' Tis the Season to be Jolly, and More

It’s also the season to buy a home!

One thing that many homebuyers fail to acknowledge is that they have competitors.   They aren’t the only ones looking for a home.   Others are searching also, no matter what home they eventually buy, other people would have bought that property first had they known about it first.

So how do you get there first?   Like so many things in life, it is a matter of work. Houses don’t find buyers; the buyers have to roll up their sleeves and go find the home.   There are a couple of aspects to this that are particularly relevant at this time.

First, I think that getting an education is really important.   The plain truth is that most homebuyers are woefully ignorant about the process. If they deal with trustworthy agents and lenders, they’ll get through OK, but they’d be better off if they were better prepared. I would buy one of the many good books on homebuying, and I hope that you would buy my mortgage books. The advise will, literally, save thousands of dollars.  

Learn how to use the Internet resources and work with your agent to share timely information about properties. Learn how to use Realtor.com and other websites.   For help in making this process easier, you might also want to buy my other book, How to Find a Home and Get a Mortgage on the Internet, available at amazon.com.

Second, my readers have reported to me that in most areas of the country it is a seller’s market. There are more buyers than sellers and, in general, sellers are getting close to their asking price.   I am working with several clients who have been unsuccessful, having made bids but losing out to someone who was willing to pay more than they were.  

The good news is that perseverance does pay.  Clients in the San Francisco Bay area just called this afternoon to tell me that they finally had an offer accepted.   It was the fifth home they had bid on!   It also proved one of my truisms.   After the first couple of disappointments, they were feeling pretty dejected, but I told them, “Nine times out of ten in a couple of weeks you’ll find a home you like a lot more than the one you just lost out on.”   And that proved to be the case again this time.

More than most times, you really need the help of a good real estate agent, one who has an intimate knowledge of the particular neighborhoods you are interested in. In every area, the most knowledgeable agents have what are referred to as “pocket listings.” The agent knows that someone might be interested in selling, but not quite yet, or they don’t want to put their home in the multiple listing service and have people traipse through their home.   If you are working with that agent, he or she may say, “You know. I know a home that is not on the market yet. Let me call them.”   Bingo!

Finally, to the point of the article, timing. I think that this is the best time of year to buy a home because so many of the other people in the market – your competitors – are out visiting family, buying Christmas trees, or presents, or whatever. Right now, they are leaving the field wide open to you.

Go for it!