An Evolution in Real Estate

Is it time to buy is a question for many first time home buyers out there. The short answer is definitely yes. There are many personal questions and commitments that need to be made that I will not go into on this blog.

First time home buyers will benefit from the immediate benefit of the $8000 tax credit on their new purchase. However, lower prices and historically low interest rates make it a very good time to make the leap into homeownership as well.

So where do you start? The easiest and most painless step is the process of pre-approval. Typically this can be easily done over the phone with a Bank or Lender. Many go to the internet for the pre-approval process which is great and easy. Be aware though of actually using one of these lenders, many times they are not even in Texas, and may not even be a licensed officer but someone merely working under someone else’s license.

In my opinion you should work with an established Bank or Loan Officer personally who can sit down with you and discuss the process and all that goes into it. A face to face relationship is typically a given in a Realtor/Buyer relationship and most definitely should be when it comes to your loan officer as well. Not using a good loan officer can cause tons of problems and ultimately could end up wasting your time and money.

Next or even before being pre-approved call a Realtor or two in your area and ask them how they feel about representing you as a home buyer. This is a great time to test their knowledge of the area and also their approach to helping you buy a home. Any good Realtor will ask you if you have been prequalified and definitely will recommend that you are. In the case of buyers that have not settled on a Loan Officer I am always happy to provide a couple of different lenders that I am comfortable working with and know that they know their job backwards and forwards.

When choosing a Realtor try to search for one that is Full-Time. As a full-time Realtor is more likely to be much more responsive and sensitive to your needs as that is their only obligation and is not considered part-time.
It is my goal for my agents and I to provide our customers with the utmost in personal professional service.

Many large name high producing agents use assistants to handle much of their work for the simple fact that they have to. We take pride in taking on a case load of clients that each individual Realtor can handle with out the need of an assistant. This makes it much easier to get to the source and find out the facts about a property, offer or just simply have you question answered by a licensed Realtor instead of having to leave a message with an assistant.

Quick response in this market can be key. Especially when it comes to the foreclosures and homes that are priced very well. Many of these properties go to highest and best bids quickly and if you do not have an agent alerting them to you it is very easy to miss out.

Quick response is also necessary as the deal gets closer to closing. Many times in todays lending environment things come up and documents need to be signed and sent at a moments notice. Having a Realtor who is accessible and able to find out at 2 o clock on a Wednesday that you need a certain document and can get it there by 5, can mean the difference in a scheduled Friday close or an extended close messing up schedules and causing problems for both buyer and seller.

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