1) Getting a mortgage is easy
Financing is not easy these days. I currently have some clients under contract trying to buy a vacation condo on the beach. My clients have great credit, make a good living and are putting 20% down. It is still questionable as to whether they will get money to buy the property. The problem is that it is a condo in Florida and banks have tightened their lending guidelines on these properties.
With that being said there are some great loan programs available. For some financing is relatively easy. If you are a first time home buyer, have great credit, money for a down payment, buying within your means and a primary residence you should be able to get a mortgage.
2) Homes aren’t selling
This is not true either. Homes are selling out there. Depending on where you are in the country sales are relatively active. Obviously, some areas are going to be better than others. I heard on the nightly news the other night that sales on a national lever were up. Keep in mind real estate is local so you need to find out what is happening in your area. Inventories might still be high but there is a lot of demand for a properly priced property. Talk to a competent Realtor to find what is happening in your market.
3) Foreclosures and short sales are the only properties to consider
Foreclosures and short sales make up a good portion of the sales today. There are some great deals to be found in foreclosures and short sales however there are also some great properties available for sale that are not bank owned or short sales. Don’t ignore these properties. If you are looking to buy a home hire a good Realtor that will narrow down your best options which will include bank owned properties, short sales and realistic sellers who are not upside down.
4) Realtors are not busy
Every now and then I get a wise guy that thinks he can walk all over me because he thinks I have nothing to do. They tend to speak down to me, want to be catered to, their needs and wants go over and above what is required from a Realtor and have little or no respect for my time. Fortunately, I am busy enough to fire these types of buyers and sellers. Don’t make the assumption that all Realtors are twiddling their thumbs in the office.
What misconceptions are you running into today?
Marc Rasmussen
Realtor in Sarasota, Florida
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I agree with what you said. The foreclosure and short sale market in Austin is not as good here as it is in other parts of the country (in my humble opinion) and I know of one short sale right now that has taken over four months to get approval and…believe it or not the buyer is still hanging in there. We’re finding the best deals here with new home construction (lower interest rates, more incentives, buyer and realtor bonuses, etc.)
So true!! In regards to #2, homes are definitely selling – especially in the price ranges where most people can afford & think they can get the ‘deals’. We are still getting into multiple offer situations every day.
With #3, I definitely agree that you can find just as great prices with resales as with foreclosures & REOs, and in most cases the resales are easier to get to close for the buyer!
Homes are definitely selling, my hope is that we don’t suddenly come to a crash. Once the tax credit disappears then what? However agents are busy and we’ll gladly take it when we can get it.
Point 2 is so true! Homes are definitely selling, and I’m not aware of too many colleagues in other places who don’t agree. However we still don’t know what this will mean for property prices, going forward.
We are seeing the same thing. People with money and good credit being turned down for loans. It makes no sense.
I have had only one potential buyer who I fired. For a busy agent, its my way or the highway. It actually is humbling to turn down listings and buyers sometimes!
Ugh! I hear you with #4! It is unfortunate that some folks seem to think it is OK to treat other people that way. I say fire ‘em, too!