Pasadena Home Buyer Tips | Pasadena Real Estate Guide

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Buying a home in today’s market is a very competitive process. Once you submit an offer to purchase you may find yourself in competition with many other buyers on the same property. Your familiarity with the process and how your offer is submitted will go along way towards insuring your offer will be considered and finally accepted.

A Pre-Planning Home Buyer Check List

By following these tips, your offer will receive the attention it deserves and put you on the road to home ownership.

Get Pre-Qualified – we can’t stress the importance of doing this. Looking at homes without knowing what you can afford is like going through the drive through window at In & Out and realizing you left your wallet at home. Once qualified, your lender will present you with a pre-approval letter, which will be the “proof statement” attached with your purchase offer once you decide which house to buy. This shows the agent(s) you are serious and worthy of their time.
What Kind of Financing will you use? – understand what kind of financing options are available. You may like the fact that you can qualify with an FHA loan for as little as 3.5% down. Sounds great, right? Well not so fast. If you are looking for a condo or townhome, this may not apply. These properties must be approved for FHA financing and many are not. Real estate agents may be reluctant to accept an offer with anything less than 20% down, there is more risk involved by accepting an offer with a higher loan to value ratio.
Choose a Real Estate Agent – an agent can set you up with a custom home search and you can receive notifications once a property becomes available that meets your criteria. Also an agent may know of other properties coming on the market, that are not yet listed for sale. Also, by indicating your desire to work with a particular agent you will receive a much higher level of service if they have your commitment.
Become Aware of Market Conditions – understand the demand/supply issue that will affect your ability to negotiate. Of course, everyone wants a deal, but with the invention of the internet, you are not going to find a property to purchase under market value. No matter how you special you may think you are, there is not some special below market priced home, with your name on it.
Visit Open Houses – see what is for sale and learn to identify the characteristics that create value. How is the neighborhood, what is the physical condition of the house. How many square feet is it, what is the lot size?. Also look at the condition of the roof, the foundation. Are the sidewalks or driveway uneven due to underlying tree roots. Most all of these issues would be addressed by a professional home inspector, but it is a good idea to understand and thoroughly inspect the property.
Writing the Offer – Once you find that special place to call home, understand that neatness counts. If your agent is going to write the offer, fax it to you for signatures and then you fax it and in turn she faxes it to the listing agent, you might as well forget it. Sign it in person or insist on a electronic signature. These two methods will provide a neat legible copy. If you are in a multiple offer situation, you want yours to stand out from the crowd. We include a cover letter outlining what is enclosed along with the supporting documentation. It’s neat, it’s thorough and it is complete.
Write a Letter with Your Offer – I can’t stress this enough. I have seen many home sellers really connect with the potential buyer thanks to a well written letter. We also have a few more tips we recommend that makes this an even more effective persuasion tool. However, you must be one of our clients to learn this unique secret of having your offer accepted.