I cannot again begin to express my shock when I see that in today's information society, buyers will still opt to be stupid.  What do I mean by that?  By not utilizing their option to an inspection.

Here is the scenario:  I have a listing which has just sold in 6 days by the way, but is in a low price point for the city I work in.  In a nut shell, it is a property for those starting out or wanting an investment.  We accepted a contract from what appeared to be a first time buyer whom was willing by the way, to pay nearly full price.

Two days later at her scheduled inspection, I discover that as frugle and "smart" as this buyer thinks she is, instead of hiring a REAL inspector, she has her friend (gauging from the conversation, works in construction) stop by who then proceeds to stand in the middle of the living room, look around and says, "looks good".  ARE YOU KIDDING ME??????

Can you guess my response?  I immediately called my seller and advised her instead of spending "x" amount of dollars in some cosmetic repair to not bother.  If this buyer cared so little about her investment by spending a few hundred dollars to assure that there is no serious defects wrong with the property, she surely won't care about some minor repair/improvement.  Word of advise, DO NOT BE A PENNY WISE AND A DOLLAR FOOLISH!

Buyers, utilize your option to not only get an inspection, but hire a professional.  It truly is worth it in the long run.

No, I didn't fall off the face of the earth, it just seems like it.  Ever have one of those days that everything just seems like a scene out of a movie?  I had one of those recently.  In fact, it was the stuff that sitcoms are made of.

It was a few weeks ago when in my dedication and commitment to my buyer clients that I would take them out to view several properties despite my closing delivery date.  In case this isn't clear thus far, I was 9 months pregnant.  Given the fact that this was my second pregnancy, I of course, arrogantly asserted that I was in control.  This time, it would be different.  Foolish, foolish girl!

So as my clients travel in from out of state, we begin our journey looking at one of 15 properties we were slated to view for the day.  After all, they were in only for that one day!  By the 11th, trouble reared its ugly head.  The humerous part of it, I did not know any better.  In fact, I had enough of a warning sign to say, "Will you excuse me as I make a phone call?"  and allowed a listing agent to lead my clients around to another unit in the building as I stole away to a bathroom.  Needless to say, I still had that question mark sign over my head.  "This can't really be it, can it?". 

Convinced that the "sign" was false, I resumed my place with my clients and headed off to property number 12.  When I finally dropped my clients off 2 hours later, there were definite more pronouced signs that the end was near!  With a smile and a good cheer, I bid my clients adu and dialed my OBGYN on speed dial.   His response, "your in labor and need to go to the hospital".  My reply?  "No, it can't be, it isn't happening like you said it would". 

Well now I am driving myself to the hospital a bit perplexed since I was surely expecting my contractions to make a formidable annoucement.  I was expecting to be 12 minutes apart to start and have no doubt that I was in labor.  Instead I am 2-4 minutes apart without warning (apparently after my water broke I was receiving contractions but just too busy to notice!).  To make the pot more interesting, after I arrive and checked myself in, cancel my next two, very full days with other clients, I receive a call from the ones I just left saying they want to put an offer in on a property we saw earlier.  "Let me get right back to you", I said.

I call my managing broker, and God Bless him, he was not prepared for this phone conversation; and tell him, "Chuck, I need you to meet with my clients tomorrow morning before they leave and structure an offer for me, I'm in labor!".  "WHAT?!", was his response.  I replied, "No time to talk about it now, here is what you need to do...."

After about 16 hours later, my beautiful new daughter is born and my clients have the home of their dreams.  Not bad for a day's work. 

1. Develop a family budget. Instead of budgeting what you’d like to spend, use receipts to create a budget for what you actually spent over the last six months. One advantage of this approach is that it factors in unexpected expenses, such as car repairs, illnesses, etc., as well as predictable costs such as rent.

2. Reduce your debt. Generally speaking, lenders look for a total debt load of no more than 36 percent of income. Since this figure includes your mortgage, which typically ranges between 25 percent and 28 percent of income, you need to get the rest of installment debt—car loans, student loans, revolving balances on credit cards—down to between 8 percent and 10 percent of your total income.

3. Get a handle on expenses. You probably know how much you spend on rent and utilities, but little expenses add up. Try writing down everything you spend for one month. You’ll probably see some great ways to save.

4. Increase your income. It may be necessary to take on a second, part-time job to get your income at a high-enough level to qualify for the home you want.

5. Save for a downpayment. Although it’s possible to get a mortgage with only 5 percent down—or even less in some cases—you can usually get a better rate and a lower overall cost if you put down more. Shoot for saving a 20 percent downpayment.

6. Create a house fund. Don’t just plan on saving whatever’s left toward a downpayment. Instead decide on a certain amount a month you want to save, then put it away as you pay your monthly bills.

7. Keep your job. While you don’t need to be in the same job forever to qualify, having a job for less than two years may mean you have to pay a higher interest rate.