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Buyers / Sellers
Buyers
Sellers
Buyers using Realty Ohio?s services look for the very best. We pride ourselves on being responsive and knowledgeable. It?s true, we don?t know everything, but rest assured that we will do our due diligence to find out the answer. We have been in the real estate business for many years and have a vast knowledge of the Columbus Ohio market.
We have developed, and are still adding onto, one of the most advanced real estate websites in the Columbus market today. We provide the MOST complete search of any real estate company in Columbus by offering FSBO?s (For Sale By Owner) and Custom home builders.
When choosing Realty Ohio as your buying or selling company, your choosing the very best in real estate services.
Choose a link from the list below, or follow them step-by step to learn more:
#1 Getting Ready To Buy
You?ve decided to follow the ?American Dream?. You want to purchase your first home right? It can be a scary and amazing journey, we know, but a Realty Ohio agent can help make those dreams come true. Here are some things you might want to ask yourself first:
? What are you looking for in a new home?
? Do you have enough money to purchase a new home?
? How does your credit look?
You should make a list before you start searching for a property. Knowing exactly what?s a necessity and what?s not will make your searching a lot easier. If you are looking with a significant other this will help to compromise on what you?re looking for and head off any problems in the future.
#2 Picking a Realtor
Before you choose a real estate agent, it is important to do your homework on the real estate companies in your area.
1. Search the internet to locate local real estate companies.
2. Review local publications for agent advertisements.
3. Check with companies you find to see their local involvement and local knowledge of the area your interested in.
4. Talk to people you know. Real estate is largely based on word of mouth. It is more than likely that someone you know has bought a house with a real estate agent and can point you in the right direction.
Don?t be afraid to meet with multiple agents. Real estate agents are competing for you business and this is where performance of an agent comes into play for your needs.
Feel free to ask them the following questions:
? How many years of experience do you have in this industry?
? What is your selling experience in my community?
? What professional certifications do you hold (ex. Certified Residential Specialist?CRS)?
? What services will you provide for me as my agent?
? How will you represent me as a buyer?
? Can you provide as much information as I need about homes in the area that fit into my price range?
? What is the fee for your services?
? Can you provide all of the different scenarios with the sale of property I may purchase? (as far as commissions and fees)
? Explain the paperwork that I need to sign
? What is my contracted timeframe for using you as my agent?
Once you have decided on an agent it?s important to communicate. An agent can only work for you with as much information as you give them. If they aren?t will informed they aren?t going to be able to do the job you expect.
#3 Loan Process, The Beginning
Before you start looking at homes it?s important to talk to a bank. The ?pre?approval? process allows lenders to take a look at your finances and credit history in order to make a general assumption about your loan amount. This process enables you to have an idea of what price range of home you can look in.
The pre?approval process is where a lender, either one we refer you to, or one of your own, looks at your finances and determines what exactly you can borrow.
In order to get pre-approved for a loan, you need to contact a lender. We here at Realty Ohio have a network of preferred lenders. These are companies that we work closely with and have a good relation. With this personal contact we are able to guarantee the trust you put in the company and also guarantee that in times of need, they can get done what needs to be done.
#4 Beginning Your Home Search
Finally time to begin the fun process! There are a few things you might want to think about before starting your search.
? Where do I want to live?
? What is the neighborhood like?
? What is the crime rate?
? Would I be moving into a good school district?
? Are there any zoning restrictions?
? How far is this home from my job?
? What is my price range?
? How many bedrooms and bathrooms do I want?
? What style of house are you attracted to?
? What amenities do you desire (ex. pool, fenced-in yard, etc.)?
? Does this home have potential to increase in value?
? Is there room to expand if we would like to build an addition?
Searching for a home is much easier than it was years ago. With tools like the internet which can be used for a ?home finding tool?, as well as the MLS (Multiple Listing Service).
#5 Picking Your New Home
Beginning the search for your new home can be a great feeling, but you need to remember to communicate with your real estate agent so they can better serve your needs.
You should make a list of important features to help narrow down your search even more. These could be:
? Location
? Affordability
? Size
? Style
? Design
? Amenities
You should look for homes in an area where you feel comfortable. If your not totally sure what part of the city you want to be in, then have your agent take you on a driving tour and see what?s available.
#6 Making The Offer
Once you have found a home that fits your needs and wants, it?s time to make the offer. There are a few different ways you can go about doing this, but once again your agent needs to know everything possible involving the transaction.
There are three options in your making an offer: accept the seller's asking price and have your agent write up the contract, reject the seller's asking price and have your agent make a different offer, or agree to different terms and have your agent write an offer. This is all a part of the negotiation process.
