Are you a first time home buyer?

Buying a home is a large purchase and can be a little scary for most buyers starting out. Let’s face it this is the largest item that you have ever thought to purchase and if you buy it (close on the house) and decide you really don’t like it a week later, you can’t take it back. So here are some things to think about before you commit to buying a home.

1. Get preapproved to see what you can afford. If the lender tells you that you can afford a certain amount and you have not been paying any where near that in rent or do not feel comfortable paying that amount in a house payment, discuss that with your lender. The lender should be able to tell you what price range to look at based upon the amount you want to spend each month including taxes and insurance.

2. Find a realtor that you feel comfortable with. I think it is best to find a full time realtor, one that does not have another job. Someone who knows the area of town you want to buy in. Ask questions of the realtor you are thinking of hiring. What is your average price range that you sell? How many homes did you sell last year? Do you work with down payment assistance programs and what is available for me, if any? What hours do you work? Do you take a certain day off each week? Remember, any realtor can assist you in buying any house on the market regardless of whose sign is in the front yard, so find a realtor to help you personally.

3. Determine the location you want to live in. Is it close to family, friends, or work? What is the crime rate? Is the area improving or deteriorating?

4. Realistically decide on the number of bedrooms and bathrooms as well as other amenities. Remember everything is priced for a reason-location and or condition. Determine if you are willing to fix or can some things that may be required. Verify if your loan will allow you to buy certain properties that may require improvements.

5. Have your realtor set you up a search based upon your criteria. Review the search results, drive pass the properties to determine if you are still interested. Remember you can change what is on the inside of the house, you can’t change your neighbors house. So stand on the front porch and look out.

6. Call your realtor with the properties you wish to view and take a tour. And ask questions. You haven’t done this before, but your realtor has and should be able to answer your questions, or get the answers for you.

I love helping first time home buyers. If I can be of assistance, please feel free to call me at 405-213-2992 or visit my website at http://www.sandiwalker.com

Are you working with a Realtor?

Sometimes I will have people call me who have been working with another Realtor and want me to show them a property. Sometimes it is because their realtor is out of town on vacation, the other realtor is not available tonight and they are free, they aren’t happy with the realtor that has been showing them around or maybe my name is just on the sign.
So let me start by saying all real estate professionals only get paid if they close the deal. They do not get paid for being in the office, talking to clients, or working on the computer. Realtors drive around using their car, spending their own money showing properties, doing inspections, following up with lenders and title companies and making sure repairs are made in a timely fashion. They are making this investment in the anticipation that you will close on a home.
In real estate there is a term called procuring clause. Meaning the realtor that shows you the property first is entitled to the commission. In addition, realtors cooperate with each other to sell properties. We work together and help each other to sell properties. I have no desire to take another realtor’s clients and hope they give me the same respect.
As you work with one realtor that realtor should begin to recognize what you are wanting in a home and may know of something that is not on the market yet or you didn’t see when searching the MLS. The client should grow to trust the expertise of the realtor.
If you find that you have started working with a realtor and do not click for some reason or get a referral from someone and find that realtor to be more knowledgeable or simply to your liking, you can change realtors but please notify the first realtor that you will not be needing their services any longer.
If you are looking for realtor to work with and are not working with another realtor I would love to help you. Please contact me at 405-213-2992 or visit my website http://www.sandiwalker.net

Short Sale…with a VA or FHA loan.

Can I buy a Short sale with a VA or a FHA loan? Maybe is the best answer. It depends upon the condition of the house.
All real estate transactions where a buyer is obtaining a FHA or VA loan will require an appraisal to determine the value and whether the condition of the property is safe, sound and secure. If a property has appraisal repairs, then this may be a problem.
A seller is selling a property short because they are typically behind on their mortgage, have a negative equity situation, and cannot to afford to bring the mortgage current. Consequently the seller does not typically have money to correct defects in the property. The property may or may not be in good condition. But I always want to ask, if the home owner could not make the mortgage could he afford to maintain the property. The majority of the time I find that the short sale properties have repair issues.
In addition, these loan products require a clear termite certificate. What if the property needs to be treated for termites.
Who will pay? If the seller doesn’t have the money to pay for the repairs; can the buyer pay for the repairs. Well I would strongly council any buyer to not repair any house that is not their property. They could treat for termites or spend money on the house and it not close for many reasons. In real estate, we always say it isn’t closed until it is closed.
When submitting a short sale offer, the seller’s lender is required to participate in the transaction. It is possible that there is more than one lien holder on the property. If so, all lien holders will have to participate. This can take time and negotiation. If the lender refuses to sign off on the offer, there is no deal. This can take a long time—generally 4-6 months. After the seller’s lender has agreed to the transaction then the buyer should perform their inspections and appraisal. Noting that the sale is “as is”. Consequently the VA or FHA buyer may have waited a long period of time for a house that will not appraise without repairs.
If you have other questions about real estate, please feel free to call me at 405-213-2992 or visit my website http://www.sandiwalker.net

