Home Buyer Checklist

Buying a home is one of the biggest purchases and decisions you will make. Jumping in without doing your homework and preparing can cost you money. Go over this check list to make sure you are getting the home you want and can afford.

• Check your credit report – Know what your credit score is and look at your report closely. Look to see if there are any discrepancies that you can get erased or can easily fix. Less than perfect credit can affect your purchasing power.
• Know your budget – Know what you have saved for a down payment and what you can afford per month on a mortgage payment. Don’t forget to add in insurance costs to the monthly bill.
• Get pre-qualified – Getting pre-qualified or pre-approved for a mortgage can make the home buying experience much more pleasant and less stressful.
• Find a neighborhood – Look closely at the area or neighborhood where you want to live. Check out schools, jobs, crime rate, roadways, recreation, retail and businesses.
• Find an agent – Find an agent who knows about the area you want to live in. They will know where to start looking for your new home.
• Check out homes – Look around the area yourself, through the local classifieds, and on the internet for homes in your price range.
• Make an offer – Make an offer and put it in writing when you find a home. Agree on all terms before going to the bank.
• Inspect the home – Have a professional home inspector go through the home before making the purchase. Make sure you are there to talk about anything that may be questionable. Agree with the seller on who will take care of the repairs and how it will affect the selling price.
• Make sure you are satisfied – Take a little time going through the home before buying. Make sure you are positive this is the home you want and are happy about the price.
• Go to the bank – Bring all paperwork on the home, including inspection documents, to the bank. Start the loan process.

See more:
Tips for Selling Your House
Questions for Your Real Estate Agent
Easing Your Children Into Your New Home and Neighborhood

Becoming the greatest real estate agent in the world is a feat in itself. Education, training and experience are only a few qualifications that the greatest real estate agent in the world will have. It’s argued that the personality traits of an agent are what separate the good agents from the great agents. As with any career, certain personality traits help individuals exceed and become the best. Some personality traits of great agents include good judgment, enthusiasm, organization, trustworthiness and ambition.

Greatest Real Estate Agent in the World Personality Trait #1

Good Judgment –Real estate agents help facilitate the most important decision that many people make in their life. In most cases, a real estate agent is the professional that families and individuals turn to for support and recommendations on selling and buying their home. Agents influence the price that a home is placed on the market for and the price that a buyer offers on a home. They influence homes that buyers view as well as the communities where families will live. This includes the schools children will attend, shopping centers that need to meet the needs of the homeowner and the distance that buyers will travel to go to work, school, social activities and the homes of families and friends. Real estate agents help to decide what a seller needs to do to make their home valuable to potential buyers; this includes any needed repairs and any staging that a home may need. Real estate agents guide buyers and sellers through the entire process and most importantly ensure that the best financial decisions are made. An agent needs to have good judgment so that their clients make the best choices during an important time in their life.

Greatest Real Estate Agent in the World Personality Trait #2

Enthusiasm – Buying and selling a home is an eventful experience for a real estate agent’s client. There is likely more excitement than anything but some of the process can prove stressful and become a daunting task. Real estate agents must always remain enthusiastic so that their client remains confident in the experience and in them. If a client loses enthusiasm they could decide to take their home off the market or forgo on finding a new home. In addition, real estate agents must stay enthusiastic so that they remain excited for their clients and are able to offer them the best services possible.

Greatest Real Estate Agent in the World Personality Trait #3

Organization – Most of the time, real estate agents are responsible for several clients as well as maintaining and establishing their image and brand within the community. They need to manage the needs and wants of all their clients and keep up with the tasks of running a successful business. Clients constantly need to be updated throughout the process about offers, properties available for purchase, days and times of viewings, and everything else that goes into buying and selling a home. At the same time, agents need to manage their marketing materials and work to build relationships with potential clients and other real estate professionals. If an agent hopes to keep up with all of these tasks, and provide a great service, they’ll need to become and remain organized.

Greatest Real Estate Agent in the World Personality Trait #4

Trustworthiness – As defined by Wikipedia, trustworthiness is a moral value considered to be an asset. A trustworthy person is someone in whom we can place our trust in and rest assured that the trust will not be betrayed. As mentioned earlier, real estate agents are responsible for what is often the most important decision that their client will make, financially and emotionally. Real estate agents need to first gain the trust of their client by showing that they are worthy of your business and then gain the clients repeat business and referrals by proving that they are trustworthy. Part of being trustworthy is doing what they say they are going to do time and time again. An agent able to remain trustworthy will retain their client’s confidence and future business.

Greatest Real Estate Agent in the World Personality Trait #5

Ambition – An agent without ambition is kind of like a car without an engine. They simple won’t go anywhere. Agents are essentially their own boss with no set hours. They need to get up on their own everyday and work to meet the needs of their clients on their own time. An agent without ambition will quickly lose any business; they will not be able to build their image and business. This is probably the most important personality trait that an agent needs to have because without it they more than likely won’t have the opportunity to prove that the have good judgment, enthusiasm, are able to stay organized and that they’re trustworthy.

The best thing about all of these traits is that anyone can work to have all of them. The greatest real estate agent in the world doesn’t have to be smart or good looking; they only have to have the drive to improve. Does your agent have the personality to become the greatest real estate agent in the world?

See more:
Questions for Your Real Estate Agent
Real Estate Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated
Glossary of Real Estate Terms