This is the best time to buy a property. House prices are falling, inventory of houses increasing, and interest rates decreasing. - It is a buyer’s market.

However obtaining one house is not an easy task. This can be a very stressful experience and you can not just enter the market and buy the house in a flash. A lot of attention needs to be paid. Here is a basic guideline to help you purchase a new home:

1. The first step to a successful transaction is to get hold of an agent who will represent you. Make sure to get one who has at least five years of experience. The agent will represent you through out the whole process. He will find out all the positives and negatives about the house and answer all your queries regarding it. If you think you are saving by not hiring an agent then you are mistaken. Agent commissions and born by the sellers. So make good use of this useful freebie.

2. Do not shoot for the stars just because you like the house. It is important to calculate your budget. Firstly list down your average expenses for a month. Once you do that you will know the value of the mortgage that you can afford. You must possess clear idea of the amount you can pay back to a lender or risk losing your house altogether if you fail to cough up payments. Although this might prove to be to an expensive option, but it will be safer because you will know what is expected of you every month and can take measures so that you do not get trap yourself in a corner.

3. It is important to decide what you want. Do not waste time going from house to house and saying ‘this place does not have enough bathrooms’ or ‘this place does not have a big lawn’. Decide beforehand on your ideal house. Try to conjure up a rough idea about your ideal house i.e. how many rooms it should have, how big the garage should be etc. By doing this exercise, you can easily list the houses that meet your criteria’s and thus save time and energy. Obtaining an idea about the locality can be useful too. Often school, crime rate, and other info can have a bearing on the final decision.

4. Beware of any defects with the house you plan to buy. In order to avoid being scammed it is best that you pay for a full structural survey. Then you will know whether investing in that house is a good idea or not. Lenders do not conduct a proper survey. All they really look forward to is you to fail to make a payment so that they can take control of the house. So conduct your own survey to be on the safe side.

5. To get a good deal, you can consider buying bank owned properties on foreclosures. Such properties are usually sold in discounted price.

If you remember these tips while buying the home in, you will certainly gain advantage over the seller and will ensure a good living place for your family. Good luck!

Nancy Geils

www.investingwiththestars.net/season3

Sign up for Free Real Estate Trainings

p.s. Want to speed up your videos you watch?

Check this out, I highly recommend it! http://tinyurl.com/enounce