It?s important that your agent knows how you feel about the home. This will help him or her in their negotiation with the selling agent. This will help determine how hard they push to get your wants in the contract.
#7 Financing
Doing research on home loan products is a good idea. This can save you time and money, it can also make you more knowledgeable in the process. There are a few things you might want to think about while learning about loan products.
? How much money should I put down?
? How is your credit?
? Is this your first home?
Receiving a loan requires completion of a loan application and specific financial documents, including pay stubs, rental checks and/or tax returns. You can receive a loan from a number of different financial institutions, namely: commercial banks, credit unions, mortgage bankers, mortgage brokers, savings and loan associations, mutual savings banks and insurance companies.
#8 Insurance
Insuring your home is like making an investment in your future. You work hard to have a home and homeowners insurance protects you and your family from someone or something from taking it all away.
There are many different forms of insurance:
? Title Insurance ? which protects you in the event that the title on your property has a lien, unpaid taxes, or other legalities that would make it invalid.
? Homeowners' Insurance ? which protects your home from fire, theft and other liable coverage.
? Flood Insurance ? which protects your home from flood damage.
? Home Warranty ? which offers buyers and sellers the piece of mind that should anything unexpected happen (due to normal, every day wear and tear) of the home's appliances, heating, air conditioning, plumbing, and electrical systems, it will be repaired (or replaced in some cases) for you without costly fees.
#9 Closing Procedures
The act of changing title of a property between two parties is called closing. In different parts of the country it has different names such as ?settlement? or ?escrow?. With the rate that technology is changing there is even a beginning to automated closings where both parties don?t even have to show up.
From the time of the initial agreement closing usually takes about 30 days. This mainly depends on the buyer's financing availability, successful home inspection completion, and various lender conditions (ex. title search, title insurance, termite inspections, surveys and appraisals).
The buyer will receive the keys to the home or the deed to the land, while the seller receives payment for the property. The amount the seller receives is based upon the amount that is still owed on the mortgage, any outstanding fees or taxes, and any additional closing costs. All legal papers are filed with the local record office.
It is this step where the buyers and sellers do very little. It is important for the seller to take a final walk through of the property to make sure the property's condition has not changed. It is equally important for both the buyer and seller to make sure the paperwork they are signing reflects the agreement of the original sale.
#10 Settling In
You have unpacked boxes, arranged your furniture and feel complete with your moving task. What's next? There is always an adjustment period when you move. It is important to understand that what you, your spouse and/or children may be feeling is completely normal.
Sellers
Let's begin the home selling process so that you can understand how easy and hassle-free RealtyOhio Real Estate agents make it for our valued clients.
Choose a link from the list below, or follow them step?by?step to learn more:
? Preparing to Sell your Home
? So You're Ready to Sell your Home
? You're Ready to List
? Determining Property Value
? Getting Your Home Out There
? Selling Your Home
? Saying Goodbye to Your Home
? Surviving the Move
#1 Preparing to Sell your Home
When selling your home there can be tons of emotion associated with the process. Before listing your home you might want to think about a few things. Why are you choosing to sell? Are you looking to upgrade your home? Are you looking to downsize?
#2 So You're Ready to Sell your Home
When beginning the process of selling your home, you should look at all aspects of the property through a skeptics eye. Why? When a potential buyer comes into your home for a showing or an open house that?s exactly what they?re doing. The buyer may not like the carpet color, or the wall colors, how about the scratch marks on the wood floor from the dog, or maybe nicks in the wood door to the basement from the kids. These sorts of issues with a home will hurt the sale of the property.
Our housing market today is one of to much inventory. This creates a great market to buy, favoring buyers, but not so much of a good thing for sellers. Buyers have choices, and they are going to want the best home for their money. Who can blame them, right? Because of this you need to take extra care in preparing your home to sell. Make sure your home is ?as good as it gets.?
#3 You're Ready to List
Before you list your home, it is important to do your homework on the real estate companies in your area.
1. Search the Internet for your local real estate companies.
2. Review local publications for agent advertisements.
3. Call each company to compare commission fees, marketing campaigns and yearly sales volume.
4. Talk to people. 9 times out of 10, someone you know has sold their home and can point you in the right direction and provide a credible recommendation.
When choosing a real estate agent, do not be afraid to meet with many different agents. After all, they are competing for your business and this is what makes the real estate industry successful.
Feel free to ask them the following questions:
? How many years of experience do you have in this industry?
? What is your selling experience in my community?
? What professional certifications do you hold (ex. Certified Residential Specialist?CRS)?
? What services will you provide for me as my agent?
? How will you represent my property?
? Can you provide a market analysis for my property?
