How Can You Ensure Your Offer Is Accepted?

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The spring market here in Birmingham is on fire right now. To help you make the most of a crowded market, I want to share some advice on how to handle a multiple offer situation. Here are a few things to think about when you're competing against other offers:

• How much are you asking the sellers to pay in closing costs? 
• How flexible are you on the closing date?
• Are you working with a reputable lender? 
• Are you conditionally approved? 
• Do you know what the seller is looking for?

As you can see, it's crucial to have a general idea of your needs and the seller's needs when trying to get your offer accepted. If you have any questions for us, or if you would like our assistance, give us a call or shoot us a quick email. We would love to hear from you! 

 

Can You Avoid These Common Real Estate Mistakes?

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Buying a Birmingham home? Search all homes for sale

 With the busy spring real estate season in full swing, there is no better time to discuss common home buying mistakes you should be aware of! Here are a few of the mistakes unwitting home buyers make:

1. Relying on information found online: A lot of times, the information you find on the Internet is outdated or flat out inaccurate. If you want reliable real estate information, your best resource is a real estate professional.
2. Failing to get pre-approved: If you submit an offer on a home that has garnered offers from other buyers, your offer will likely be rejected if it doesn't have a pre-approval letter from a lender along with it. If you have a pre-approval from a reputable lender, you offer is almost as good as a cash offer.
3. Not knowing the market shifts frequently: Market conditions are constantly changing and are location dependent. About 24 months ago, it was a strong buyer's market; prospective buyers could make various requests that the seller would likely fulfill. Now, there are a ton of buyers out there looking for a home! To get good information so you make informed decisions, you need to speak with a real estate professional!
4. Getting Picky: If you get picky about paying a few extra dollars on a home, you're giving up the lifestyle that you and your family deserve. Keep in mind that in a few years you'll probably not mind paying the extra money for the home because you and your family deserve it.

Avoiding these mistakes is crucial if you want the buying process to go smoothly. Give us a call or shoot us an email if you need real estate assistance of any kind. We would love to give you a hand!

What Real Estate Agents Do to Keep Protected

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Buying a Birmingham home? Search all homes for sale

Recently there have been some unsettling things in the news that involve the safety of real estate agents, so I just wanted to take a moment to explain how we take precautions to safeguard ourselves in this line of work. What we do is inherently dangerous, but we can take steps to avoid bad situations.

One of the things we avoid doing is meeting a prospective client at a house before we've met them. We always insist that you come speak with us at our office before we take you to a listing. We just ask that you consider how you'd feel if your wife, daughter or son were being asked to meet a stranger in a vacant house. It's just not a safe situation at all. 

This is why we like to screen our potential buyers, so we can ensure that they're serious about buying and do not have any other intentions. Other than safety concerns, we think the experience you have with us is always much better when you come in and meet us, because that gives us the opportunity to cater to all of your individual needs. Almost all of the problems that arise in a real estate transaction will come from a lack of communication, and this can be avoided with a consultation at the beginning of a home search.

If you ever need any help buying or selling homes in Birmingham, please don't hesitate to contact me. I'm always willing to help you!