How to Buy a House

Get off the internet: Cruise online until your eyes turn red, but at some point you need to go outside, visit some houses, and use all of your senses. The pictures of a house online aren’t going to show you the neighbor with the eight dead cars and three snarling dogs. The pictures can’t convey the smell of carpet in a house with 5 cats and one over-used litter box. Through the portal of your computer monitor you can’t hear the traffic from the highway; the saw blades whining in the nearby shop; the “music” from the band practicing in the neighbor’s garage. You can’t feel the house shake when the train rolls by.

Get a good guide: Find a realtor who has their head in the game. A good realtor hears the juicy news, like a price reduction coming soon on a listed house; a new listing coming before it hits the market; a sale falling apart and therefore a house coming back on the market. A good realtor will share with you the private tidbits if you are a loyal client.

Look at property you don’t want: Get educated. That means looking at all the houses in your price range, including the dogs and the frogs. Houses that are priced right sell fast, so you’ll soon be able to recognize fair pricing. Drive by houses that have recently sold, too- your realtor can give you the details on them. That’s how you get a good picture of current value.

Get a pedigree: Find a loan officer who will do their homework and get you pre-approved for a loan. Get your pre-approval letter and show it off like a job applicant with a diploma. The offer you write on a house should include your pre-approval letter so the seller can see you’re a bonafide real-deal buyer.

Butter it up: You won’t have the opportunity to meet the seller when your offer is presented, so show them who you are. Put together your promo package like an actor auditioning for a part. Photos, bio, resume’, a letter to the seller expressing your heartfelt desire for their home, and all the reasons you deserve it. Sellers like to sell to people they like.

Move fast: When a house comes on the market that looks, smells, and feels right; and your expertise in your price range tells you the house is priced right- jump now! Your expertise might also tell you that five to ten other buyers are moving on it. If that’s the case- as it often will be in 2013- you’ll know you better offer full price. Or more.

It’s a tough job for a buyer in 2013, and it can be hard to know exactly which move to make from time to time, but you can at least make an educated guess.