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Recently, as a Sacramento Realtor ® I have had the pleasure of working with many First Time Home Buyers.
1st Time Homebuyers exude a lot of energy, have tons of questions and mostly are scared of making the wrong choice.
You ask what wrong choices are 1st Time Home Buyers afraid of? Good ones and here they are:
- Bad Loan
- Home Values Plummeting and paying too much for a house
- Hidden Repairs Needed on a Home
- Choosing a Home When a Better One Might Come Along Later
Let’s address some of these concerns. First and foremost, all home buyers need to have a qualified Realtor® helping them through the process of buying a house. And NO, the home buyer does NOT pay the Realtor® for this service. The agent is paid by the home seller. The home buyer should feel comfortable with the agent they chose to work, with knowing that agent is experienced and has their best interest foremost.
The experienced Realtor® that the home buyer chooses to work with will have other experienced and reputable real estate referrals to help in the process of buying a home, such as
- a Lender,
- Pest company
- Home inspector
Over the years, an experienced Realtor® has had the opportunity of selecting the best people to work with that will help home buyers and home sellers. At no time should a reputable Realtor® ever receive a kickback for referring a home buyer for services.
First Time Home Buyers should not be afraid of obtaining a bad loan if they are working with an experienced Realtor® who has referred them to a lender.
Next issue for 1st Time Home Buyers is the value of homes plummeting downward. This is something that requires a crystal ball but we as Realtors can give the home buyer our best current advice on the real estate market at the time of placing an offer. None of us see a huge drop coming in real estate. Perhaps we might see at most a 10% drop depending on the looming foreclosures in the next year. Example: $200,000 home may go down to $180,000. But, that is pure speculation on my part.
Hidden repairs on a home is a big issue for many First Time Homebuyers. This concern can be alleviated by having a Pest Inspection and Home Inspection which will detail the issues a home has and the cost to fix those items. There again, if the home buyer is working with an experienced Realtor® these inspections and service providers will be readily available to you. A home buyer has the opportunity to conduct as many inspections as they wish and depending upon the results of those inspections can decide to back out of their offer on a house, as well.
Many times, over the years I have heard this last issue, “What if a better house comes on the market?” and “I don’t want to buy the first house I see.” As a home buyer, you should never feel pressured by your agent to buy a house. At the same time, most experienced Realtors will show you what you are looking for. So, it is conceivable that the house your Realtor® showed you, is the best house whether it’s the first house you saw or not.
I can’t tell you how many times, a home buyer who passed up the first house that was “perfect” later decided they wanted that first house only to find that an offer had been accepted by the seller and they lost out because they were afraid to make an offer too quickly. Well, all is not lost…there will be another home for sale and another day to go see more homes for sale.
I would love to help you too, if you are interested in buying a home in or around the Sacramento area so give me a call at (916)-417-2699 and get started looking for your next home at Sacramento Real Estate Neighborhoods.
Other First Time Home Buyer Articles:
Why 1st Time Homebuyers Need to Buy NOW
Why is Buying a House Stressful?
First Time Homebuyers Check- Off List – Part II – Write An Offer
Ordinary people who aren’t trapped in bad mortgages on homes they could never afford tend to be smart and careful. So the main reason is that they aren’t going to waste money on a depreciating asset. They had the foresight not to buy an overpriced home before and they still do now.
For those home buyer who did not jump at the frenzy of high prices, I say congratulations but for those you can actually afford a home in today’s real estate market and choose to continue renting, I say…too bad. The next few years will bring some fabulous investments and interest rates have never been lower in my lifetime nor will you see it again in your lifetime more than likely.
Great advice that is probably universally true – it is certainly the case in Silicon Valley too! You experience is just like mine…very frustrating when at times you know that the best house is one they see early on, but the buyers just aren’t emotionally “ready” yet.
Good morning Mary. Yep, very true and we see it all the time. What hurts is when the buyers finally make the decision that they liked that first house and it already has an offer. Luckily, we all know that a home buyer needs to be ready and we our patience and guidance will help reach the ultimate goal.
Have a wonderful weekend.