I would be Mrs. Captain Obvious if I repeated the fact that buying a house is a major financial decision. Because of that no one should go into it without doing their homework. One of the most important things a realtor can do for their client is to get them the information and opinion that helps them come to a decision. If a deal has everything you want at the price, that's great. Go for it. If it's got some of what you want and it's more than you want to pay, you may need to keep looking.
The good news is that if you're at this stage of the game where at least you know what you think you want, you need to do yourself (and your realtor) a solid and get prequalified for your mortgage loan. If you don't know where to go then sometimes your realtor can help with that too. It helps everyone out having a good mortgage broker at the table so many seasoned real estate veterans will have at least a few "go to" realtors that they don't mind giving the referral too. Take this to heart, your realtor is going to give you the best person they can because they want that side of the equation to go smoothly. So while it's okay to look at things with a skeptical eye, this leap of faith should be warranted, more often than not.
What will getting prequalified get you ? At least two things. First, you will have a compass of how much of a loan you can afford and therefore a more focused list of where you need to be pricewise in the market and what price range you should be looking at. Secondly, you will get your realtors undivided attention. A prequalified client means not only are you serious but you are "ready to go" and most importantly you aren't going to be wasting anyone's time in the "purchasing education" process.
Getting a good mortgage company is half of the battle. Getting a good realtor is the other half. Usually the two tend to find each other and if you aren't sure of either feel free to ask one side for an opinion. I can't tell you how many times I've been at a closing and seen one side of the table hasn't done their job and it's too late for me to say anything. Being a good "closer," I have to pretty much bite my lip and do my best to put out the fires on the spot.
The good news is that if you're at this stage of the game where at least you know what you think you want, you need to do yourself (and your realtor) a solid and get prequalified for your mortgage loan. If you don't know where to go then sometimes your realtor can help with that too. It helps everyone out having a good mortgage broker at the table so many seasoned real estate veterans will have at least a few "go to" realtors that they don't mind giving the referral too. Take this to heart, your realtor is going to give you the best person they can because they want that side of the equation to go smoothly. So while it's okay to look at things with a skeptical eye, this leap of faith should be warranted, more often than not.
What will getting prequalified get you ? At least two things. First, you will have a compass of how much of a loan you can afford and therefore a more focused list of where you need to be pricewise in the market and what price range you should be looking at. Secondly, you will get your realtors undivided attention. A prequalified client means not only are you serious but you are "ready to go" and most importantly you aren't going to be wasting anyone's time in the "purchasing education" process.
Getting a good mortgage company is half of the battle. Getting a good realtor is the other half. Usually the two tend to find each other and if you aren't sure of either feel free to ask one side for an opinion. I can't tell you how many times I've been at a closing and seen one side of the table hasn't done their job and it's too late for me to say anything. Being a good "closer," I have to pretty much bite my lip and do my best to put out the fires on the spot.
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