Don’t just take it from me, let my clients do the talking.
Thinking Of Buying
Buying Strategy
Thinking Of Buying
What My Clients Are Saying
Frequently Asked Seller Questions
Don’t just take it from me, let my clients do the talking.
What home can I afford?
That depends, of course—on your income and other financial obligations; plug them into realtor.com’s Home Affordability Calculator for a ballpark figure. And do it before you start shopping. If you see houses you love outside your price range, it opens you up to disappointment. Meet with a lender to get pre-approved for a home loan. Pre-approval makes you much more attractive to sellers. In competitive markets like Los Angeles, you can lose your dreamhouse more than once if another buyer has a pre-approval letter and you do not.
Can I buy a home and sell my current one at the same time?
Yes, you can—but it’s the real estate equivalent of walking a tightrope. If you buy a home before you sell the one you’re in, you overextend yourself financially; if you sell before you buy, you might need to rent awhile before finding a new place. But there are ways to do both at once, and one option is to instate a “sale contingency” in your contract. This means you only agree to buy a home if you can sell the one you’re in. The only downside is if your seller doesn’t agree (which is possible if they want the timing set in stone).
How many homes should I see before making an offer?
This is entirely up to you. While home shoppers these days can look at hundreds of homes online, they only make the journey to check out 10 homes on average before they put in an offer. Some people find their home within hours of hunting. For others, it takes months. If you want to streamline the process, it can help to hone in on a particular neighborhood you really like; that said, if you feel limited by your options, it may be time to expand to surrounding areas. My best advise in this competitive market is: when you know it is the right one; strike fast and stop second guessing. There is probably someone else looking to buy the same house and if you stall, you will miss it. I have seen it happen too many times.
What do you think the seller will accept as a fair price?
As a rule of thumb, knocking 3% off the list price won’t break the deal. If it’s been sitting on the market for months, you can offer below that, but you never really know how low a seller will go, as they all have different motivations for selling. This is really a matter of strategy. Each sale is different and fair price depends on many factors. I use my 29 years of experience in transactions to get you the best deal based on all of the factors involved in the home purchase.
How do I know if the property is a good deal?
The best way is to check out comps—what similar properties are selling for in the area. The other important tool is inspections. You need to make sure you understand what all the strong points and weak points of a house are. You need to hire professionals to do this correctly. It pays off in the end. You do not want to get stuck buying someone elses problem.