How to Get a Good Deal When You’re Buying a House
How to Get a Good Deal When You're Buying a House
Buying and owning a home after paying off a mortgage is part of the American dream. The theme is especially strong in western states like California and Texas where there is (or once was) a lot of open land and not a high population density. That is one reason why so many people moved to Nevada and Colorado from these states to buy homes but less people came from back East: People in the western United States culturally are more attached to buying a home than people in the eastern United States. However, regardless of where you are, human nature is similar everywhere, and when you buy a house you will deal with other human beings throughout the process. Whether they be realtors, lenders, bankers, tellers at the bank, employees at the local credit union, or even the person giving you a tour of a potential home if that person is not also a realtor, you will have to deal with both people and the system, which is why I am giving you a few tips on how to get a good deal when homeshopping:
Figure out how low they are willing to go
People like to make a profit off something even if that is not very likely. So, a realtor who bought a house in 2007 for more than it is worth now will still want to sell the house for more than he or she bought it for so that he or she can feel like he or she is not losing anything. They might be willing to make a marginal profit, even one that was not worth the time and effort it took to bring the house to market. This is a buyer’s market so use that to your advantage.
On the other hand, some other realtors will have a better grasp on reality. They know that their house will keep sinking in value (or it will not gain value fast enough to make it worth holding onto, given the maintenance involved, taxes per year, etc.) so they will try to dump the house quickly. If you ever have to make a deal with a realtor who understands this about the house they are trying to sell you, then you can go even lower than the less realistic realtor since they will be in panic mode. Therefore, psychology plays a big role when you try to buy a house.
Do the same think to banks!
Bankers are having trouble issuing loans now because of the recession so they are more willing to give you a suitable one. However, they will still try to offer you adjustable rate loans so that you will pay a big chunk of the mortgage off (and make you pay a lot upfront) just so that they can jack up the rates after five years. Watch out for these ones and read all the small print. You definitely want to bring a lawyer with you when you sign a housing loan and have him or her read over the contract even if you think you are getting a good deal and do not want to pay the lawyer.
Murray Newlands is the author of this post. Murray and his company Influence People work with bloggers on a behalf of a variety of companies, including Healthy Page.com and Political2Cents.com
How to Get a Good Deal When You’re Buying a House
