There is no question, this is an amazing time in real estate history for both Buyers and Sellers. Interest rates are at an all-time low, which makes borrowing money a no-brainer, and inventory is extremely low, which means if you have a house to sell, now is the time to do it. However, it's best to have your ducks in a row before you launch into it.
Just because you heard that mortgage rates are low and you know now is the time to buy, it doesn't mean you can just go making offers willy-nilly. You need to be prepared because other buyers are prepared and they are your competition. Here's a good example. You're sitting in bed on a Saturday morning with your iPad, checking out Zillow and you see a house you love! First of all, don't hit that button that says "get more information" or whatever the heck it says. That's going to connect you to some random buyer's agent who may or may not be a good fit for you. Literally, it's the agent who can answer their phone the fastest, which says nothing about their skills as a real estate agent, but that's a whole other blog post. Anyway, so you're in bed and this fantastic house comes up and you want to buy it, so you call your buyer's agent and tell them you want to see this house stat. If you're lucky, they can get you into see the house, but chances are it's going to be a day or so. Okay, so a day later you get into the house and, yup, it's the one. Now you want to make an offer, but it's Sunday and you haven't even spoken to a bank yet, so 1. You have no idea what you can afford (even if you "think" you know what you can afford), and 2. You don't have a letter of pre-qualification. But remember your competition? They know what they can afford, and they have a letter of pre-qualification. So now you're in a multiple offer situation. Even if your offer is higher than the other one, they have all the documentation that is going to make the sellers believe they can actually buy the house. They have their ducks in a row. The seller's agent is going to present all of the offers and go over the pros and cons. As a buyer, especially in a market like this, you want to present offers that show you are prepared, you've done your homework and you are a solid candidate.
Homework:
#1. Find a Buyer's Agent you're comfortable with.
Ask for recommendations from friends and family or do your own research by checking out bios and reviews (Zillow is great for reviews).
We work as buyer's agents in Knox, Waldo and Lincoln counties in Maine. We can refer you to agents in other areas of Maine and also other states so please don't hesitate to ask for our help.
# 2. Get pre-qualified!
These steps should actually both be #1, but if you find your buyer's agent first, they can recommend loan officers who they know do a great job. Important to note that not all loan officers are created equal and not all banks offer the same loan products.
If you go to our Business Directory, look under "Lenders" and you will see our top picks for some rock-star loan officers in the Midcoast area. Do yourself a favor, don't call Quicken or Rocket Mortgage. Again, that's a whole other blog post probably entitled "101 Reasons To Bank Local".
We hope this was helpful.
Warmly,
Tommy and Alex.
