San Tan Valley and Queen Creek-First Time Home Buyers
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is not doing your research. There are tons of resources available on the internet. Sadly there is a ton of misinformation out there as well. So make sure you are very thorough. Here are some tips to make things a bit easier
Talk to a good lender
If you are not going to talk to a Realtor first than you should at least talk to a great lender. Very often I have clients that are afraid to have their credit pulled. The truth is that most reporting agencies look at multiple inquiries for the same purpose as only one inquiry. It is very similar to car shopping. When a dealer pulls your credit all the different banks they use will pull your credit but it only counts as one hard inquiry. Knowing what you can afford as well as what loan programs are available is super important to the process. With out a lender you really don’t know how much money you will need for down payment and you are not really sure what your exact monthly payments will be. One of the other challenges is what to do if you fall in love with a house. The market is moving fairly quickly right now and with out a pre-qualification letter you can’t even submit an offer. It would be a shame to miss out on your dream home cause you were not prepared.
Shopping on a whim
With all the new home communities that are popping up in the San Tan Valley and Queen Creek area it is very easy to pop in and look at model homes. Most people don’t ever notice the fine print. If you walk into model homes without a Realtor you are basically waiving your right to representation. Always keep in mind that the sales person at the community has a real estate license. They are a trained expert in their field, and they work for the builder. If you want to bring in an agent to represent your interest you have to do it on the 1st visit. If not you would have to pay for that at your own expense. It sounds confusing but it’s like the difference between hiring a lawyer and representing yourself in court. If you bring your realtor on the 1st visit the builder pays for their services not you. So why do you need a Realtor? A great example is on a recent client the builder was offering $20,000 in incentives. After all the negotiating they got over $43,000 in incentives from the builder.
Prioritize what’s important to you
All to often I find clients trying to figure out the must haves once the process is going. This will make it tough to make a decision. The number one thing should be location. For the most part you just can’t pick up a house and move it. So before anything else you should decide where. Next I would look at who will be living in the home. How many people and their ages as well as any special needs. It is pretty hard to add space or rooms to a home. I feel that next should be how many levels. If you don’t really want a 2 story than don’t get one. At this point the rest is pretty easy to change out. If you don’t like the color or the tile that can be a fairly simple fix. If you want to be picky and have everything the way you like it, that’s ok too. In that case you might want to keep in mind that is what most other people are looking for as well. Homes that are move in ready with stunning features usually sell quickly and at a premium.
San Tan Valley and Queen Creek are great places to live with a healthy growing economy. If you are planning a move talk to a local expert at the Down Home Team. They know the area and will deliver an exceptional relational experience. For more information about Big Mike or RE/MAX Home Expert Realty, please visit www.DownHomeAZ.com or give Big Mike a call at (480) 720-0730
