Buying A Home With Legends Realty Group
We understand that you have a choice when deciding who, if anyone, will help you buy a home and truly appreciate the opportunity to present our proven approach and the results we have achieved for our clients. As your agents, there are several services you can expect us to provide, including:
- Helping you understand what a buyer’s agent is and how having an agent on your side can not only save you money, but is completely free to you as a buyer.
- Preparing you to be viewed by sellers as a strong buyer.
- Minimizing your out-of-pocket costs to make the process as affordable to you as possible.
- Connecting you with trustworthy professionals whom we have personally vetted and worked with to ensure the smoothest transaction possible.
- Helping you protect yourself when writing an offer on a home.
- Explain how to get the seller to give you some protection against potential costs associated with the appliances and other items that are in the home.
How A Buyer's Agent Works
WHY EVERY SERIOUS BUYER SHOULD HAVE AN AGENT WORKING FOR THEM
We are in a do-it-yourself world these days and the internet makes
it easier than ever to feel like you have all the tools you need to find
a home. Finding a home is actually the fun and easy part of the
home buying process. Although, searching on sites that are available
to the general public will put you at a disadvantage, you can still do
this part on your own and never know the difference. The true
value in having an agent on your side is not just having them unlock
doors. It’s having them protect your interests when writing an offer
and while you are under contract.
BUYERS GET AN AGENT FOR FREE
When a seller decides to list their home with an agent, they will
negotiate a commission they are willing to pay that agent. That
agent will then split the commission with any agent who brings a
buyer to purchase the home. One of the most common mistakes
buyers make is assuming that if they go directly to the listing agent,
they will get a better price because the seller does not have to pay
for the buyer’s agent. This is not the case. In this case, the listing
agent is simply entitled to the entire commission and they are still
bound by their fiduciary duty to look out for the seller’s interests
and treat you as a customer. This means they cannot advise you on
how to write the offer, what to ask for in the offer, which
inspections you should do, and several other things.
How To Find Homes
WHY THE HOMES YOU LIKE ARE ALWAYS ALREADY TAKEN BY THE TIME YOU SEE THEM
Most people start the search for their new home looking on
websites, like Zillow, Realtor.com, or Trulia. They start to request
more information through the site and are bombarded with phone
calls from multiple agents trying to help them and ultimately find
out the home is already under contract. The home is gone but the
calls don’t stop. Sound familiar?
The truth is that these websites make money by selling agents your
inquiry as a lead and the information on these types of sites can be
up to 3 days behind.
GET REAL-TIME INFORMATION
Home buyers who are serious about finding the right home for
them understand that they need more up-to-date information and
a real estate agent with the right tools can get it for them.
When you work with us, we will set you up with your own private
portal to the same MLS information that we have. This system will
perform a search for your specific criteria each day and let you
right away if anything new has come on the market. That gives our
clients a head start on the other buyers they are competing with.
If you still prefer to search on your own, our website updates every
15 minutes and it’s free to use. You can find it at legendsatlanta.com.
Costs Of Buying A Home
WHAT DOES IT COST TO BUY A HOME?
First-time home buyers are often surprised when they learn that they
need more than just a down payment to buy a home. This can lead
to wasted time searching for homes you can’t afford and frustration
when you were told you were pre-qualified for a home and only
needed a certain amount down.
So, how much do you actually need in order to buy a home?
Depending on your situation and location, your down payment can
range from 0% to 20% (or more if you prefer). The most common
loan type is FHA, which requires 3.5% down. That means, if you are
buying a $200,000 home, you will need $7,000 for a down payment.
In addition to your down payment, you will have 2-3% of the sales
price worth of closing costs. That gives you approximately $6,000 in
closing costs on top of your down payment.
WHAT ARE CLOSING COSTS?
Closing costs are made up of several different charges. Some are fixed
and some are variable. Closing costs include closing attorney fees,
lender’s title insurance, buyer’s title insurance (optional but we do
recommend them), intangible tax, transfer tax, filing fees, property
taxes, possible HOA fees, and more. Because some are fixed and some
are variable, it is difficult to get an exact dollar amount that you will
need in order to close, but 2-3% is a good rough number. In general,
the higher the sales price, the less of a percentage of the sales price
your closing costs will be. Often times, we can negotiate to have the
seller pay for the majority of your closing costs to minimize your
out-of-pocket costs of buying a home.
How To Be A Strong Buyer
BE READY WHEN YOU FIND THE RIGHT HOME
There is a bit of a chicken and egg scenario when you
are looking for a home. Often times, buyers are hesitant
to get pre-approved for a loan prior to looking for homes
because they aren’t sure they’ll find something they even
like, fell they already know what price range they are
looking in, or think they can do that once their offer is
accepted by a seller.
The truth is, most sellers will not even consider your
offer if it is not submitted with a pre-approval letter
from a lender. In order to be taken seriously by a seller,
your offer needs to have proof that you can afford to
pay the price you are offering for their home.
KEYS TO BEING VIEWED AS A STRONG BUYER
- Have A Pre-Approval Letter From At Least One Lender
- Minimize How Much Money The Seller Needs To Pay Towards Your Closing Costs
- If You Have A Home To Sell First, Make Sure It Is At Least On The Market, Listed For Sale
- Be Ready To Complete The Purchase Within 30-45 Days
Proactive Prospecting
WOULD YOU BE INTERESTED IN A HOME NO ONE ELSE KNOWS ABOUT?
It can be frustrating sometimes to continue looking
for a home only to find that homes always seem to
sell before you can get to them. Legends Realty Group
offers a unique service for our buyers. If you are
looking to buy a home in a particular neighborhood,
we will market to those homeowners directly to see
if we can find a seller who would consider selling
their home to you. Some sellers are happy to do this
because it means they don’t have to deal with the
normal headaches of getting a home ready to sell.
WAYS WE FIND POTENTIAL SELLERS
- Mail postcards
- Put up signs
- Paid boosts on social media platforms
- Knock on doors
Service
WHAT ELSE CAN YOU EXPECT FROM US?
In addition to the services we’ve covered, you can
expect us to provide the following:
- An entire team behind you. Unlike most real estate agents, if someone goes on vacation, your search for a home does not have to be put on hold. One of us will always be available to help you.
- Regular communications regarding every aspect of our efforts and the results of those efforts as well as any changes in the market, including new listings, price changes sales and how we should re-position your property to remain competitive.
- Assistance negotiating offers and preparing contracts. Once we have an offer accepted on a home, we have a dedicated team member who’s sole purpose is to make sure everything stays on track and is handled in a timely manor.
- Attending the closing to ensure all contract provisions have been met and that you are fully satisfied with the results of your home purchase.
Thank You
Thank you for taking the time to view this
presentation. Feel free to contact us with any
questions you may have. We look forward to
helping you with any home purchase or sale
needs you have. Our goal for all of our clients
is to be successful in achieving your goals. By
the end of your time with us, our goal is to
create relationships with our clients that are so
strong that they not only plan to use us again in
the future, but will refer us to their friends and
family members with confidence, knowing we
will provide the same excellent service for them.