Save money on your home purchase
Purchasing a home is ranked #3 on the Health and Safety list of the “Top 10 Most Stressful Things in Life” list for 2009. My goal has always been to take a “lighter” approach to a real estate transaction. To do this I am going to share with you my top five ways to save money during the purchase of your home.
Obtaining the right Real Estate Agent is your first step to saving money. The right agent with experience in negotiation can save you on average 2 to 4 percent off the list price of the home. If you are looking to spend $250,000, that is a potential savings of $10,000. To find out if the agent is a great negotiator you will have to ask questions. Ask specifically about the most recent five sales they had where they represented the buyer. Ask them for a reference or two of previous buyers they represented and call them. I also recommend asking them their negotiation technique up front. A great negotiator will be able to give this to you easily and will not be “afraid” to put in an aggressive offer.
The next step is to initiate your search on the internet. The main savings here is the saving of money through time. Once you get out with your selected Real Estate Agent, you will know exactly what is out there, and what a fair price is for what you are looking for. I have seen too many clients miss out on the “right” property because they wanted to see what else was out there. Check out everything before you meet with your selected Realtor.
Another great way to save money during the purchase of your home is to write the contract to include window treatments and other furnishings. In many cases, the current owner will include window treatments and other furnishings with the contract price. Make sure that this is in the contract because it will save you money right away. I recently looked at a foreclosure property with clients that had over $50,000 in plantation shutters.
If you are going to finance your new home, make sure you get pre-qualified and get a lock on your interest rate. Interest rates are changing all the time and if you can get a 30 to 60 day lock on a great interest rate, over time this could save you thousands of dollars.
If you are even a little handy, purchasing a foreclosure could save you significant money as well. I recently looked at two homes on the same block with some clients. One was priced $120,000 higher than the foreclosure. With some quick math we figured that the necessities to get the home habitable would be about $20,000. This is a net savings of $100,000 for the clients, and they will have instant equity in this property.
Following these ideas will save you thousands of dollars on the purchase of your home. Even though this is a buyers’ market, no one is going to just offer savings to you. Make sure that you and your Real Estate Professional are on the same page and have fun with your house hunting!!
Jason M. Jakus is a licensed realtor for Leisure American Realty, a full service Real Estate and Property Management company serving the beaches and surrounding areas of Lee County. Their office is located at 2450 Estero Blvd., Fort Myers Beach FL 33931. For more information on this or any other real estate or property management subject contact Jason at 239-463-3178 or email RealtyInfo@LeisureAmerican.com.