strategy before the offer is made and continue through the negotiation and even beyond the closing when other matters can creep up. Unless the buyer plans to pay for the home in cash, a mortgage originator will be involved. Just like buyer agents, not all mortgage companies are created equal. In my opinion, there are primarily two things one needs from a mortgage originator: One, a good program with a good interest rate. An experienced well educated financial advisor will help the buyer determine which program best suits the buyer. As far as rates, there are two things to keep in mind. Financial institutions are competitive. Rates should be similar from one institution to another. But remember, the old adage applies here: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Keep in mind that Banks have several programs that they offer, not much variety and rates tend to be higher. Credit Unions typically do not have a large variety either, but the rates tend to be more competitive to their members. I prefer Mortgage companies because they offer the biggest selection of programs and the originator working for a mortgage company works as a broker, shopping for the best program for the buyer.  Once the mortgage program is chosen, the buyer agent hired, the house is located and the offer is accepted, it is time to find an attorney to handle the legal matters. The buyer is not required to hire an attorney. But look at it this way, the seller will have an attorney, the bank will have an attorney, shouldn’t the buyer have representation if everyone else in the transaction does. Besides, everything the buyer is signing is legal and binding, lawyer fees are a small price to pay when going through what might be the biggest financial decision of your life. I find it amusing when a bank lawyer offers to do the buyer’s work for free. Here comes that old adage again: you get what you pay for. Get your self a good lawyer for the reason previously stated. How do you choose a good lawyer? Easy, get one that specializes in Real Estate Law. Don’t get a lawyer who specializes in litigation, you’ll never reach him, he’s in court. Don’t get a family law practitioner; he doesn’t know the nuances of a real estate transaction. The final member of your team is a home inspector. Once you have agreed on an offer, go out and look for someone who can give you information on the home you are buying. Many states don’t have rigorous standards for home inspector, so you have to research this one on your own. If you are not working with a buyer agent, they can not recommend a specific home inspector, by Massachusetts law. One of the best ways to determine a good home inspector is to see if they are a member of ASHI. To become a member, a home inspector has to apprentice at least 250 inspections. Ask for references and check them out. Ask if the home inspector not only pointed out issues but offered suggestions on how to fix them. Decide on the person who will give you a comprehensive report, printed and with pictures, especially emailed to you is ideal to work with if there are any issues to renegotiate. Oh by the way, sometimes the home inspector puts on a real estate hat and starts advising buyers on what to negotiate after the home inspection. Be wary, you already have an expert for that! 

So this is the winning team, you the buyer, your buyer agent, your mortgage originator, your attorney and your home inspector. Do you really need all these people, not really. You can certainly do it alone, especially if you are a cash buyer, but if you think of these professionals as your insurance policies, isn’t it worth having them just in case something goes wrong?

 

A: Buyers looking at property sometimes can not see past the pretty decorations, the mowed lawn, the fancy molding. The first advice I wish to give is get your self an expert buyer agent. If the buyer agent does not have construction background and many of us lady real estate agents don’t, find an agent who goes to the home inspections. Home inspections are great place to learn how a house is put together. 

 

I always recommend for my clients to do a drive by before setting up an appointment to view the house. This way the buyer becomes familiar with the home and the area and can exclude the house if the outside does not fit the buyer’s needs. Much time is wasted seeing homes’ interior when a five minute stop can tell loads about the property.

 

When driving by, the buyer should pull over and shut the engine off. There is no need to get out and trespass. You can gather a large amount of information just by looking from your car. First, listen to the noise, is there a traffic hum? Many buyers are turned off by this even if you are not, important to note for resale. Look around the neighborhood. How are the homes comparing to yours? Ideally, you want to look at the worst house in the best neighborhood. Also, make sure that the neighborhood has uniform structures, in that you don’t have multi-family mixed with single family homes or mixed zoning where there are businesses next to residential properties. Take note if children are playing outside, do you want kids, or would you prefer quieter area. What about the traffic on the street. How about parking, is there any are there too many cars.

 

Take a look at the home. Is the property on a hill or is it in a ditch. The biggest enemy to a home is water. Water flows where ever it is led. So if your home is below grade, you could potentially have water in the basement and as Frank Lloyd Wright once said (not sure if it was him), if you build a ditch, water will fill it. Does the home have gutters? Gutters are important because they carry water away from the home. Take a look at the walls and the corners of the outside of the house, make sure that they are plum, 90 degree angle to the ground. Make sure that the windows are square. Make sure that siding is not loose or falling off. Is there house debris on the ground? Take a look at the roof, are there lifting or missing shingles, are there bows or dips? These are signs of problems.

Take a look at the chimney and other brick and stone work around the house. Make sure that no bricks are missing or falling out. How about the vegetation, is the yard overgrown, too close to the house, or manicured and inviting? Keep in mind that the outside maintenance is usually last on the home owners list. If the yard is in good shape, you can be sure that most likely the interior is well taken care of. 

 

Once the home passes the outside test, let’s go in. Things to notice:

Walls and ceiling, are they clean and freshly painted? Molding, any missing or are there any visible gaps? Windows, any broken seals, are they new, is the paint pealing? Floors and stairs, are they level, creaking? Radiators, are they rusty or water damage around them? The condition of the home will tell you a lot about the home and its owners. If the house is a rental, the condition is typically worse than that of a live in home owner. There are other factors to help you judge your property, and with experience or an experienced agent, you will get the hang of figuring them out. If you have any questions or comments, please let me know.

Jane Becker, CBR, MCBA, GRI, ABR, CRS, E-Pro

Owner of Home Team AdvantEdge Co.