How Can I Get Onto The Property Ladder???

What are the best first steps to take, for a complete novice like me???

Start by determining what you can afford. Invariably, this will be less than a mortgage company will qualify you for. Home ownership should be a happy experience, not a financial nightmare. So, only buy what you can afford per month.

Next, talk to a loan person you trust and tell them how much you want to pay and they can calculate what you can afford based on the amount you are comfortable paying, the tax bracket you are in and your credit score. Also, they can tell you if you qualify for a 100% loan, etc. Now you will know what price of home to be considering.

Spend time on the internet (realtor.com, remax.com, etc.) and learn about homes that you can afford. I suspect soon you will have a pretty good idea where and what you want to buy. The next step is to find a good agent. A good agent is someone who will save you money, time and risk and is a pleasure to work with. Finding a good agent is just as hard as finding a good doctor, dentist or mechanic. I have a few questions to ask prospective agents. Also, ask for references and call them before you make a final decision.

Before I give you the questions, know that they are based on finding a home that matches your needs, is in your price range and is a good deal. While everyone has a slightly different definition of a good deal, I think most people would describe a good deal as buying a home that meets their goals at well below market value, with favorable terms and where their closing costs are paid by the seller. As a Realtor in Las Vegas, this is the definition I most often here from my clients.

Ask prospective agents the following questions. If their answers are largely, â€œIâ€™ve been selling real estate for xxx years, next agent!

* â€œWhat do you consider good deals?â€ You have the general answer to this. If they donâ€™t ask you questions to get your definition of a good deal, next agent.

* â€œWhat process do you use to find these properties before I start looking at homes?â€ If they ramble on about the MLS and sending you tons of flyers, next agent. I spend hours doing research to find only a few good deals that meet my clients needs. For example, I have an out of town client arriving tomorrow. Based on his description, I found 156 homes on the MLS that met his requirements. After several hours of research I reduced the number to 18. It is the agentâ€™s job to find the good deals; their job is not to drive you from home to home to homeâ€¦ Remember, money, time and risk.

* â€œHow do you determine the recommended price I should offer on any given property?â€ Most will say something like â€œcompsâ€. Comps, what similar homes recently sold for, is a poor estimate in a market where prices are declining. The offer price should be based on the lower of: current for sales (adjusted for offer vs. actual sales price averages) and comps. These days, it is usually the for-sales that is the lower price and the one that I suggest my buyer go with.

* â€œHow will you submit my offer to the seller?â€ If the answer is fax, next agent. I personally deliver all offers (unless the seller is out-of-town seller or it is a foreclosure where it goes to the bank). I spend the time to create a 7 or 8 slide presentation where I walk the seller, and their agent, through the process I used to calculate the offer price. Every time, the seller and his agent have had to agree with the process; it is fact not opinion the way I do it. And, while not every offer is accepted, none of the owners got upset and rejected the offer outright thinking that it was just a crazy offer. Plus, it is critical that I sell my client. I tell them why my client is the one that they want to sell to. Sometimes, my offer has been lower than another offer they received but they chose with my client because they knew nothing about the other buyer. This personal presentation makes a huge difference in a market when you may be offering far less than the seller wanted.

Also, in almost all cases in the last year, I was able to get the seller to pay my clientâ€™s closing costs. In Las Vegas this is 2.5% to 3%. This is a big savings to my client.

Once last request. Be flexible in the homes you will accept. If you are willing to accept any of a small number of homes (2 to 3 is typical) then the agent can negotiate a better deal. If you have to have a single home, the agentâ€™s ability to get a good deal may be limited.

Hope this helps!

Eric Fernwood
Eric@ISellLVHomes.com
http://www.iselllvhomes.com/

Just go for it, buy the cheapest place you can find, sit on it for 2yrs, then with a bit of luck you will have some collateral in it to sell it and move up the next rung of the ladder.

I've worked with numerous property investors for people that:

1. Buy houses and rent them out, OR
2. Buy cheap houses, flip them, and then sell.

If you are interested in getting pre-qualifed send me an email at: andrew@internetmortgagepro.com or simply fill out an application at www.internetmortgagepro.com and the app is sent directly to my email.

Thanks, and I look forward to working with you.

First go & see your bank manager to see how much you can afford to pay each month & remember to take into account.Household Insurence.cancel tax,electric,gas etc.you will be advised how much you will be allowed to borrow for a morgage.Then you can look for a property.Good Luck

Find a realtor that is willing to spend some time with you in selecting what you are interested in. Look at ColdwellBanker.com and find a good realtor that is from your local area. Make sure that you talk to a Mortgage Broker as well. I know that Coldwell Banker has a good Mortgage Broker Company as well. As far as looking on the internet, ColdwellBanker.com has all the MLS listings in your local area, no need to look anywhere else. Coldwell Banker offers one stop shopping for the serious buyer. Yes, I am an agent for Coldwell Banker but I am not soliciting my own services as I don't know where you live. However, I do believe in the services that Coldwell Banker offers as opposed to the mom & pop offices that are out there, who most of the time don't have the ability to offer the buyers the same services that the "big boys" offer.

RE Agent for Coldwell Banker in NY

Keep your money in the bank and save. At the end, you'll have more money to show for your efforts. If you must buy property, be sure to buy a house you can live in while you make payments on the mortgage. Don't buy anything that requires you to put money into it or requires you to collect rental fees, unless you have money to spare. You have a great chance of throwing your money away if you strike out on a process that you admit you are a novice in. Stop!!!!

Get a council house, buy it for peanuts, sell it for thousands. That seems to be the way these days.

Failing that get a run down but livable one at auction and do it up over a few years then sell it and move on to the next.

Make an appointment to see a Financial Advisor to see how much of a mortgage you could afford. Then just start at the bottom, like a townhouse or terrace, it doesn't have to be a mansion for your first house, try a new build as there wouldn't be as much bidding on them, sometimes the prices are fixed. Good luck.

Firstly go see and independant mortgage adviser. Get an offer in principle. Contact an estate agent, go and see houses you like. See one you want to buy (and that is within the amount of your mortgage offer). Put in an offer. Hopefully have it accepted. FInd a solicitor.

I bought a small 1bed place to rent out 5 years ago for 18,000 in yorkshire but live 200 miles away we had accomodation that came with my job so it was a great time to buy. i recently sold the place in yorkshire for 90,000

the rent comming in paid for the mortgage every month. After the sale & debts i came away with just under 80k.

now I am on the property ladder with a mortgage I can afford, & a house we can live in

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