1. Find a real estate professional who will fit your needs. Home buying is not only a big financial commitment, but also an emotional one. It’s critical that the practitioner you choose is both skilled and a good fit with your personality.
2. Remember, there’s no “right” time to buy, any more than there is a right time to sell. If you find a home now, don’t try to second-guess the interest rates or the housing market by waiting. Changes don’t usually occur fast enough to make that much difference in price and a good home won’t stay on the market long.
3. Don’t ask for too many options. It’s natural to want reassurance for such a big decision, but too many ideas will make it much harder to make a decision.
4. Accept that no house is ever perfect. Focus in on the things that are most important to you and let the minor ones go.
5. Don’t try to be a killer negotiator. Negotiation is definitely a part of the real estate process, by trying to “win” by getting an extra-low price may lose you the home you love.
6. Remember your home doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Don’t get so caught up in the physical aspects of the house itself-room size, kitchen-that you forget such issues as amenities, noise level, etc., that have a big impact on what it’s like to live in your new home.
7. Don’t wait until you’ve found a home and made an offer to get approved for a mortgage, investigate insurance availability, and consider a schedule for moving. Presenting an offer contingent on a lot of unresolved issues will make your bid much less attractive to sellers.
8. Factor in maintenance and repair costs in your post-home buying budget. Even if you buy a new home, there will be some costs. Don’t leave yourself short and let your home deteriorate.
9. Accept that a little buyer’s remorse is inevitable and will probably pass. Buying a home, especially for the first time, is a big commitment, but it also yields big benefits.
10. Choose a home first because you love it; then think about appreciation. While U.S. homes have appreciated an average of 5.4% annually from 1998 to 2002, a home’s most important rose is as a comfortable, safe place to live.

Reprinted from REALTOR Magazine Online by permission of the National Association of REALTORS, Copyright 2005, All rights reserved.

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Look at every home through the eyes of a burglar. The Federal Bureau of Investigation reports that 2.1 million burglaries were committed in 2004. Not all of these situations involved forced entry; many were the result of unlocked doors and windows. Once you close that loophole, though, how can you determine if one house is more vulnerable than another? Well, a residence surrounded by a 15-foot electric fence and patrolled by guard dogs might be a giveaway, but here are some more subtle ways to judge a house’s security.

Entrances should be visible and the exterior well lit. Thieves don’t like to be seen. If a home’s doors and most-accessible windows are visible from the street or a neighbor’s house, they might look for another home. Most homes have outside lights; make sure those lights are positioned correctly. Lighting up the front door and driveway is great, but what about the dark corner of the yard near the living-room window? Use motion-sensor lights in these areas.
Exterior doors must be metal or solid-core wood. A particle-board or similarly weak door will break long before most locks give out.

All exterior locks should have dead bolts with metal strike plates. Dead bolts alone don’t deter burglars. Without a heavy-duty metal strike plate screwed in the door frame to receive the lock, someone could break open the door by busting through the wood.

Watch for old sliding-glass doors. Old doors with worn-out rollers can be lifted off the track, bypassing any lock.
Any fence gates should have locks. Yes, burglars can climb over most fences, but they risk more exposure by scaling a fence instead of quickly walking through the gate.

Look for “painful” landscaping. A good way to discourage a thief from breaking in through a first-floor window is to install a rosebush or other thorn-covered plan under it.

You can’t keep a determined, professional burglar out of a home. However, you can make it less appealing for him to try.

2005 Copyright by the Texas Association of Realtors, All Rights Reserved.

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If the latest technology and entertainment options are important in your new home, add the following questions to your buyer’s checklist.  This is interesting information I got from the REALTOR Magazine Online and reprinted with permission of the National Association of REALTORS.  Visit the Consumer Electronics Association ( http://www.ce.org/techhomerating ) for a complete Tech Home Rating Checklist.

1.  Are there enough jacks in every room for cable TV and high-speed Internet hookups?  Does it include U-Verse if that’s important to your family?

2.  Are there enough telephone extensions or jacks?  Most people use their cell phones these days, but some still want a phone in every room, including the bathrooms.

3.  Is the home prewired for a home theater or multi-room audio and video?

4.  Does the home have a local area network for linking computers?

5.  Does the home already have wiring for DSL or other high-speed Internet connection?

6.  Does the home have multi-room lighting controls, window-covering controls, or other home automation features?

7.  Does the home have multi-room lighting controls, window-covering controls, or other home automation features?

8.  Is the home wired with multi-purpose in-wall wiring that allows for reconfigurations to update services as technology changes?

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Here are seven ways to cut the cost of your home insurance from http://helpinsure.com , a Texas customer-friendly Internet site. These are tips to help you save on your homeowners insurance.
1. Shop around – and do it early! Check with several different home insurance companies to get rate quotes. (An independent insurance agent can provide rate quotes from a variety of companies.) And definitely do it well before your policy expires, just in case you run into any snags along the way.
2. Raise your deductible. The deductible is the amount of money you have to pay toward a loss before your insurance kicks in. Home insurance deductibles usually start around $250. However, if you increase your deductible to:
$500, you’ll save up to 12% on your premiums
$1,000 ? Save up to 24%
$2,500 ? Save up to 30%
$5,000 ? Save up to 37%
3. Buy your home and auto policies from the same company. Many companies will give what’s called a “multi-line” discount if you buy both home insurance and auto coverage from them.
4. Don’t skimp when buying a home. If you’re looking at buying a home, think about the cost of insuring the home. A newer home’s electrical, heating, and plumbing systems and overall structure are likely to be in better condition than those of an older home – and can lead to a discount on your premiums.
5. Insure your home, not the land. While your home and its contents are at risk from fire, theft, windstorms, and other perils, the land your home sits on is not. Don’t include the value of the land in deciding how much home insurance you need to buy.
6. Improve security and safety. Items such as dead-bolt locks, burglar alarms, and smoke detectors can usually bring discounts of 5% each. Your insurance company may also offer a significant discount of 15% or sometimes even 20% if you install a sophisticated home-security system.
7. Check your policy annually. Your policy should reflect the value of your home and belongings. If you review your policy every year, you can easily make the necessary adjustments. If, for example, you just sold a valuable painting, you won’t need the same amount of personal property coverage. But if you’ve added a garage or other addition, you’ll need to increase your dwelling coverage.

2004 Copyright Texas Association of Realtors. All rights reserved.

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As a seller, what you want to know is what you will net at the closing table when you sell your home. To find out how much money you’ll net from your house, add up your closing costs and subtract them from the sale price of the house.
Possible Closing Costs for Sellers:

• Mortgage Payoff & Outstanding Interest
• Prorations for Real Estate Taxes
• Prorations for Utility Bills, Condo Dues, & other items paid in arrears
• Closing Fees Charged by Closing Specialist
• Home Inspections
• Attorney’s Fees
• Title Policy Fees
• Survey Charge
• Transfer Tax or other Government Registration Fees
• Brokerage Commission (Realtor Fees)
• Home Warranty for the Buyers

Reprinted from REALTOR Magazine Online by permission of the National Association of Realtors, Copyriht 2005, All rights reserved.

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