How To Buy A Home In Asheville, NC Without Over Paying

Filed Under: Buying a Home

How To Buy A Home In Asheville, NC Without Over Paying

Of course you want to buy a home in Asheville, NC without over paying.

No one desires to give away their hard earned money.
Many home buyers end up overpaying anyway, many real estate agents say.
Why is this the case?
They often undermine their own best interests.

First-time buyers often have a hard time exercising discipline when it comes to price,

Want to avoid overpaying for your next house or condo regardless of the market?

Here are some key tips to follow when looking to buy a home in Asheville, NC:

1. KNOW HOW MUCH HOME YOU CAN AFFORD –
First step to buy a home in Asheville, NC without overpaying?
Get pre-approved vs. pre-qualified for a home loan.

Shop three lenders at least.
Learn what programs are available for you.
Include some Internet lenders too.

Your pre-approval should be in writing

Banks, Savings & Loans, brokers and bankers can arrange written pre-approvals.

It should come as a letter or certificate from the actual lender.
One signed by an authorized loan officer who works for the lender. Getting your loan through a broker?
Then the signed pre­-approval must come from the actual bank, S&L or banker which will commit to make you a home loan.

Remember your broker cannot issue a binding pre-approval. Brokers don’t loan money.
They act as middlemen between the borrower and the lender.

Home loan pre-approval offers more advantages such as:

• knowing the most you can afford to pay for a home,
• possessing written pre-approval,
• being able to close the sale fast sale.

All the above gives you confidence when seeking a mortgage to buy a home in Asheville, NC.

2. DON’T BE IN A HURRY TO BUY A HOME –
Home buyers often overpay because they don’t know local home sales conditions.
Plus they don’t have time to look at many houses.
Even when home buyers overpay, inflation often bails them out after a few years.
Still it’s best to avoid overpaying.
How?
By careful home shopping and knowing the local market before purchasing.

3. GET TO KNOW THE LOCAL COMMUNITY WHERE YOU THINK YOU WANT TO BUY –
Check for community data that affects if you would buy a home in Asheville, NC:

• school test statistics,
• crime rates,
• shopping,
• transportation,
• flood areas,
• and the actual commute time to your job.

Another reason home buyers should take their when it comes time to buy a home in Asheville, NC?
It takes time to research the local market situation before making an offer to buy a home.

Before making an offer, become the neighborhood expert.
Learn the neighborhood’s pros and cons, home values and the like.
The payoff of this hard work?
Avoiding the pain of paying too much for a home.

For many potential, it’s all about the local schools.
School statistics are plentiful on the Internet.
Most progressive school districts have their own websites.
There they brag about their schools and the student accomplishments.
If an agent doesn’t have or won’t give you this school information, he or she is not right for you.

Commute to work?
Then you must consider this when deciding to buy a home in Asheville, NC.
New homes in distant suburbs can look very attractive.
Homes with longer commutes to job centers often do not appreciate as well.
Few buyers want a long commute.

Check out the local shopping, public services, transportation and property.
Some towns are “wastelands” when it comes to amenities.
Others offer first class services, but the property taxes might be high.

4. WORK WITH A GOOD REAL ESTATE BUYER’S AGENT –

What service should you expect from a buyer’s agent?
Excellent question!

When it comes time to buy a home in Asheville, NC a buyer’s agent should:
(1) update new listings
(2) show you homes she/he thinks will interest you – including “for sale by owner” FSBOs,
(3) prepare a CMA -comparative market analysis – for homes on which you want to make an offer,
(4) make sure you receive the seller’s written disclosure of home defects,
(5) guide you on the initial offer amount and prepare a buy offer when you see a home you want to buy,
(6) represent you in negotiations with home sellers,
(7) handle the inspections after a signed buy contract
(8) re-negotiate with the seller dependent on the inspections
(9) make certain the sale closes on time.

5. PREPARE A WRITTEN COMPARATIVE MARKET ANALYSIS (CMA) BEFORE YOU MAKE A PURCHASE OFFER –

Your buyer’s agent should have this done ahead of time for you.

The CMA should include:

• recent sales (not asking) comparable nearby homes,
• asking prices of similar priced neighborhood homes for sale,
• and the asking prices of recently expired comparable home listings.

A seasoned buyer’s agent will have inspected each of the houses listed on the CMA. Then they should recommend an offer price on the Asheville, NC home you want to buy.
Once you make your offer, the CMA shows the home seller why they should accept.

6. ASK WHY IS THE SELLER SELLING? –

It’s important to find out why the seller is selling.
Your buyer’s agent might not know, but she/he can usually find out by phoning the listing agent.
Many listing agents aren’t even aware of the seller’s true reason for selling.

7. AVOID THE BEST HOUSE OR CONDO IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD –

You found it … your dream home.
One big problem though.
If it is the best house or condo in the area, you will be overpaying.

This is because the market value will suffer by all the other homes in the vicinity.
In other words, the seller is selling an over improved home.
If you insist on buying it, use the CMA valuation as your guide.

We recommend getting in touch with us here at Asheville Realty Group if you want a face-to-face conversation about how to avoid overpaying.

Additional Resources On How To Buy A Home In Asheville, NC

5 Mistakes Buyers Make In A Hot Housing Market
https://www.trulia.com/blog/5-mistakes-buyers-make-in-a-sellers-market/
How to avoid overpaying for your first home mortgage
https://fedlend.com/avoid-overpaying-first-mortgage/