Buying A Home | California Pacific Brokers

First-Time HomeBuyers

December 7, 2008 By Michael Koenig

First-Time Buyer

Your decision to buy a home is both a sound financial decision and a commendable achievement. As your real estate agent . . .

I will lead you through every step of the exciting home buying process.

I will help you define your “wish list” of features you want in your home, your neighborhood and your school district.

I will walk you through the mind-boggling financial details associated with buying a home, including understanding the various mortgages and home buying programs available to you.

I will monitor all new listings and alert you to new houses as soon as they are put on the market.

I will, at no cost to you, negotiate the deal to save you money and commit my time and energy to finding you the right home.

I will eliminate the stress involved with buying a home by putting my years of real estate experience to work for you.

Finding the perfect home is my business. Contact me today!

Filed Under: Buying A Home, Real Estate Tips Tagged With: financial, first-time, firsttime, home-buyer, homebuyer, Real Estate, steps

Selling One, Buying Another

March 3, 2008 By Michael Koenig

Family Pic

In a perfect world, you sell your old home and buy the new one on the same day. Given that things rarely turn out perfectly, here are some things to keep in mind as you negotiate the sale of one house with the purchase of another.

Time it right

Fall and spring are the best times for homes to move and you want to consider the season of the year when buying and selling. And if the closing dates aren’t going to coincide, a bridge loan can help…uh…bridge the gap.

Selling First

Selling your home before buying a new one minimizes financial hazards. Even if you have to find temporary housing, it’s generally cheaper than two mortgages.

Get an appraisal first thing off the bat. That way you’ll have a good idea how the sale of your home will effect your purchasing power on the new one. This will help keep you from over extending your mortgage abilities.

Get pre-approved on a loan for the new home.

Until most of your contingencies have been met, wait to put an offer on a new house. You don’t want to be left holding the bag, or in this case, the house.

If you’re ready to accept an offer on your home, but haven’t found the right new home, negotiate a long escrow or a sale/lease back. This will give you more time to look for the new home. Otherwise, look for temporary housing.

Buying First

It happens. You’re only thinking of buying, and suddenly the right home shows up. Now you have to sell your old home quickly. Here are some tips on making things work in your favor:

Negotiating a long escrow on this side of the sale works, too. You can also make the purchase contingent on your house selling. This will work better in a slow market, but it’s worth a try in any market. You never know what may also work best for the seller of your new home.

Try and schedule the closing date of your current home prior to the closing on your new home. Temporary housing is generally a better situation than two mortgages.

Take a close look at what price you’re going to ask for your home. Make sure it’s realistic in the current market.

When you get an acceptable offer, check the buyer’s credit history. You don’t want any surprises that are going to delay things. If you’ve closed on the new home, but haven’t sold the old one, consider renting it out, or taking it off the market until the next season (or until the market improves).

Same Market or Across Country

Generally, if you’re buying and selling in the same market, you can negotiate closing dates to work for you. But when you’re dealing with a cross country move, it’s a lot harder. A real estate professional really comes in handy at this point. Legal documents can be faxed or sent via overnight courier and your focus won’t be stretched to the limit. You may end up renting one home or the other, or have to consider a bridge loan. But with someone local in the market on your side, it will hopefully be less stressful.

Show Me the Money

Make sure you have a tight hold on, and a clear understanding of, your financial situation. Cash reserves are always helpful, but never more so than during the purchase of a home. Two to three months is the recommended reserve, but if you don’t have it, this is where the bridge loan comes in handy. Some lenders are more inclined to make a loan if it’s for the purchase of a home. If you’re a smart shopper/seller, you’ll accept an offer from someone who’s flexible about move-in dates. It can save you money in the long run. Too many moves with storage costs can quickly eat up any profit you may have made in the transaction.

Filed Under: Buying A Home, Real Estate Tips, Selling A Home Tagged With: Buying first, cash reserves, legal documents, Market Timing, moving, negotiation, pre-approval, preapproval, prequalification, purchase power, selling first

The 9 Steps to Home Ownership

April 28, 2006 By Michael Koenig

Step – 1 Make the Decision to Buy

It seems obvious, but it’s good to note that the first step to buying a house is making the decision to buy. Consider the reasons you want a new house and write them down. Determine how long you want to live in the new house does buying still make good financial sense? Can you afford a house that will meet your list of requirements? A good rule of thumb is your mortgage payment should not exceed 1/3 of your net monthly income.

Step 2 – Seek Professional Guidance

I’d like to schedule a time to meet with you to hear the reasons you want to buy a house and your plans for the future. We’ll talk about neighborhoods, schools, economic factors liable to affect the market today and tomorrow, as well as how you would like your house and neighborhood to grow with you.At this time, I will also help you get pre-qualified for a mortgage loan. Pre-qualification is a written statement from a loan officer indicating his or her opinion that you will be approved for a mortgage loan up to a certain amount. The fact that you are pre-qualified will help us when we are negotiating the deal.

Step 3 – Begin the Hunt

After our initial meeting, I’ll search all my resources for houses on the market that fit your criteria. I’ll preview these houses to eliminate the duds. Then, I’ll schedule appointments to tour the houses at times convenient to you. As we tour houses, I’ll point out positive features and negative features. I’ll ask you to tell me what you like and what you don’t like. You’ll probably amend your “wish list” as we tour houses, some things will become more important and others less important. With this new information, I’ll refine our search criteria to narrow in on the house of your dreams.

Step 4 – Know the Market

My knowledge of the local market is an essential factor in the house search. I’ll let you know when the market in a particular neighborhood is “hot” and requires immediate action or when the market is “cool” and allows for thoughtful consideration.As we tour houses, I’ll let you know when the asking price has negotiating room and when the house is “priced to sell”. My unique market knowledge will keep you a step ahead of the “house hunting competition”.In a “seller’s market” it is not unusual to see multiple offers on a property, full-price offers and even above-price offers. On the flip side, during a “buyer’s market” there are more houses for sale than buyers. This gives us more negotiating room as houses are taking longer to sell.

Step 5 – Find Your Dream House

I’m confident we’ll find your dream house. When we do, I’ll put together the purchase offer tailored for your needs including appropriate contingencies (such as obtaining financing, favorable home inspection, clear title, etc.).The offer is normally presented with “earnest money”. This is a cash deposit made to a home seller to secure an offer to buy the property. The amount is applied to closing costs. If the seller accepts the offer, generally closing is held 30 to 60 days from the offer date (generally dependent on the turn around time of your mortgage financing).

Step 6 – Negotiate the Deal

It is not uncommon to receive a counter offer when the initial purchase offer is submitted. Don’t let this discourage you. We will discuss the counter offer and decide whether or not to accept the counter offer, submit our own counter offer, or reject the counter offer and move on.Market conditions will play a role in how aggressively we negotiate the deal. We will also work within your limits. Emotions can lead to buyer’s remorse. It is better to set limits prior to negotiating an offer and stick to these limits.

Step 7 – Get a Loan

During the closing period, you will be working with your mortgage lender to close the loan. Since you pre-qualified for the loan before starting your home search, you will be that much closer to the end. I’ll gather the necessary property information your lender will need to close the loan.

Step 8 – Close the Deal

You will receive a “Good Faith Estimate” of closing costs at the time the loan application is submitted to the lender. The estimate is based on the loan officer’s past experience and may not include all the closing costs. I will be glad to review the “Good Faith Estimate,” answering questions and highlighting missing costs and estimates I believe to be low.

Step 9 – Move In

Congratulations! It’s time to move into your new house and make it your home!