As a first time home buyer, you probably need all the advice you can get. That’s why I’ve collected what I feel are the top 15 pieces of advice for first time buyers. These tips will help make your home buying process a smooth one!

1. Get a copy of your credit report.
Obtain a copy of your credit report from all three credit agencies — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Review them closely for errors / inaccuracies.

2. Correct your credit report.
If you find a discrepancy on any of your credit reports, correct it as quickly as possible. All three credit agencies have instruction on their websites for correcting mistakes. Their web addresses are their company names with “.com” at the end.

3. Make a wish list.
This list should include all of the things you want from a home. Size, location, features, etc. Prioritize the items as either “must have” or “nice to have.” This will save you time later on and help you remember what’s important to you.

4. Research local real estate agents.

Start by asking friends, family or coworkers if they can refer a local agent they were happy with. If that doesn’t pan out, move on to search engines and the websites of well-known companies.

5. Hire an agent.

Even with all of the home buying websites available these days, it’s wise to hire a real estate agent. Consider the amount you’ll pay for a home, and the agent’s fees will seem insignificant by comparison. And the peace of mind is priceless.

6. Get pre-approved for a home loan.
This will help you in several ways: (1) It will identify credit problems early on in the home buying process. (2) It will reveal how much you can realistically afford. (3) It will show sellers you’re serious about buying and capable of doing so.

7. Set up Google Alerts.
How would you like to have your own robotic research assistant, scouring the Internet for you 24/7 in search of relevant real estate news? That’s what you get with Google Alerts. Set up alerts for key phrases (ex: “Dallas real estate news”), and Google will notify you when it finds new content on the Internet matching your phrase. Visit Google.com/alerts.

8. Learn your mortgages.
You can’t choose the right mortgage unless you know the pros and cons of each type of mortgage. Learn everything you can about fixed-rate mortgages, adjustable rate mortgages, balloon loans, and government-backed mortgages like FHA and VA. When reading about these mortgage types, pay particular attention to any passage that starts with “This mortgagte might be a good option for you if…”

9. Read up on RESPA.
RESPA stands for the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. RESPA gives you rights to certain mortgage information at certain times during the home buying process. You should learn all about RESPA, and you can do so by visiting www.HUD.gov.

10. Get a home inspection.
A home inspection will usually cost you between $300 and $600. This is a small price to pay for peace of mind. A home inspector will check the status of your future home’s foundation, roof, heating / cooling system and more. You can also accompany the home inspector to learn about these parts of the home.

11. Ask plenty of questions.
Ask questions of your agent, the sellers, your mortgage lender … everybody. Don’t ever think you’re annoying somebody by asking too many questions. Get all your questions answered, every step of the way!

12. Take plenty of notes.
When house hunting, bring a notepad along. Also bring a digital camera if you have access to one. Take notes about each house (labeled by address) to help you recall the details later on. This is especially important if you’re looking at a lot of houses.

13. Bring a friend along.
The buddy system is great for house hunting. By bringing a friend along on house visits, you’ll have an objective third part to point out the pros and cons of each property.

14. Find out about schools.
You should know about the quality of local schools regardless of whether or not you have school-age children. If you do have children, you’ll surely want them in good schools. If you don’t have children, the quality of schools is still important because it affects your resale value.

15. Visit HomeBuyingInstitute.com
You can learn more about any of the home buying tips on the list (plus a lot more) by visiting HomeBuyingInstitute.com. It’s the Internet’s largest library of home buying tips and advice, and best of all it’s free!

* Copyright 2006, Brandon Cornett. You may republish this article if you keep the byline and author’s note, and also leave the hyperlinks active.

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This home buying tip was brought to you by HomeBuyingInstitute.com, the Internet’s largest library of home buying advice. Increase your home buying intelligence by visiting: http://www.homebuyinginstitute.com!

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The home buying and selling season is fast approaching and I will be giving out a series of tips for home buyers and sellers in the weeks and months ahead-tips that will help you protect your legal and financial interests. Buying or selling a home is a BIG business deal composed of people, emotions, contracts and cash-all the ingredients for legal and financial pain if you don’t know what you are doing and most people don’t. When you are doing a real estate deal, you are surrounded by sales people who have an economic interest (called a commission check) to manipulate you into spending as much of your hard earned cash as possible. Keep your eyes on my column over the next weeks and months, especially of you are a home buyer, because real estate agents legally represent sellers and NOT buyers (.)

Here’s a few basic tips I like to refer to as the 10 commandments for home buyers and sellers.

1. BUYERS: real estate agents legally represent sellers, NOT buyerstheir job is to get the highest possible price for the property. They are not “your agent” and what you tell them may be used against you. Learn how to take control of the relationship.

2. BUYERS: avoid giving more than $100.00 when you write a purchase offer on a home. In this way, if you cannot complete a transaction you have less money at risk. Large good faith deposits do NOT guarantee you will get financing. Why risk your money?

3. BUYERS: arrange your home financing first, BEFORE you look for a home. Doing so gives you the same power as a cash-buyer. Our home buyer products show you how to use your pre-qualification to SAVE THOUSANDS when buying a home.

