Tuesday, March 27, 2012

7 Factors to Ensure a Stress Free Home Buying Experience in Evanston

If you’re considering buying an Evanston home, this spring is an excellent time to do so!  The Evanston Real Estate market is picking up as the days get warmer and there are a wide variety of homes in Evanston from which to choose.  Buying a home now can mean cashing in on the currently low interest rates and home prices, while being able to settle in just in time to enjoy the beautiful summer months in Evanston.
And, although there are many perks to buying in this current buyers’ market; we know that the home buying process can be stressful at times.  As a team of Evanston Real Estate agents, our goal is to ensure our clients have a positive home buying experience.  Part of making sure there aren’t any bumps along the way is helping buyers prepare for buying an Evanston home.  Below are seven key factors to having a stress free home buying experience that you’ll want to take a few minutes to review. 
1. Know when it’s the right time in your life to buy- Decide whether to buy based on your life and what makes sense for you, your family, your plans and your finances. Then, use the news about what’s going on in the market to decide how to buy: what kind of house to buy, what sort of loan to use, how much to offer, and other strategies for executing your home buying plans. 
2. Get a good grip on what to expect during the homebuying process- Research as much as possible, but be sure to decide on a trusted Evanston Real Estate agent  as soon as possible.  They’ll be able to give you a layout of what you can expect from buying an Evanston home.  Ask your agent when you’re expected to show up so you can take time off work, and when you’re expected to write checks so you can be prepared.
3. Learn how to prevent money surprises during escrow- When you first apply for a loan, you’ll receive a good faith estimate which is a standardized list of costs associated with obtaining the mortgage and a breakdown of the monthly mortgage payment due on the mortgage for which you were approved.  Keep in mind this is just an estimate.  When you close on escrow, you’ll pay prorated mortgage interest and property taxes from the date of closing till the end of the month. The date of closing can make a difference in thousands of dollars required to close. Ask your Evanston Real Estate agent to help you set your closing date in accordance with the cash you have at your disposal.
4. Find the right Evanston Real Estate agent- Finding the right Evanston Real Estate agent can make all the difference!  Be sure to look for the following:  member of the National Association of Realtors, experienced in the transaction you envision (short sale, foreclosure, etc…), great referrals and testimonials, is a problem solver, and appeals to your personality style (you could potentially be spending a lot of time with your realtor, so you want to make sure it’s a good fit).
5. Solve the problem of how much you want to offer- This can be tricky, but there are some ways to determine the price of your offer.  Your Evanston Real Estate agent can provide a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) which shows what other houses in the area are selling for.  You can also determine the price by the sellers’ motivation to sell as well as the current market factors- which happen to be in the buyers’ favor right now!
6. Avoid buying a lemon- You may have nightmares of coming home to a recent home purchase only to find it falling apart.  Ways to avoid this are to thoroughly go over the disclosures which are required to list out issues or recent repairs within the home, get a home inspection, have contingencies in place when making your offer, maintain a home warranty policy that will cover many major malfunctions for a service call fee.
7. Know when to remove contingencies or waive objections- Removing contingencies or waiving objections usually puts thousands of dollars on the line, so it’s not a step to be taken lightly. Plus, by removing contingencies or waiving your objections, you are essentially telling the seller that you plan to close the deal — something you just shouldn’t do unless and until you are satisfied with the following items: title, disclosures and inspections, condition issues, appraisal and underwriting.  Your Evanston Real Estate agent can help you determine if and when you need to take this step.
Knowing some of the stress points of buying a home can help you avoid them.  Whether you’re a first time home buyer, are hoping to relocate to Evanston or have finally found your dream home; we hope these tips are helpful in keeping you calm, cool and collected throughout the home buying process.
If you still have questions about buying a home in Evanston or are ready to begin your home search; please let us know!  We would be happy to talk with you and discuss what you’re looking for in an Evanston home.  
Please feel free to contact us today to get started!

The Thomas Team
Properties
Chicago's #1 Real Estate Brokerage

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