Be A Savvy Buyer

Be A Savvy Buyer

Are you a first-time home buyer trying to figure out if buying a home in Steamboat is going to allow you to ever eat again, let alone buy a ski pass?

Or maybe you’re an experienced home buyer living in Texas or Atlanta, just dreaming about swapping the hot-asphalt congestion for the mountain coolness of Steamboat Springs.

Do you have kids or grandkids living and working from one coast to the other, and you suspect that a slope side condo with a swimming pool might just be the ticket to get everyone to visit?

You want help. You want answers. And you want to be savvy about the whole thing. That is why you’re reading this right now, isn’t it?

As you probably know, your decisions are as good as your advisors, your knowledge (and in some cases your prayers!). To get you started, here are:

My Top 9 Tips to Being a Savvy Buyer

 

1. Make sure the real estate agent you choose is 100% on your side.     

Your real estate agent can be a major source of information, support, guidance and advocacy, or not. They may on the seller’s side, or legally unable to advise you at all.   Did you know that listing agents either represent the seller exclusively, or represent no one? Listing agents, by definition, NEVER represent the buyer. Those that represent the seller are legally obligated to get the best price and the best terms for the SELLER. Those that represent no one (transaction brokers) legally cannot advise anyone; seller or buyer. Only Exclusive Buyer Agents are legally obligated to be on the buyer’s side at all times, getting the best price and terms for you.

But don’t just take my word for it. The U.S. Dept of Housing and Urban Development just put out a booklet called Shopping for Your Home Loan, where they state the following:

 
"Role of the Real Estate Agent or Broker  

Frequently, the first person you consult about buying a home is a real estate agent or broker. Although these agents and brokers provide helpful advice, they may legally be representing the interests of the seller and not yours. You can ask your family and friends for recommendations.

It is your responsibility to search for an agent who will represent your interests in the real estate transaction. If you want someone to represent only your interests, consider hiring an "exclusive buyer?s agent", who will be working for you. "

 
2. Find out what you can afford.

Both in terms of the dollar value that you will have access to in cash and in financing, as well as what that dollar amount will buy you in Steamboat.

If you’ve been looking in Vail or Aspen you’ll be excited by our bargain prices. If you’ve been in Denver or Grand Junction, here you’ll be reeling with sticker shock. Can you afford Steamboat or will Stagecoach, Oak Creek or Hayden work for you? We can give you the names of some great Mortgage Brokers. We promise that the truth (however painful) will set you free! Free to go shopping at all the right places. 

3. Learn the market.  

Search for properties in Steamboat and the surrounding areas to learn what’s available in your price range.

Become familiar with the different neighborhoods and the different developments. Read local blogs and the local newspaper. Check out the Steamboat weather and webcam. And check out the Chamber of Commerce to see if Steamboat has the things that are the most important to you.

Sign up to receive automatic listing alerts of properties which meet your criteria, as soon as they come on the market. Ask your broker a lot of questions about the market and about Steamboat’s market in particular.

4. Come out and look at properties.   

There’s a lot you can learn online and by asking your real estate agent questions about the properties and neighborhoods your interested in, but you should really see for yourself the property you are ready to buy. 

We might love the meadow behind the house, but you might realize "Wow. I’d really prefer trees! And this drive might be just a bit too long in the winter." We have bought properties for clients sight unseen, but this works best for pure investors who see everything in the numbers, or for folks who already know every stop sign in the area and every short cut in the developments.

5. Check the property out thoroughly.  

You don’t want to buy a lemon and you don’t even want to worry that you might have.

Make sure the title is clear (title insurance) and that the property lines are really where you think they are (get a survey). Is the home worth what you are paying for it (appraisal)? Is it just going to be a money pit (home inspection)? Is it "green"?

6. Ask questions until you can’t think of any more.  

When buying a home – you’re bound to have some 359 questions. Don’t be shy. Don’t feel foolish.

Don’t even attempt to remember all the answers to the first 59; just ask them again. If anyone makes you feel stupid, stop asking them. Go to someone that is a better communicator. We’ve been at this for years and we’re sure there are questions we still haven’t even thought to ask (there are that many possible questions!).

7. Work closely with your broker to negotiate your best deal.  

Negotiating the best deal happens when you are clear about what is really important to you and what isn’t.

What are your "must haves" and what are your "it would be nice but isn’t necessary." Is the Closing Date you want really important, or are you flexible? Where will you draw the line when it comes to price? There are many things that make a deal fall apart. You don’t want to lose the property of your dreams over something that you could have easily given up.

Negotiating, in my opinion, isn’t about who can take the most advantage of the other person, buyer or seller. It’s about getting what you can live with, and in the end what the person on the other end can live with as well. It is about win-win, and the critical art of finding that sweet spot for all involved.

8. Sign the final Contract, say your prayers and go have a drink!  

Really, if you’ve done your homework and negotiated the best deal, what more can you do? You’ll feel better in the morning. Trust us.

9. Be patient through the process. 

There are very few home purchases that don’t experience a hiccup sometime before the keys are handed to you at closing.

Expect that your lender is going to have more papers for you to fill out before everything is said and done. Expect that Buyer’s Remorse will pay you a visit and maybe keep you awake a few nights. Expect that something is going to show up in the survey or inspection or HOA documents that are going to cause you to do more research and make more decisions. Expect that your Closing Date will be postponed due to some technicality.

Hopefully none of the hiccups will be big enough for you to even remember them a few joyful house-living years down the road.