4. BUYERS: When you sign a purchase offer, make sure that you write above your signature the clause “subject to buyer’s attorney’s approval”. These 5-magic words can get you out of a bad deal if your attorney does not approve.

5. BUYERS: remember; a purchase offer becomes a legally binding contract when accepted by the seller. Fully understand the legal details before signing

6. SELLERS: avoid signing long-term listing agreements with any real estate agent. Keep the listing contracts limited to 90-day increments so that you can review performance.

7. SELLERS: Avoid signing a listing agreement with part time agents. Use only full time agents so that you increase your chances for more professional representation.

8. SELLERS: Interview multiple agents before signing a listing contract. Make sure that you write above your signature the clause “subject to seller’s attorney’s approval”. These 5-magic words can get you out of a bad listing contract if your attorney does not approve.

9. SELLERS: avoid signing purchase offers with unqualified buyers. Doing so removes your property from the market while waiting to find out you are dealing with a dud.

10. SELLERS: Make sure your agent presents you with an itemized marketing plan detailing the selling activities that will be performed during the listing agreement.

Planning on buying or selling a home? May I humbly suggest you visit our website? Smart Books Publishing specializes in representing consumers, people like you, who are planning on doing a real estate or business deal and you should know that this resource is available to you. Why? Because people are like lambs among wolves when buying or selling a home! Agents are trained in real estate principals, practices and some law. How much training have you had? Ever heard the term: caveat emptor? That’s legal jargon for “buyer beware” which is a fancy legal way of saying cheating is okay. The agents are on commission, the mortgage brokers on are commission and it’s a “good old boys club” which you are NOT a part of. Visit the site and get smart fast!

My E-Report: 101 Tips For Home buyers, Sellers And Money Borrowers will help you with more information regarding this article-go to smart Books website, send us an email requesting a copy and we’ll send it to your email address within 24 hours-absolutely free! (limited to first 20 responders-make sure you say you saw it on Ezine!). Another Ezine Exclusive! Until next time…

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TITLE: CEO Smart Books Publishing
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PRODUCT: Consumer Books, Kits & Special E-Reports in the areas of Real Estate, Business and Personal Finance.
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Many first-time home shoppers have been discouraged by the high prices in the housing market, and many people wonder if putting the purchase off a few years would be a smart strategy. Many people are waiting for a drop in housing prices, but the chances of a significant drop in home prices is actually quite remote.

While there are certainly pockets of the country where real estate can be said to be overvalued, in most areas of the country the average house is actually priced quite fairly. That means that putting off the purchase of a home may simply mean throwing away more money in rent, and losing out on the significant tax benefits homeownership can bring.

Many people plan to save their money waiting for home prices to come down to a lower level, but this is generally not a winning strategy. While it is true that the housing market is cyclical in nature, housing prices seldom go down for very long, and there have been extended periods in which home prices did not retreat at all. Saving even significant amounts of money may not be enough to cover the appreciation of home prices, even if that appreciation slows down from its current high rate.

The best strategy may be to simply bite the bullet now and buy a home whose payments you can afford. This will allow you to participate in, and benefit from, any future appreciation in home prices.

Let’s look at an example - using a home valued at $300,000 in today’s market. In many areas of the country this would be the average home. If that home appreciated at a 5% rate over the next year, its value would rise by $15,000. Few potential home buyers would be able to sock away enough in a savings account to offset that much of a gain. And that $15,000 figure does not include any potential tax savings the buyer could have gained through deducting mortgage interest.

Many potential home buyers have thought that rising interest rates would serve to cool off the hot housing market, but so far that has not happened. Even as short term interest rates have continued to rise, mortgage interest rates remain near their all time lows. In addition, waiting for high interest rates to kill the housing market and lower prices will also mean that you will have to take out a mortgage at a higher interest rate, and that alone could negate any savings you achieve through a lower purchase price.

While it is true that there have been several instances of boom and bust real estate markets, this situation is not in place in most areas of the country. While there certainly are overheated housing markets out there, it is important to remember that real estate is not the same as the stock market. There is a real intrinsic value to real estate, and a limited supply. That means that even if home values fall, they are unlikely to fall as significantly as stocks did in the last bear market. In order to trigger a significant decline in housing prices, there would need to be a significant negative event, and at the time no such event seems to be on the horizon.

There are plenty of anecdotal evidences that the housing market remains strong, and that it is likely to remain quite strong for some time to come. Even though many people think that the market for real estate may have peaked, there remain plenty of stories of homes that sold for more than their asking price, and bidding wars continue to break out at many open houses around the country.

In addition, there is little evidence to indicate that the prices of homes are likely to suffer a decline in the near future, and the number of homes that sell for less than their asking price is still very small. With all these indications of a still strong housing market, and still low interest rates on mortgage loans, it is easy to see why waiting to buy a home may not be the best strategy.

Learn the 5 steps to protect yourself from a housing bubbles. Andrew is the web owner of Home Buying Advices. You can visit his website at: http://www.buy-and-sell-house-fast.com/

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