DFW Homes Realty - Terri Camp

Did you know your credit will be pulled right before you are given a clear to close on a house you’re buying? Most people think they get “approved” and everything is a done deal. That is not how it works. A mortgage company can reject your approval any time up to docs going to Title.

To protect yourself from the dreaded phone call that you no longer qualify for the loan here are some items to keep in mind while in the middle of the home buying process.

#1 Make all of your payments on time!

#2 Don’t max out any credit cards. I know you want to buy the new appliances, draperies, carpet, etc. But please wait until after you have closed on the house.

#3 Don’t make any large purchases with credit. This is NOT the time to buy a car! You will likely have to make it your home if you do that.

#4 Don’t go over the limit on your credit cards. This one will keep you from getting the house of your dreams. RESIST the urge to spend!

#5 Don’t start shopping for new credit. Everytime you request approval for a credit card, there is a ding on your credit report. Save the new Dillards card application until after you have moved into your new home.

I’ve seen credit scores drop 80 points and a client lose the house they thought they would be moving into in two days. Don’t let this happen to you!

Your best line of offense is to contact your mortgage professional to get guidelines for spending while in the home buying process. 

Buyers: We just had another phone call yesterday from a buyer who had contracted to buy a house for sale by owner. Everything seemed to go along just fine, until the appraisal came back $35,000 less than the sales price. One of the biggest reasons sellers want to sell on their own is because they want to make more money. They want to save on the commission, feeling somewhere along the line that they can do the job the real estate agent has been trained to do. Or they want more money than the amount they were quoted by a real estate agent who did a CMA (comparative market analysis). If the seller is wanting more money than fair market value, they will likely run into the scenerio we were called on yesterday. Now what does the buyer do?  Was it in the contract that the house had to appraise?  Was it in the contract that the house was subject to financing approval? We don’t know. The buyer called us after the fact. The truth is, she could still be sued to perform the contract.

A for sale by owner is not necessarily a better deal for the buyer. I would always encourage a buyer to have an agent, even if they are looking at homes for sale by owner.

With all the talk about the mortgage industry and everything I thought it would be good to just let you know that 100% financing is still available. Now..here’s the rub…It’s only available for people with good credit (at least 620) with a debt to income ratio under 45%.

Some people ask, “Why would you want no money down?”  Well…if you have money to invest in something that will give you a 12% return why wouldn’t you invest it there rather in a house with a 6.5% interest rate. Plus, you have the additional tax benefit of the interest you pay on the house.

Go to http://www.dpfinancial.net/ where you can fill out an application. Tell her Terri sent you! Obviously if you want to buy a house the traditional way of putting 20% or more down, we can help you with that too.

Here I am….sitting at an Open House.  You may be asking yourself, “Why are you typing on your computer when you are sitting at an Open House?”  The answer is quite simple ….no one is here!

Back in the day - Open houses were a great way to sell a house…or for the neighbors to take a look at your decorating. I know…you’ve all done it…You were out driving around, saw an Open House sign and said to yourself, “Hey, Let’s go look!” You weren’t in the market to buy a home, but you were definitely in the market to decorate your home, so you made all these Realtors excited because in walks…a person..a warm body..a prospect!  My first question I ask when people walk into my open house is, “Looking for decorating tips? …take a look at this!”  That is not going to sell the house. Open houses typically don’t sell houses.

 So, why am I sitting here?  Because the sellers want to feel like I’m doing something. So, here I sit working on my blog, working on various marketing projects for the home. Hey..I just had an idea…I could do one open house every week, and I have a good solid two hours of uniterrupted work time!  Actually…this open house was a voluntary thing. I’m holding it open for brokers who were at a meeting, where I did get to stand up and talk about the house. However…no one came to see the house….But never fear….because I’m sure they are at their offices now calling all of their buyers telling them there is a perfect house on 1/4 acre with 3300 sq feet! It also has granite countertops, ceramic tile floors, a bonus room on the 1/2 level with a full bath.  AND..a master with a huge bonus room that would be perfect for all of their exercise equipment! 

If you weren’t able to catch me at the open house, stop by my website, www.dfwhomesrealty.com and check out my listings. This one is beautiful, you won’t want to miss watching the pictures and the relaxing music.

A client of another agent recently said, “Why do I have to pay you if I brought the buyer?” The seller had an agreement with the agent for an “exclusive right to sell.” Apparently this seller decided to put an ad in the paper to sell her house. She had one person contact her. Before the agent knew anything, the seller went through a process of getting the person who responded to her ad to buy her house. The seller can’t seem to grasp the idea that just because the buyer came to her without the use of an agent that she still owes the commission to the agent.

It seems to me that the public has a skewed idea of what an “exclusive right to sell” listing means. So, I’m going to try to help you understand. In the most basic of terms it means that as a seller, you have given away the right to sell your property. The only person who now has the right to sell your property is the broker or an agent of the broker. So “bringing your own buyer” is not an option. You may advertise the home in a newspaper, you may have an open house, but any buyer who comes into your home and wants to submit an offer must do so through the broker.

Perhaps that doesn’t seem “fair” to some people, especially when the seller is under the mistaken idea that the agent isn’t doing anything for them. There is a lot more to the sale of a property than simply producing a buyer. If the seller could get out of paying a broker’s fee just because they produced the buyer, anyone could walk up to a seller’s home and offer to buy the property. Where would that leave the broker? It would leave them with many hours of work, and a great deal of expense, with nothing to gain.

Another thing I would like to add is that most contracts have a time frame after the contract in which someone who saw the property during the listing period continues to be covered as a part of the contract. Case in point, a buyer held repeated open houses with permission from the broker’s agent. A buyer offered to buy the property. The seller makes up a story to the listing agent to request they cancel their listing. A few days later, the seller sells the house to a person who saw the home during an open house while having an exclusive right to sell listing with a broker. The seller is still obligated to pay the broker because the buyer saw the house while under contract with the broker. Again, the seller argues, “but I brought the buyer.” That doesn’t make any difference under an exclusive right to sell. In addition, the seller attempted to defraud the agent by claiming they were no longer going to sell the house. This is not something you want to do as a seller. This seller will likely end up paying the commission, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees for the listing broker. In addition, the seller could also face criminal charges of fraud. It’s also possible the buyer could be charged with fraud if the two parties agreed to wait until the listing was cancelled. As a seller, you never want to attempt to sell your home when you have an exclusive right to sell contract with a broker. There is nothing wrong with advertising the home yourself if you want to go that route, but you must refer all prospective buyers to your agent.

Terri Camp

terricamp@dfwhomesrealty.com

Thank you for stopping at my blog. My goal is to give my readers a “real” look into the life of an agent in real estate. There are a lot of myths floating around in cyberspace and in society as well. I would love to address some of those myths as well as give you some great advice and share a little of my life with you in the process.

This is going to be an enjoyable ride that you will also find enlightening. I’m not afraid to answer the hard questions about my profession such as, “Why do you get paid so much?” and “Why can’t I sell my house for what I paid for it?” and even, “Why did my real estate agent disappear after I signed the paperwork?”

More later …

Welcome to Terri Camp’s Blog! This blog will provide you with valuable information, tips, and general insight into the real estate market in Southlake.