Nine Tips to Making Your Home Purchase Painless

Buying your Basking Ridge, NJ home should be a wonderful experience. It does not have to be stressful. Here are a few tips that should help to make your next home buying experience one you will want to remember, not want to forget.

1) You have heard the term location, location, location! Do your homework before you go looking for your new home. Even if it is everything you have dreamed of, is the home located in an area that is convenient to schools, shopping, perhaps a train line to NY and the interstate and is the area positioned to hold it’s value? can help you with the resources to analyze the areas you are considering based on your children’s school needs and where you work. Today, more than ever, location, location, location prevails.

2) You are not just buying a home, you are buying an area, and a community and you can’t do better than Basking Ridge. With some of the best schools in NJ and close proximity to major highways and an hour by train to New York, it’s a great choice! So you think that you have found the perfect home? Get in your car and drive around the entire area within a square mile or so. What do you see? Is there anything that concerns you? Too many buyers focus on just the home but the area and what surrounds it can have a lot to do with the growth of your area and the resale of your home. Where are the schools? Is school bus service provided for your home? Is it included in your taxes or are there additional charges? What other services does the town provide? Which are private and which will cost you money each and every month along with your taxes? What about trash pickup, sewers?

3) Does the town have private septic and well water or do you have public sewers and town water? Many parts of Basking Ridge have septic systems and well water. These are things not everyone thinks about, but you should, and you should know the differences. If you are buying in an area with septic and well water those should also be inspected and are separate from a general home inspection. Radon is a big issue today too and most towns have it! Be sure the radon levels of the home you are going to buy is checked during your inspection.

4) Every buyer needs a “buyer’s agent” to represent them. The “seller’s agent” represents the seller. You need representation too, so get your own agent. Have her show you the area, review your list of properties and then show your final choices to you. When you find the “right” home, she will give you comparables to help you find the right offer price and will help you negotiate and follow up on the “dozens” of closing details that you could never do yourself. The seller pays both agents so be sure to get one that represents YOU.

5) Advice is good but who's is it? I have worked with many buyers over the years - have found the perfect home for them and then they asked the advice of parents or their siblings or some other friends that ultimately gave them poor advice. Very few parents, siblings or other friends are professionals when it comes to buying a home. They act more on emotion and they almost feel like they have to find something wrong with the home or the area to gain your respect or to feel they have contributed. If you have done your homework and worked with a professional REALTOR, you should have faith in your decision.

6) Let's make a LOW BALL OFFER! I have heard this so much in the last year, you can’t imagine! With all the talk about foreclosures and short sales the media has scared a lot of buyers and told you to not buy now and if you do, make a low, low offer. This can backfire on you. Sellers are human beings complete with emotions, yes, just like buyers (who are often sellers at the same time). If you make a very low offer, particularly without stats to back it up, it is likely the sellers will be offended. I have seen sellers that received very low offers and refused to negotiate or submit a counter offer. On the other hand I have seen buyers make a "reasonable" offer and get a good deal on a home. Many homes are already priced at rock bottom prices. Making LOW BALL offers way below these already low prices could backfire on you. Again, a professional Realtor will do an analysis for you and you can see where a particular home is priced comparable to other homes that have sold or are pending. You absolutely cannot get accurate information from the internet. Only an agent familiar with the area that really knows the inventory, but also knows the area well and can help you compare homes accurately and make the right offer. After all, do you want to buy a home or loose a home? You need someone who has your very best interests before their own.

7) That's O.K. "I will buy the home in “as is” condition". Wrong! I have heard too many buyers tell me they are O.K. with a home they have made an offer on and don't need a professional home inspection completed. The most common problems that can become major problems are often unseen to the average person, like structural issues. I have seen furnaces that are barely functioning, mold in newer homes. The $350-$550 you will spend on a private home inspection is the best money you can spend on your soon to be home. Not only will the inspection disclose flaws of the home, a good inspector will give you sound advice on maintaining your home for the years to come. Also, please remember that relatives and friends have good intentions but they are not professional inspectors and could end up costing you money if you allow them to do your inspection.

8) Let's go buy that new furniture now that we have a home under contract! Hold Everything!! If you have made an offer on a home and your closing is pending, the absolute last thing you want to do is go create any new debt before closing. Remember, your mortgage lender has approved you based on your current income/debt ratio (among other factors). If you go out and splurge on new furniture or even a new car, you have changed your income/debt ratios, and the result could be that you do not qualify for that home now, so don’t do it.

9) The $8,000. first time home buyer’s tax credit has been the greatest thing since sliced bread to new buyers that have been “on the fence” about buying (as the sales results for last month have shown) and it seems Congress is going to give them an EXTENSION. There is also talk of stimulus for the moving up buyer so stay tuned and lets hope they pass these bills. Between record low home prices, almost record low interest rates and the tax stimulus, it’s a windfall for anyone in the market to buy a home. There has never, ever been a better time to buy!

The home buying process can be an informative learning experience. Follow these tips, find yourself a good agent and you will be well on your way to having the home of your dreams.