First Time Atlanta Home Buyers
How to Get the Home You Want,
At the Best Possible Price and Financing Rate,
With the Fewest Headaches!
Buying your own home is one of the most exciting times in your life and could be one of the smartest financial decisions you will ever make. Whether this is your first home purchase or your twentieth, you probably want:
- To find the perfect home that meets all of your needs
- To get the best deal possible
- Everything to go as smoothly as possible with no last minute surprises
So how do you accomplish this and where do you start?
If you do what most people do, you start searching the local newspapers, real estate magazines, and the Internet to find your dream home. After a week or two of searching, you may find some homes that look promising, so you drive by each one. You see a dozen or so that are in great neighborhoods and the outside of the homes are absolutely gorgeous. So you make appointments with the sellers or the sellers' Realtors and then go back to view the inside of each home.
It's now been a month or two and you have finally found "the one", so you decide to make an offer. You negotiate with the seller, agree to a price, and, after another week or so, you sign a contract and put up a couple thousand dollars in earnest money. You're so excited and you tell everyone you know that you have finally bought a home.
Or have you?
You finally call a mortgage broker or your banker, fill out the loan application, and provide reams of paperwork to prove everything you stated in your application. But a week or so later you still haven't heard from the lender, so you give them a call. That's when you find out that everything is falling apart. The payment is too high, the down payment is too high, the lender tells you that the home is too expensive, that something on your credit report needs to be taken care of before they will approve the loan, or a dozen other reasons why they don't want to give you the loan.
Now what? Are you legally obligated to buy the home? Do you get your earnest money back? Will you need to hire an attorney? If so, how much will that cost?
The whole process can be scary if you don't know what you're doing and don't have the best representation. So how can you reduce the stress and avoid wasting so much time and money?
I have been an active real estate agent since 2003 and I specialize in helping people buy the perfect home, at the lowest price and terms possible, while making the entire home buying process simple, fun, and stress-free. Let me show you some of the most important steps in the Atlanta home buying process...
Step #1 - Find a Great Realtor
The first step to buying your dream home is to find a friendly and professional Atlanta Realtor who knows the area and the local market like the back of their hand, returns your phone calls quickly, and has the experience to find a home you will love and negotiate the best price and terms for you.
Most importantly, you need to find a Realtor who will be 100% honest with you, someone who will tell you the good and the bad news, even if it means they will lose sale. You are not a commission check; you are a person who deserves to make informed decisions every step of the way. And you can only do that if your agent gives you ALL of the information you need.
Of course, you can buy a home on your own, but a full-time Realtor who helps people buy homes every day can locate the perfect home for you, save you money, and help you avoid the many pitfalls that hinder inexperienced agents and home buyers.
So how do you find a great Realtor in Atlanta?
Obtaining a personal referral from someone you know and trust is ALWAYS the easiest way to find a great Realtor. When my clients refer a friend or a relative to me, it always seems to work out and is a good and rewarding experience for everyone concerned.
During the interview process, every Atlanta Realtor you speak with should give you an informational document called The ABC's of Agency: Understanding Real Estate Brokerage Relationships in Georgia. The Georgia Real Estate Commission provides this document, and all Atlanta Realtors should provide this information to home buyers and sellers.
The intent of this document is to give you information about the broker's duties and who the broker represents. A broker can represent the buyer or the seller, or both, so it's very important that you understand who the broker is representing.
When buying a home, always remember to use a Realtor who represents you and your best interest...not the seller's. IMPORTANT: The seller's agent DOES NOT represent you. While they may appear to be the sweetest person you have ever met, they are legally obligated to help the seller get the highest price possible with the fewest concessions to you. When we represent you, we will negotiate the lowest price and the best terms possible, and the seller will pay us to represent you so you don't have to pay any of the commission.
After you have interviewed prospective Realtors and you have chosen the best one to represent you in the transaction, your Realtor should ask you to read and sign an Exclusive Buyer Brokerage Agreement. The purpose of this form is, among other things, to document in writing who the broker is representing. Until you and the broker have agreed to the terms of this document and signed the bottom line, the broker is legally required to represent the seller or they could lose their license. Please remember this: if you haven't signed anything, the Realtor is representing the seller. But with this document, you are the broker's client and they are legally required to represent YOU. This protects you, so you should require that your Realtor signs this document with you.
Your agent should also provide you with an Affiliate Business Arrangement Disclosure. This document tells you about the business relationships the broker has with other businesses. While there may be many businesses listed on this document, remember that you are not required to use the services of any of these businesses and you are free to shop around to find your own service providers if you prefer.
You should also be provided with a copy of Protect Yourself When Buying a Home. This brochure was prepared by the Georgia Association of Realtors to help buyers with the home buying process.
If you would like to learn about federal laws that protect you, here is consumer information about RESPA - The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and
Frequently Asked Questions about RESPA.
If you're looking for a home in the northwest metro Atlanta area, please give us a call at 678-222-2987. We are a team of full-time real estate professionals who have lived and worked in the area for decades. We know the market and we will work tirelessly for you until we find your perfect home at the best price possible. We will ask you questions to get to know you and to understand what you are looking for in a home, and we will answer any questions you may have. We truly want to learn about your dream home to ensure that you will be happy with your new home. We also believe that buying a home should be as fun and stress-free as possible, and we will do everything we can to make sure you enjoy buying your first home.
We will also provide you with a one-year guarantee when you buy a home through us. This protects you when you purchase a home through the Eisenmann Home Selling Team by guaranteeing that if you don't absolutely love your new home, or if the unexpected happens right after you move in, just call us within 12 months and we will sell it for FREE, and then we will help you find a home that you will truly love. Click here to learn more about our Home Buyer Protection Plan.
Step #2 - Get Pre-Approved for a Mortgage >
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