ReMax panel Q&A on home buying

Cathy Norman, ReMax Centerstone, put a panel together to answer their most asked home buying questions of the year. 

http://www.letussellyourhome.com

The Panel:

Cathy Norman– Managing Broker, 20+ years has done all aspects of the industry,#1 Office 2009-2011 Both Offices with RE/MAX for (Volume/Transaction basis), Top Office IBJ Production per Agent #1 2010 & #3 2011, noted as Real Trends-Top Fast-est Growing Offices– www.letussellyourhome.com

Tony Pickett– The Pickett Team– Team leader with over 8 years exp. Has closed over 700 homes representing $63 million in real estate. His team specializes in residential both buyers & sellers with a focus on foreclosure avoidance (short sales) & bank owned properties

Jeremy Tucker- Jeremy Tucker team– Team leader over 8 years exp. #1 with RE/MAX for over 5 years, Top 5 with IBJ, Top 100 with Wall Street Journal. Investment Property, HUD home, Buyer Specialist, Foreclosures, Investors, Bank Owned Prop-erty, RE, Executive, and commercial. Closed over 2,240 homes averaging $28 mil-lion of real estate a year in volume in residential and commercial statewide.

Jason Alsup– Culpepper Group- Vice President of The Culpepper Group, Top 50 with RE/MAX of Indiana RE/MAX Centerstone Sheltering Wings Foundation Member, All facets of Residential & Commercial. In business over 6 years and contributed to over 330 homes sold in past 6 years representing $40 million in real estate.

The Questions and more...

1.) Why use a realtor? Real estate transactions involve one of the biggest financial investments most people experience in their lifetime. We have the resources of properties, negotiations, provides due diligence during the evaluation of the property, understanding financing, inspections, appraisals, closing, possession, & most important your emotional & professional support.

2.) When looking for a home what are the questions we should ask? We can help buyers with their questions on price or affordability, location, condition, financing options and when & where to begin

3.) What is a HUD house? How to make offer & is it only cash? Several federal agencies have properties to sell. In fact, HUD sells both single family homes & multifamily properties. There are home buyer programs & repair programs. I would call someone who has been HUD trained to make an offer, which our office is.

4.) What is a REO, FANNIE, or short sale home? Do you have to be an investor to buy or can anyone? REO stands for Real Estate Owned a home for sale that has been foreclosed on by the bank. It could be a bank owned, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or VA owned. A Short Sale is a home that is for sale where the owner is sell-ing is short of their payoff, with the assistance of their bank. It's very common these days due to the decline in the housing market and is effective in avoiding foreclosure. All of these types are available to buyers who want to live in the home, not just investors. In fact, sometimes owner/occupants are given priority to pur-chase over an investor. These type of properties can represent a great value for a homeowner

5.) How do I find a realtor & what should I look for? You can contact us our info is (on tv screen) Referral is the #1 way to find an agent. If I could nail it down to just a couple of key aspects, I would say integrity & feel-ing comfortable with them. You really need to feel that you can trust them, and that you will be able to com-municate with them effectively. Experience has proven to be extremely important. I do recommend speaking with two or three agents. That way you can ask them about their experience and how they work.

6.) Do you recommend having a home inspection? Buying a home could be the largest single invest-ment you will ever make. To minimize unpleasant surprises and unexpected difficulties, you’ll want to learn as much as you can about the newly constructed or existing house before you buy it. A home inspection may identify the need for major repairs or builder oversights, as well as the need for maintenance to keep it in good shape.