Shopping for Gulf Coast real estate or a new home in Daphne, homes for sale in Fairhope, Mobile real estate, or new home in Spanish Fort, Al is a very emotional experience. It’s also time consuming and comes with a myriad of details. Some buyers, however, caught up in the excitement of buying a new home tend to overlook some items. Their home purchase turns into an expensive process. These errors generally fall into three areas:

• Paying too much
• Losing a dream home to another buyer
• Buying the wrong home

When you have a systematic plan and an experienced guide such as Barbara Reeves before you shop, you’ll be sure to avoid these costly errors. Here are some tips on making the most of your home purchase:

Bidding without sufficient information
What price do you offer a seller? Barbara checks all of the comparables and will help guide you to making an offer that will entice the seller to enter into negoiations with you.  Is the seller’s asking price too high? Is it a deal? Without research on the market and comparable homes for sale in Daphne, new home for sale in Fairhope, Mobile Metro homes for sale homes for sale in Spanish Fort, Al you could lose thousands of dollars. Before you make that offer, be sure you have researched the market. Barbara Reeves, professional REALTOR®, can offer an unbiased opinion on the value of a home, based on market conditions, condition of the home and neighborhood. Without knowledge of the market, your offer could be too much. Or worse, you could miss out on a great buying opportunity.

Buying a mis-matched home
What do you need and want in a home? Sounds simple. Yet, clearly identifying your needs and bringing an objective view to home shopping, leaves you in a better position. Sometimes, home buyers buy a home that is too large or too small. Perhaps they didn’t consider the drive to work, the distance to school, or the many repair jobs waiting for completion. Plan ahead. Use your needs list as a guideline for every home you view. Barbara's ultimate goal is to match each and every buyer to the exact perfect home for your needs and budget. She will never pressure you to make a quick decision on the largest purchase of your life.

Unclear title
Before we move to the closing table, Barbara will make sure the Gulf Coast real estate you are considering in Daphne, Fairhope, Mobile or Spanish Fort, Al is free of all encumbrances. As part of her services, your REALTOR® can supply you with a copy of the title to ensure there are no liens, debts, undisclosed owners, leases or easements.

Outdated survey
Before the purchase is completed, an updated survey is essential. This report will indicate boundaries and structural changes (additions to the house, a new swimming pool, neighbor’s new fence which is extending a boundary line, etc.). An existing survey is better than no survey at all, however fences are sometimes installed and additional structures are built after the existing survey, so it is important to make sure these additions are all within the boundary lines.

Unexpected repairs
For $300 - $500 a professional inspector will conduct a thorough inspection of your Daphne real estate, Fairhope new home, Mobile homes for sale, Spanish Fort real estate for sale in Alabama. This way, you’ll have an idea of the cost of future repairs. Make the final contract subject to a favorable report. This will be the best $300 - $500 you will spend.

Shopping without pre-approval
It only takes a few days to get financing pre-approval. When you are shopping for Gulf Coast real estate or a new home in Daphne, homes for sale in Fairhope, Mobile homes for sale, new homes for sale in Spanish Fort, Alabama this gives you more power. A seller is more likely to consider an offer from a serious buyer. In a situation where there are more than one offer on the table, the buyer with a pre-approval letter will automatically move to the top of the list.

Remember additional cost
Besides the funds for the purchase of a home in Daphne, Fairhope homes for sale, Mobile real estate for sale, a new home for sale in Spanish Fort, Alabama, you’ll need funds for items such as loan fees, insurance, legal fees, surveys, inspections, etc. These are part of the normal fees associated with home purchase and some may be negotiated into the home purchase with the seller paying some or all of these fees on your behalf. Ask Barbara how to make this part of your sales contract.

Rushing the closing
Before you sign, ensure that all documentation clearly reflects your understanding and conditions of the transaction. Has anything been forgotten? It is a good idea to start making a list before writing an offer listing all issues that are important to you as a buyer. Don’t rush. You could lose money, financing or even the sale. With an experienced real estate agent like Barbara Reeves at your side sorting through all of the details of your home purchase is made as stressfree as possible.

*Home shown is for illustrative purposes, not for sale.