Real Estate Articles Worth Reading

Buying your first home can be really exciting times. Fulfilling the American dream of owning a home is still a reality for tons of people. When you are searching for your first property it is easy to get caught up in the excitement of just looking at homes and forget about what is really important as a 1st time home buyer.

The article takes an excellent look at some important 1st time home buyer tips that are sure to keep you on the right track to home ownership. When you are a first time home buyer it is very easy to make mistakes. Mistakes that in fact can and will come back to haunt you. So don't make the typical first time mistakes! Take a look at the article and you will be well informed for a smooth real estate transaction.

What are some of the most common questions asked by first time home buyers? If you are a Real Estate agent this is information you will want to be familiar with because you will more than likely be asked on of these questions!

If you are a first time home buyer this is a terrific resource for learning the process of buying your first home including getting your financial house in order, getting pre-approved for a mortgage, understanding what you should be looking at in a home, the negotiation process with a seller, all the inspections you will want to do as well as all the steps in between.

Buying a home for the first time can present a number of challenges and those that are prepared with increase their chances of a smooth real estate transaction. See more excellent information on the first time home buying process at tips for first time home buyers. These come from an experienced real estate agent who has been practicing for almost three decades in both up and down real estate markets.

Have you ever heard of what is called a Zillow Zestimate? For those who are not familiar with the term it is an online estimate of your homes value done by a company called Zillow.

Zillow among other things provides home values for buyers and sellers of real estate. Zillow in fact has a fantastic platform for looking at homes. They provide exceptional data that consumers can use to make informed decisions.

While the rest of what they do is very valuable Zillow estimates of value are extremely inaccurate! In fact they mislead consumers greatly. This creates real problems when consumers believe this data to be on the money.

Real Estate agents are forced to constantly educate their clients that the information that Zillow provides in not a good measuring stick of a homes value. I have in fact seen home values be off by as much as $100,000 over the actual market value and 100,000 under the value.

If you are relying on an online tool to value your home then you are making a big mistake. If you want an accurate assessment of your homes value consult with a local Realtor or appraiser who will be able to give you an accurate value.

The link above explains why Zillow is so far off the mark on their real estate values.

After you have bought a few homes it is almost like riding a bike. It comes as second nature and you don't need to think about the steps necessary to make your real estate transaction go smoothly.

When you are buying your first home however it may not seem so easy. Many home buyers do not know what the necessary steps are for buying a first home. They have no idea what they should even be thinking about in many circumstances.

The article takes you through all the necessary steps in becoming a first time home owner including getting pre-approved for a mortgage, sitting down and really studying what you want in a home, locating a top Realtor, identifying a home that meets your search criteria, making an offer, going through the home inspection process and ultimately closing on your new home.

When you are a first time buyer you will want to at least have some idea what you are looking for. Things like the kind of location including whether you want a city or suburban feel. Whether or not you can live on a main road or it needs to be a subdivision/neighborhood type setting.

Do you need a certain number of bedrooms and baths? Is a garage a necessity or a luxury? These are the types of questions you should be asking yourself.

Many buyers will not take the time to do their financial due diligence before they start looking at homes. This is a big mistake on a number of fronts. First it doesn't make sense to look at homes you are not qualified to buy as you are wasting not only your time  but the Realtors and sellers. Getting the Pre-approval and not just a simple pre-qualification letter is really important.

Identifying a top Realtor is also paramount. DO NOT assume all real estate agents have the same skill sets. Their are many excellent agents and just as many who should not be holding a real estate license. Keep in mind the barriers of becoming an agent are low. Plan on really checking out a few agents before you commit yourself.

These are a few of the most important action items. Read the rest of the article to get a number of other important first time home buyer tips.