Common Mistakes Made by Unprepared Home Buyers

An unprepared home buyer always makes the same mistakes when looking for real estate.  Here are the five most common mistakes you should avoid at all costs.

• Not knowing exactly what you want - It's very important to define your goals before you begin looking.  Determine exactly what your goal is: how long are you planning to keep the property and how much would you want to gain afterwards.  You should also think through the common worst case scenarios and prepare a solid backup plan.
   
• Thinking in a hurry - If someone wants to sell you something suspiciously fast, it’s never a good idea to allow yourself to be pushed into a corner.  Making a large purchase like buying a house without doing all the necessary homework beforehand is just not smart.  Get yourself a good real estate agent who will agree to represent you as the homebuyer and make sure every agreement is written down.
   
• Quality over location - An older or inferior property located in a good neighborhood is usually better than a palace in the middle of nowhere.  This is a mistake a lot of home buyers make, when they don't do the research and end up with an expensive home in a bad location.
   
• Relying on one source - Never, ever rely on just one source of information.  Ask more real estate agents about their opinion, ask more home inspectors, lawyers and do your own research.
   
• Unclear legal status - Many people forget to actually check the legal status of the home properly.  Many things could resurface later when you've already paid.  Make sure you look into title insurance and talk to your lawyer.

These are just 5 starting point mistakes.  There are many others.  Contact us to avoid making any of them!

The Future of the Kansas City Real Estate Market

The subprime mortgage crisis has extended itself throughout the economy.  According to Congress' Joint Economic Committee, some 3.7 million homes will probably foreclose as a result of the crisis.  As of August, 1.7 million of those homes had already foreclosed, and another 2 million are expected during the next two years.  Some of the largest names in the financial industry are now subject to multiple lawsuits and are writing off tens of billions of dollars as lost.

The short term future of the housing market looks grim.  The Fed chief testified to Congress in November, noting that the housing market will suffer the worst of the consequences of the housing crisis from now until the end of 2008.

While some analysts are expecting lower mortgage rates to help the housing market rebound in the middle of 2008, that is treated by many, including the generally optimistic Federal Reserve Board, as wishful thinking.  It is, after all, hard to an envision a scenario wherein the national real estate market will recover while in the middle of the worst of the subprime crisis. 

A more likely scenario will probably play itself out in the last quarter of 2009, when improved consumer sentiment and several additional rate cuts by the federal reserve will have served to increase demand in the housing market sufficiently to turn a weak rebound into a steady increase in the value of the nation's housing.

What do you think?  We'd love to hear your opinion on the future of the Kansas City market.  Leave us your comment below.

Eliminating PMI

You have to insure your home. But do you really have to insure that mortgage too? It's called private mortgage insurance, and according to money expert Stacy Johnson, for many people, it's expensive and unnecessary.  Watch the short video (1:24) and tell us what you think.

Leave us your comment below by clicking the "Comments" link.  We'd love to hear from you, and don't worry.. we will NOT publish your Email Address or URL on this site for your privacy and protection.

How to Determine a Home's Value

Property values are falling in many markets, balancing out some inflated markets and making home values a little more realistic.  This has some sellers worried.  While they might not make as much money on a sale now as they would have a year or two ago, it doesn't mean the market is bottoming out.  Many areas are still experiencing a strong real estate market.

So what does a seller have to do to get the most for their home?  How does one determine their home's worth?  Frequently, a homeowner's emotional attachment to a home, not to mention their wishful thinking, makes them a poor judge of what their home is worth.  That's why online appraisers have grown in popularity recently.

An online appraisal company uses mortgage loan origination systems to help them determine the value of a home.  They access census data, tax assessments and previous sales information, as well as analyzing physical features such as the number of bedrooms, room sizes, lot size, year the home was built, and similar data to determine your home's accurate worth.  Furthermore, they access national real estate related websites to help them determine market values in specific areas.  So if your home is small, but in a trendy area, that will all be taken into account.

One of the best things about an online appraisal system is it's convenient for you, no matter if you are buying or selling.  All the data the system collects is passed along to you, so you can keep it for your records and see for yourself exactly how the value was assessed.

For sellers, this system allows you to fully understand what your home is worth, so no one can undervalue it.  You won't be tempted by low-ball offers if you know your home's true value.  Plus, electronic appraisal is far cheaper than hiring a local, traditional appraiser.

For buyers, it helps you know a deal when you see one, and not be caught up in someone's inflated idea of their home's value.  It helps you keep your offers realistic.  Plus, you get a long list of background information about the home, things you'd otherwise have to go to multiple sources to find out about.

Online electronic appraisals… just one more reason why they say, you can get just about anything on the Internet.

Staging the Exterior of Your Home

Before you hang the "for sale" sign in your yard, find out how to make the exterior of your home attractive to potential buyers.  Click twice on the video to start, once to stop.  (Video 2:59)

If you have more questions or comments about staging the exterior ot your house for showing… use our comment link below.  We'd love to hear from you.