Pinetop White Mountain Blog

It's a Buyer's Market!

Good Afternoon Everyone,

Yes, it is a Buyer's Market but if you want to buy, you need to be prepared for the realities of buying in today's market. 

The first thing you need to do if you are thinking about buying in today's market is to contact an agent in the area you are looking.  An agent can guide you to properties that meet your needs in areas that will work for your individual life style.  Searching online at the various websites is a good start, but the information on those sites is limited and often out of date.  All of those sites download from the local MLS feed and they don't do it every day.  Some only do it on a monthly basis because they don't pick up pending sales, withdrawn listings, or listings that have expired. 

The next step in the buying process is to connect with a good lender.  Keep in mind just because you have a friend in lending, they may not be your best resource for financing.  Some lenders have very limited resources for loans and the criteria can be very narrow.  If your situation doesn't fit in the "box" for that lender you may have to pay higher interest than necessary and the closing costs may be high.  My experience has shown that the big banks or even Insurance Companies that offer financing are not necessarily your best choice.  Ask your agent to provide you with their preferred lender list and call several lenders before you decide who you want to apply with. 

Once you have found your lender, get pre-qualifed.  I don't mean just have them pull your credit to see what you scores are.  Complete the application and get a commitment from that lender on the terms and estimated costs you can expect at closing.   This will help you determine how you will need to formulate your offer once you find the house you want.  You will also know exactly what your price limit is and you will be more focused in your search. 

Now it's time to start looking at properties.  The inventory is still high in most market places but depending on where you are looking and your price range, you may find there aren't as many homes on the market at you thought there would be.  They may be in the price range, but they could be in areas that won't work or perhaps they simply need too much work for the time you have to devote to those projects.  Lots of people think they want a fixer upper, but fixers are often closer to knock down, start overs, than fixer uppers.  

This is particularly true with foreclosure properties.  Yes, they may be priced well but there is a reason for that.  Remember you are looking at something that was a problem for someone else, and those someones often take out their anger and frustration on the house.  The home may have physical as well as cosmetic damage, and if that damage is too severe, your lender may not be willing to lend on that property unless those damages are repaired.  Banks don't like to do repairs.  They want fast sales with quick closes and a minimal of difficulties in getting those sales closed.  If they are looking at costly repairs in order to do that, your offer may not even be considered. 

Another caution, don't expect banks to contribute a lot of money to closing costs.  If push comes to shove and you are the only offer on the table, they may do it.  However if there are multiple offers which is often the case on a quality home at a good price, they may just reject your offer outright with no further consideration.  Of course there are exceptions to that statement, but check with your agent before you plan on it to see what they think about it.  They can always contact the listing office to see how motivated their Bank/Seller is.

Buying in today's market is challenging.  The selection of homes is good in some price ranges but be aware that that "deal" you may be looking for simply doesn't exist.  The foreclosure market is slowing and while there are good deals on homes in the market, there are a lot of buyers looking for them.  You must be prepared to move quickly because what is there today, may be gone by tonight.  That is why it is so important to have an agent in your court letting you know what is happening and that you have your lending in place before you start looking.  When that deal of the century does come along, you need to be ready to move now or you will lose out on that opportunity.  Remember, there are many agents with many buyers looking for the same thing you are, the quickest one to get their offer on the table is likely to come out the winner.

If you need an agent in the White Mountains of Arizona or guidance to a good lender, give me a call.  In today's market you need someone in your court and I can help. 

Thanks for reading, until next time....

Sandra Paulow, Associate Broker, GRI, SFR, REALTOR® (928) 242-0300

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