Four tips to buying and selling real estate

Four tips to buying and selling real estate
Buying and selling real estate can be a confusing and nerve wracking experience. I have put together a few tips that can make the experience much more enjoyable and smooth.
The first thing that you will want to do is to check out your local market, or the area that you are looking to buy in, to see what other homes currently on the market are selling for. This will help you to decide what price you should be going for. If you’re selling your home, you don’t want to put a price on it that is to low and lose out on the money you should be able to get. Likewise, if you price it to high, you’ll end up holding onto it longer. The same can be said if you are going to be buying a home. You want to make sure that you aren’t paying to much, or that the area that you are looking at isn’t out of your price range.
Secondly, you want to make sure that you have a well qualified agent working for you. Say for example, you are looking for senior housing. In that case you would want someone who is a Certified Senior Housing Specialist. Maybe you are behind on your mortgage and need to do a short sale, then you’d want a Certified Distressed Property Expert to help you through all that that entails. Most importantly, you want to make sure that they have the REALTOR designation. The reason for this is that while all real estate agents adhere to a strict code of ethics, a REALTOR has agreed to abide by an even more strict code. Those of us with this designation take it very personally and are very proud to have it.
Number three on your game plan should be to consult the appropriate specialists. You may need to talk to a lawyer or an accountant to see what buying or selling your home may mean for you in other areas of your life. If you are selling your home, have it inspected when it is first listed, this way there are no surprises once you are under contract. If you are buying a home with a loan, get a pre-approval letter from your lender so that you don’t end up falling in love with a home that you can’t afford.
Once you have an idea of where you want to live, or how much you want to sell your home for, then you need to set up a game plan with your agent. This way, everyone knows what the goals and expectations are and they can work together towards them. This way you can have something of a checklist with your agent as to what you will be doing and what they will do to help you.

For more information on buying or selling a home, you can contact me at
http://www.metrobrokersonline.com/agents/Devin.Bewley
if you or someone you know is in mortgage trouble please get my free report 7 short sale myths at www.shortsalesinaurora.com
Thank you,
Devin Bewley CDPE, REALTOR
Metro Brokers