? How will you determine the price of my home?
? What is the fee for your services?
? Can you provide all of the different scenarios with the sale of my property? (as far as commissions and fees)
? Explain the paperwork that I need to sign.
? What is the timeframe for listing my property with you?
#4 Determining Property Value
There are a number of factors that go into determining the value of a home.
? Are the homes around yours comparable? Meaning are these homes similar in size, bedrooms, bathrooms, lot size, all contributing factors to the price of your home?
? The law of supply and demand is a big factor as well. Are there home companies still building new homes in your area or has there been a steady decline in the job opportunities in your area? These sorts of issues contribute to the buyers submitting an offer.
? Your needs will greatly impact the asking price as well. Are you being relocated and need to sell the home quick, or are you downgrading in size and can afford to wait for a few months to sell?
? The price you set for an asking price is not definite. Be prepared to negotiate. Remember in a buyers market BUYERS have the power with the volume of choice. Don?t be offended when you?re asked to change the carpet or help the buyers on their closing costs.
Only a qualified RealtyOhio Real Estate agent can provide a fair market analysis of the homes for sale in your area. A Market Analysis is usually free and without obligation. For more information on how to receive a FREE Market Analysis that will help you properly determine the value of your home, contact Realty Ohio at 614-291-1200 or here.
#5 Getting Your Home Noticed
There are a number of different ways that an agent can drive traffic to view your home:
? Multiple Listing Service (MLS)
? Open Houses
? Realty Ohio Website
? Targeted Advertising on Google
? Real Estate Oriented Websites
#6 So Your Listed
Showings
Showings come at the most inconvenient times. Be prepared to show your home at 6:30 during dinner time. It will happen. Remember that to sell your home, you need to show your home. If you don?t want to show your home at night, or on weekends, be prepared NOT TO SELL YOUR HOME. You have to be willing to work around showings and awful times.
The Offer
An acceptable offer depends on many different things:
? Is the proposed offer near the asking price?
? Are the buyers qualified to buy your home?
? Do you have enough time to move out or do the buyers want to close in a reasonable amount of time?
? What if the home is listed and never receives a single offer?
? What if several offers are received at the same time?
The Counter-Offer
When potential buyers are searching for a home, they can respond in three different ways to the seller(s):
? This home is on our list of properties, we just made an offer to see what we could get.
? We are interested in the home and are willing to negotiate a little.
? We are interested in the home, and are willing to make concessions to get our dream home.
This negotiating process can at times seem very complicated. If you select a good agent, then this process should be mostly worry free. Remember that negotiating a real estate deal can be complicated and there can be issues which no one anticipated. Be prepared to deal with problems or questions that come up. A Realty Ohio agent will do his or her best to make the process as problem free as possible.
During the negotiation process, as a seller, you can choose to fix things which were asked for by the buyers, or not. It is your choice. Today?s market will produce buyers making many different offers. You might receive insanely low offers, and you might receive offers where the buyers want a lot changed with the house.
1. Accept the buyer's proposed offer
2. Decline the buyer's offer
3. Accept part of the buyer?s offer, with a counter offer to change or negate certain requests by the buyer.
#7 Saying Goodbye To Your Home
The act of changing title of a property between two parties is called closing. In different parts of the country it has different names such as ?settlement? or ?escrow?. With the rate that technology is changing there is even a beginning to automated closings where both parties don?t even have to show up.
From the time of the initial agreement closing usually takes about 30 days. This mainly depends on the buyer's financing availability, successful home inspection completion, and various lender conditions (ex. title search, title insurance, termite inspections, surveys and appraisals).
The buyer will receive the keys to the home or the deed to the land, while the seller receives payment for the property. The amount the seller receives is based upon the amount that is still owed on the mortgage, any outstanding fees or taxes, and any additional closing costs. All legal papers are filed with the local record office.
It is this step where the buyers and sellers do very little. It is important for the seller to take a final walk through of the property to make sure the property's condition has not changed. It is equally important for both the buyer and seller to make sure the paperwork they are signing reflects the agreement of the original sale.
#8 Surviving the Move
Moving can be a heart thumping experience, both bad and good. You can spend the most amount of money and have the most amount of headaches, or you can have the most pain free and easy move. Both are possibilities.
The key to surviving your move is to first analysis the situation. You may want to ask yourself this question, ?What does my move entail?? ?Will I be moving across the country or just down the block?? ?Could I handle the move myself, provided I have the right packing materials and friends to help?? Or ?Do I need to explore the option of hiring a professional moving company??
We have great resources here at Realty Ohio, and all you need to do is ask. We can refer you to a preferred company, one that we use because we trust them, and help make the process that much easier.
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