How do I buy a Home Get Started and...
Buying your very own piece of real estate that you can call home has been the American Dream since our great nation first began. So you may ask yourself, Where do I begin? When buying a home it be best when you surround yourself with a team of experts who can help guide you along the way providing you the best ADVICE. These can include but are not limited to REALTORS®, Mortgage Brokers, Home Inspectors, Title Company, and even Real Estate Attorneys.
Getting Ready to Buy:
The first question you should always ask yourself when thinking of buying a home is, Am I ready to be a homeowner? Not everyone is always ready to become a homeowner. You need to have your finances in order, be capable to support the home. Homes can be filled with lots of time, sweat, and hard work in completing repairs, maintenance, and yard work. Sit down with your family and put together a budget and set some goals to reduce your overall debt, improve your credit rating, and prepare yourself for home ownership.
Once you are in a position where you are ready to buy a home it is time to decide, what kind of a home you want to live in? Begin considering the different communities within the Twin Cities Metro Area and where you would like to live. Ask yourself, How far do I want to commute to work?, Is my dream home close to parks, schools, shopping, and entertainment? Do I want to live close to my neighbors or have acres of land? Would I prefer a single family home that would include yard work or would I prefer the lifestyle of living within a Condo or Town home association where often many amenities and maintenance is taken care for you?
Start to consider how many bedrooms and bathrooms do you need. Remember don't just think what house do I need today but what house can I grow in and live for a lifetime? Often people move into a home with the intent of only living there a few years and end up living their for 30 years. This is why you need to always make sure the home and community you want to buy is right for you.
Begin Assembling your TEAM of Experts:
Now that you are ready to begin assembling your team of experts to guide you through the home buying process. Start by hiring a professional REALTOR® to represent you. Your Realtor is the #1 asset that you will have. They will be your Advocate and educate you so that you can make the most informed decisions. They will introduce you to a team of experts that you can choose to work with. They will help you avoid pitfalls and potential hazards during the home buying process. Best yet your REALTOR® provides you a Client Relationship which entitles you to be owed fiduciary responsibilities that protect you, allowing you to be able to shop with confidence, and security. A REALTOR® is bound by a Code of Ethics. When Represented as a Client your REALTOR® owes you the following responsibilities:
- Loyalty: Your REALTOR® must be loyal to you and work in your best interests only, even if that is above their own best interests. You are their #1 highest priority during a real estate transaction.
- Confidentiality: Your REALTOR® must keep anything you tell them private and confidential. In other words, your price, terms, motivation, and personal information are all kept under a tight lip.
- Disclosure: Your real estate professional has a vast wealth of knowledge about the real estate transaction process. They will share anything they've learned from their years of experience to help set you up for success. This allows you to know you are always making the most informed decisions.
- Obedience: Your REALTOR® must obey all of your lawful instructions. You are in the driver seat.
- Reasonable Care: As a client of your REALTOR®, you are the most important person to the transaction. They will always attempt to be available when needed and will make sure to help you locate the best possible home for your family.
- Accounting: The real estate transaction is a challenging process. Your REALTOR® is accountable for ensuring that the transaction runs smoothly, all the pieces fall into place as expected, the numbers match the offer, as well as the financing approval and closing docs are taken care of.
- Seller's Broker: The Sellers Broker or Listing Broker represents and gives their fiduciary responsibilities to the homeowner. They put the property on the market for sale, market the property on NorthStarMLS and help the sellers find the perfect buyer. They help you determine the best list price to sell your home for. But always remember as the Client you are the final decision maker.
- Buyer's Broker: The buyer's broker or selling agent works directly with buyers, showing them multiple properties, scheduling times to go into sellers homes. They help guide the home buyer, educate them, and help them identify and strengths or flaws with each property. They help you draft an offer or purchase agreement when you find the right home. They introduce you to home lenders and professional inspectors.
- Dual Agency: Dual Agency is sometimes referred to as Limited brokerage. This comes about when both the buyer and the seller agree to allow their agent or brokerage to represent both parties. This can quickly become a conflict of interest as a REALTOR cannot be loyal to both parties as the seller wants the price high and the buyer wants the price low. In addition if a REALTOR recommends you negotiate for something it is at the detriment to the other party. Plus it is not possible to Disclose price, terms, and motivation when you also own Confidentiality to both parties to the transaction. In both of these cases your agents needs to be a neutral party and confidentiality will rule supreme unless an item qualifies as a material fact. Some states across the country do not allow for Dual Agency due to the limited nature of the representation. Remember if you are ever not comfortable with Dual Agency you can always not allow it in your real estate transaction. You have the power to choose to not allow Dual Agency.
- Facilitator: The facilitator may be assisting you but they do not truly represent you in a real estate transaction. They will assist you with selling or buying your home by providing and explaining the paperwork needed and arranging the team to get the job done right. However they only own you confidentiality for a responsibility. This is why many customers choose a Client relationship as a buyers or sellers broker.
