With this in mind be cautious of getting to many opinions from people who may not be familiar with the market in the area that you are purchasing or that have not purchased a home for some time.

Also If your agent is a limited agent it may limit the advice he or she can give you.

Opportunity Knocks With a Great Value on This West Side Ranch Home. The Main Floor Features, 3 Bedrooms, a Roomy Bathroom with Double Sinks, and a Large Living Room. There are 2 non-legal Bedrooms/Offices in the Lower level, a BIG Family Room, a 3/4 Bathroom and Tons of Storage. Oversized 26×25 2 Stall Garage. Updates Include New Roof and New Windows.

In South Dakota it is deposited within 24 hours of the acceptance of the offer.  The offer is accepted when both parties have signed the purchase agreement and any counter offers or addendums.  It stays in the trust account of the listing broker until closing and then is credited to your side of the settlement statement.  If the sale does not go thru because of a contingency that was not met, such as financing or home inspection, the money is returned to the buyer.  If the buyer decides not to go thru with the transaction and it is not based on a contingency in the purchase agreement the money goes to the seller.  The buyer may be liable for damages to the seller.  In the event that the earnest money is released before closing the buyer and seller are asked to sign a “release of earnest money” form.

If you have to sell your home to secure another property whether it is to free up equity in your current home of to be able to get financing on the next home.  You may make an offer on a home contingent to the sale of your home.  In doing this if the seller accepts your offer, you probably will be given 1-3 days to remove the contingency of selling your home if the seller receives another acceptable offer.  If you are asked to remove the contingency of selling your home you may choose to let the other party have the home you made an offer on or show proof that you are financially capable of purchasing the home without selling your present home. 

 The home you are purchasing will stay active contingent house on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) and the seller’s agent can still advertise, hold open houses, and do what needs to be done to secure another offer on the property giving you first option to complete the transaction.  You will also want to get your home listed with a real estate professional in your area.

a.   3 Words Location, Location, Location.  This is the most important factor of a home.  It not only impacts you and your family currently when you think about schools, shopping and distance to work it also impacts the sale of your home some day with the exact same concerns and thoughts for the next buyer.

b.  The second factor comes to your general criteria number of bedrooms, bathrooms, square footage of the home.  This is assuming that it is similar in location, style and age to other homes that you are comparing it to. 

c.   There are other factors that have great importance such as  garage size, age, lot size, landscaping, deck/patio, fireplaces, sprinkler systems, appliances, and any other special features the home has is important.

d.   While the above factors have much to do with value, keep in mind that if you plan to live in the house for many years you will want to buy what you like and what is important to you.  Potential future value of the home is not the only factor in purchasing a home.  There is also the fact of you enjoying the home and making it “YOURS”

1.    What are the steps in buying a home?

a.      First meet with a buyer’s agent (Realtor) that you are comfortable with.  This agent will ask you to sign a buyer’s agency form that spells out what the agent will do for you in finding a home and your responsibility to work with that agent.

b.      You will want to get approved by a lender for a loan.  This will give you an idea of the amount of house that you can afford.  Your lender will also give you a “good faith estimate” of the costs in getting your loan.  Your buyer’s agent should have a couple local lenders that are top notch!

c.       Start house searching!!!  When you find a home your agent will fill out a purchase agreement with you.  This purchase agreement will spell out price, closing date, financing, inspections, etc…..

d.      Your agent will present your offer to the agent who has the home listed.  The seller will decide whether they wish to accept your offer, reject your offer or counter to your offer.  Your agent will then meet with you to discuss the seller’s response.  You may have to counter to the seller a few times before coming to an agreement.  The seller may counter on any of the terms in the purchase agreement, not just the price.

e.       Your agent will now help you in lining up the home inspection, appraisal, closing, etc….

f.       From the time you put in an offer until you can move into the house is typically 30-45 days.  This can vary some depending on the wishes of the buyer and the seller.

g.      Don’t quit your job or incur any new debt after being approved for a loan or your dream of home ownership will be lost.

But sometimes that isn’t true. It is good to be ahead of the crowd and a good time to start marketing a house for sale is right around the 1st of March. Folks are starting to get spring fever and are starting to shop harder, it is still cold in march but sales can be hot!

If it is a situation where the house has to sell asap. There is no reason to wait, get it for sale and try to get some cold weather buyers interested in a hot deal. One way is to keep the price at the bottom of the market on that type of home and get people in the door.

If you have thought about selling lately get a evaluation of how your home fits in the real estate market today.

I would! Here are 5 reasons why:

1. Potential lower initial purchase price
2. Less competition from other investors
3. More properties available to purchase
4. Contractors may be slower and charge less for improvements
5. Duh! no matter what the market if you provide a great product at a great price IT WILL SELL!

A couple other rules of thumb that still apply

DO NOT buy the best house in the worst location, instead but the worst house in the best location.

Plan for the worst have a 10% cushion on your budget. (if you don’t you will always go over)

Last but not least no matter what upgrades you put in a house the only thing that will for sure sell it is the PRICE!