FAQs

While home shoppers these days can look at hundreds of homes online, they only hoof it to check out 10 homes on average before they put in an offer.

As a rule of thumb, knocking 5% off the list price won’t ruffle any feathers. If it’s been sitting on the market for months, you can venture below that.

With research, you can keep surprises to a minimum. The best way is to check out comps—what similar properties are selling for in the area — and whether those prices have been going up or down in the recent past.

While buyers often wonder if a home inspection is truly necessary, most Realtors unequivocally say yes, yes, and yes.

While buyers can always back out of a deal, doing so without good reason may forfeit their earnest money (the cash put down to secure the offer, typically around 1%-2% of the home’s price).

Getting pre-approved for a mortgage is the first step of the home buying process. Getting a pre-approval letter from a lender get the ball rolling in the right direction.

Home shoppers pay little or no fees to an agent to buy a home.

Most loan programs require a FICO score of 620 or better. Borrowers with higher credit scores represent less risk to the lender, often resulting in a lower the down payment requirement and better interest rate. Conversely, home shoppers with lower credit scores may need to bring more money to the table (or accept a higher interest rate) to offset the lender’s risk.

The national average for down payments is 11%. But that figure includes first time and repeat buyers.

If the built-up equity in your current home will be applied to the down payment on the new home, naturally the former will need to be sold first.

Written offers should stipulate the timeframe in which the seller should respond. Giving them twenty-four hours should be sufficient.

Sellers can flat-out accept or reject an initial offer. But there a third path that is quite common, sellers can initiate a counteroffer.

It’s not required, but it’s a great idea!