Buyer's Tips

Get Pre-Qualified

There's nothing worse than finding the home of your dreams only to watch it slip away due to problems or delays in obtaining financing. Therefore, a critical part of your plan to buy a home must include pre-qualification. Most lenders can pre-qualify you in short order based on your income, debts, assets, and some credit history.

At the very least, this will provide you with a realistic idea of how much house you can afford, a vital consideration when looking for your dream home at Lake Oconee or Lake Sinclair.

Of course, this is only half the qualification process. Once pre-qualified, you must fill out all the necessary paperwork and verify the information you provided to the potential lender to receive final approval for your mortgage. Don’t wait–make this your top priority. Once the approval is received, your credibility and negotiating position with the seller is enhanced tremendously.

Be sure to use credible lenders, such as banks, credit unions, savings & loans, mortgage brokers, etc.

During the approval process and period of the contract, don't make any major purchases. Such actions can affect your borrowing power. An example to emphasize this is a $100 purchase can cost you as much as $30,000 in borrowing power.

Develop A Plan

For many of us, buying a home is the largest personal investment we make in a lifetime. Like any major decision, it is important that you develop a plan and select a real estate agent who can help you accomplish your goal. Besides showing you potential properties, an agent can assist in anticipating the steps required to initiate and complete the entire transaction, including developing a back-up plan, just in case something changes or falls through.

Remember: the first step is pre-approval.

The Cardinal Rule: Location, Location, Location

One of the most important factors in your decision to buy a home is location. You can compromise on a home's features, expand or change its layout, but you can't change its physical location. You should have a clear idea of the area where you want to live before you start seriously looking at homes, taking into consideration such things as proximity to work, schools, churches, and shopping, types of available transportation, area amenities, crime rates, etc. Don't waste time looking in areas that you know will be undesirable.

Negotiating

Prior to starting your search, do your homework. Gather as much information as you can about current market conditions. Is it a buyer's market, a seller's market, or somewhere in between? The market for buyers is usually better in a down market.

When you find a home you like, get as much information about the seller as you can. Why is he/she selling? It is downsizing, an illness, financial reasons, preparation for retirement, job changes, a divorce? How motivated is the seller? This is where a knowledgeable real estate agent can be invaluable in obtaining this information for you.

Don't forget to make the entire transaction subject to a bonified inspection. Put the stipulations in the contract and make it mandatory. This is one way to (hopefully) know what you are buying. Use an ASHI-qualified home inspector. You have the right to inspect the home; use it. If you don't like what the inspector finds, don't buy the home. Carefully consider the timing of the inspection and approval, disapproval, or required renegotiations. Make sure any response is in writing.