Zijdeman Files

1. Pre-qualify for a mortgage. Now you know how much house you can afford before you start looking. This will narrow your search and keep you “real” and not disappointed on houses you can’t afford.
2. Find a good neighborhood. Know the school district and is it a good one if you have kids attending. Is shopping convenient? Is the area growing and can you look forward to appreciation on your house? What’s the area like? Are you next to vacant land that could be a freeway or a new mall in your backyard?
3. Log. Log your visits to potential houses. Sounds silly, but after you look at several, it can get confusing later on. Write down advantages and disadvantages of each house. Even draw a simple layout sketch to refresh your memory.
4. Money. How much more is your house going to cost than just your house payment? Taxes and Insurance. And if you are new home buyer and don’t have a huge down payment (20%) then add in mortgage insurance. Required by the government. Check with your mortgage company. They can give you the rate. Realtors sometimes forget to tell you these added costs. This will be your real payment. You also have to look at utilities. And certainly it would be hard to move into a house without repainting or wallpapering or something.
5. Shop till you drop. Don’t stop at the 3rd house and say that’s it and pick one. You should look at a bunch of homes to get a good comparison. And you’ll remember number 3 above. You should look at 15 homes at least as an average guideline.
6. Inspect. Found the house you want? Ready to make an offer? Not yet. Hire a professional inspection service. Once they make their inspection, you are better armed with any potential problems and can adjust your price accordingly.
7. Let the negotiations begin! Now you are armed with your inspection information, you are ready to negotiate carefully. Put it ALL in writing. No exceptions.
8. Moving. Allow extra time to move. Something always happens. Make sure you have plenty of overlap and plenty of time to get out of your old house. One word. Rain.
9. A word on insurance. Shop around. Consider a high deductible. $250 deductible seems a little low these days. And you pay for it. Also, consider your car insurance while shopping. Most offer discounts when they get all of your business.
10. Real Estate Agents. Yes, you can find a house on your own, but agents are helpful to assess your needs and show you houses that may match what you are looking for. They also get on your side for the negotiating. Get a referral from a friend or family.

Buying a house is a big deal. No need to rush. They make them everyday. Shopping for financing can be as big a step as actually finding the house. Don’t give up. It’s work. Then you have to move everything.

Are you a new real estate agent, or are you considering becoming one?If so, you will probably want to hit the ground running. After all, the more you sell, the more money you will make on a regular basis.

But the biggest problems new real estate agents have is that they do not know how to get started. They know the basics of the real estate industry, but since they do not have the experience they are a bit lost in the beginning stages. Luckily, there is a lot of information available for real estate agents who are new to the industry.

All you have to do is put in the time to find this information. If you do this, you should be able to avoid the large learning curve that some new real estate agents are prone to experiencing.

Listed below are several tips that new real estate agents should remember. These are all things that seasoned, effective agents are already familiar with.

• As a new real estate agent you should know the industry inside and out. If there is something that you are not sure of, the best thing to do is figure it out before you move on. This way, you will know all of the details before moving on. Skipping over important steps is one sure fire way to get caught up in things later down the road.
• Stay in touch with your clients as much as you can. As a new real estate agent you need to know what your clients are thinking and doing so that you are always in the loop. After you become more experienced you will be able to follow along with the process a bit easier because you will have made several sales in the past.
• Do not get frustrated with the industry if things do not go your way at first. Remember, the real estate industry sees a lot of ups and downs. When the industry is booming you may be making sales day after day. But when it hits a down time things will be slow. Just remember that everything will even out. If you get frustrated you are not doing yourself or any of your clients a favor.

These three tips will go a long way in making your life as a new real estate agent as easy as possible.