http://www.articletrader.com/ Articles at ArticleTrader en-us http://www.articletrader.com/finance/real-estate/things-to-remember-when-buying-a-home.html http://www.articletrader.com/finance/real-estate/things-to-remember-when-buying-a-home.html Wed, 14 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0500
Now, before you buy you must have your financial life well in hand. More specifically, you must have a good hold on your credit. This may involve some leg work so be ready for it. Get your credit report from your bureau and review it in depth. Go as far back as necessary. Make sure that there are no outstanding items that have not been taken care of. If anything is there then see to it as quickly as possible and retain documentation from the bureau that it is dealt with. This is not only for your records but it might be helpful when applying for your mortgage. Next, spend some time researching your mortgage options. Try to find one that suits you and your needs. Make sure that you can afford the payments each month and try to get the best interest rate possible. Remember it is not enough to have a pre-qualification, if you really want to make your home shopping and buying easier then get a full pre-approval. This pre-approval will ensure home sellers that your financing is already in place and that they need not worry about your offer being conditional on your approval for a mortgage.

When you actually start shopping for a home, make a few lists. The most important one should be the aspects of the home that you simply cannot do without. This usually includes things like number of bedrooms, location & proximity to work, fenced yard etc. The secondary list should be those things that you would really like but are not essential. Usually if you give these lists to your realtor they will be able to refine your home options quiet a bit. This will help them to eliminate homes that do not fit your criteria so that you don't have to waste valuable time looking at homes that do not suit you.

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Bill Ucci is a certified Realtor® specializing in the sale & purchase of Orlando real estate. Put Bill's expertise and knowledge to work for you. Contact Bill anytime or visit his site on the web at www.freehousefind.com

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/finance/real-estate/steps-to-selling-your-home.html http://www.articletrader.com/finance/real-estate/steps-to-selling-your-home.html Wed, 14 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0500
Once you have your home listed the major focus shifts to creating a great buying atmosphere in and around your home. This process is known as staging and it is vitally important. This is the process of making your home "buyer bait," for lack of a better term. This usually includes the removal of a lot of the stuff that is currently occupying space in your home. The idea being to make the home as un-cluttered as possible which creates clean lines and areas for buyers to imaging their things in. It is harder for them to do this if there is mountains of your stuff all over the place. This is not to say that your home is messy or unorganized, simply that it is easier for buyers to place themselves in a home that is sparse on personal items and extraneous belongings. This is a good time to start some packing of extra clothes, personal items and anything that isn't used on a daily basis. Doing this will only make it easier on your when moving day comes along. Try to place yourself in the shoes of the buyer and remember why it was that you bought the home in the first place. Try to bring that aspect of the home forth and any others you think may assist in the selling. Then let your realtor do their job!

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Bill Ucci is a certified Realtor® specializing in the sale & purchase of Orlando real estate. Put Bill's expertise and knowledge to work for you. Contact Bill anytime or visit his site on the web at www.freehousefind.com

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]>