I need a repairman

In talking to a friend this past week, I discovered that she had been without a furnace in her home for the past 5 years. She lives in Oklahoma and it does get cold here. She commented that she was using space heaters to warm the house because she could not afford the amount of money that she was quoted. After sharing with me the repair cost, I almost fell out of my chair. Wow I exclaimed, I could get a furnace for a fourth of the cost you were quoted. She claimed, I could have done that.
It makes me sad to think that this family went without proper heating for 5 years because she had gotten a ridiculous quote. So the question arises how do you find a reasonable repair person that is honest and will do the job correctly.
A realtor is a great resource of information. Realtors work daily with people who need to get their house ready for market or make repairs on properties that are under contract. A realtor should have a list of people who are honest and will be reasonably priced. They may have an idea of the cost of certain repairs. A realtor cannot benefit monetarily from referring a client to a repair person. Although the referral partners most likely refer to each other, which is good in my opinion.
It has been my experience that realtors tend to refer people who they can count on to take care of their clients. If the referral partner doesn’t take care of you then it is advised to tell them so they don’t continue to refer them.
If you don’t know a realtor to ask about a reference, ask your friends and family if they know a realtor who could give you a reference. Or call me. I want to be your realtor for life. Which is why I make myself available to my clients if and when they have questions.
Please visit my website at http://www.sandiwalker.com or call me at 405-213-2992

The appraisal value

Something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Regardless of what the county assessor, appraiser, seller, neighbor, or realtor believe the property is worth, the market will always dictate what a property’s true value is.
A property priced a little below perceived market value may get multiple offers on it causing the consumer to over bid the list price. This may occur because there is not another optimal choice that could be substituted. Perhaps there are low inventories and demand is high causing a buyer to believe the property will increase in value sharply enough over the upcoming months to justify the value they are placing on the property.
A property priced too high will generally sit on the market for a longer period of time than one priced correctly. It may be perceived by the market place to have something wrong with it, since it has not sold in a timely fashion.
Most buyers want to know how long a property has been on the market and if there have been any price changes prior to making an offer. The longer it has been on the market the lower they seem to want to make the offer, or the more confident they feel in asking for concessions.
An appraiser looks at comps for a house in order to make a determination for the bank that the buyer is purchasing the home at fair market value. Since the bank is using the property as collateral, the bank uses the appraisal to justify making the loan. An appraiser is using comparables that have sold within the last 3-6 months. If the market is decreasing, the value of the bank’s collateral will decrease with the market and the appraiser may be inclined to be conservative with values. While in an increasing market the appraiser cannot predict where the market is headed, they can only base value on the sold properties. This will sometimes cause a difference in what an appraiser believes the value of the property to be in relation to a buyer.
I have had buyers who know they are getting a good deal on a property become a little remiss that the appraiser did not value their property higher than they did on the report. But remember, the appraiser is working for the lender to determine whether the collateral has enough value for the lender make the loan. And in an appraiser’s mind, if the property was worth more, in an arms length transaction, the buyer would have paid more.
If you have questions regarding real estate, please feel free to contact me at 405-213-2992 or visit my website at http://www.sandiwalker.com

The cost of low supply

The cost of low supply.

The cost of low supply

I recently took a trip to Napa Valley California for a long weekend. While I was there I spoke with a few realtors regarding their market. It was interesting to learn what a difference a year makes.
The realtors I spoke with said that in the last year, the sales prices had risen 20% while the inventory had declined. One realtor told me they only had a 21 day supply of inventory in the county. Meaning that if no other houses came on the market all the properties currently on the market would be sold in 21 days. A stable market where neither buyer nor seller have an advantage is estimated at a 6 month supply and a 4 month supply is usually deemed a sellers market.
Continuing my conversation with these realtors I learned that it is not uncommon for a property to have 10-15 offers on it. And they have seen 50 offers on several properties. When you have that many offers on a property, a lot of people tend to bid over the list price in order to win the bid. So my next question of course was, what about appraisals. It is great that someone wants a house so bad that they are willing to bid $10,000-$20,000 over list price but can they get an appraisal. All of the realtors told me that many buyers are waiving the appraisal requirement. WHAT?
The buyers are in essence saying they know the appraiser is looking backwards at what property has sold for in the past few months and making a determination of value. However, they believe the market is moving upward so fast do to low supply that the house is worth more than the appraiser is valuing the property. Therefore they are willing to pay over the appraised price.
Because there are more buyers than sellers and the demand for housing is increasing while the supply of available properties is low, the prices are moving upward and fast, and will continue until more sellers enter the market and equalize the demand and supply ratios. The principle of supply and demand demonstrated in the real estate market.
If you have questions regarding real estate, please feel free to contact me at 405-213-2992 or visit my website at http://www.sandiwalker.net