Before Visiting Property

Before you start visiting property, there are several important things to consider. Take advantage of the online search tools to narrow your list of potential homes. This site contains virtually all properties listed on the Berks County Pa. MLS with multiple photos, virtual tours, maps and descriptions. We have spent countless hours on website development to make your online home search pleasurable and productive. All listings are updated daily.

Do you have a home you need to sell?

If you are thinking of buying a new home, but you have a home currently that you will need to sell in order to buy the new home, it is important to place your current home on the market before you begin setting up showing appointments.  We have watched future buyers spend a lot of time visiting homes, and either they find the perfect home and become heartbroken when it sells to a buyer who is ready to buy now, or all the inventory they viewed is no longer available when they are ready to actively visit and purchase,  and all their market research is now outdated.   Market research can be performed online using our MLS map search technology, but to avoid a possible heartbreak or wasted time, only start touring homes when you are financially ready to buy! Also, most sellers ask that their agents only bring buyers ready to buy now.

Financing

Mortgage financing has changed considerably in the past two years. It was once very easy to qualify for a loan with little or no money down, but no longer is this the case. Loan officers have fewer products they cab offer buyers, and buyers may find that they qualify for less than they did a year or so ago, even though their credit and income are unchanged. It is in your best interests to know exactly what price range you can afford based on a mortgage pre-approval completed prior to visiting any properties with an agent. No agent wants to see a buyer fall in love with a home worth more money than they can financially afford, and become discouraged.

Learning the market

Spend some time browsing listings on our website.  Our listings get updated daily. This allows buyers to gain a broad knowledge of areas, neighborhoods, view individual listings, view arial pictures of homes, access Zillow property value estimates and more. This is a real time saver!   You can also use our New Listing Alert. Just tell us your needs, and we will email you all the current and new Berks County Pa home listings which match your criteria.

Drive Around And Get A Feel

Ever see a home online, but then we you see the surroundings, you know it is not a good match? By driving around and learning which neighborhoods you like before you hit the streets with your agent, you will save a lot of time for both you and your agent. Once you know the neighborhoods you like, take advantage of our neighborhood search program. We will email you any new listings from the desired neighborhood(s) you specify, as well as include the the recent sold homes listings. This will give you a real good idea of what homes are selling for in your desired communities to help with your market research efforts.

Hire Just One Realtor

Did you know that almost all Realtors use the same database (called the Multi-List Service or “MLS”) to post their listings for sale? Realtors all go the same database to pull the results, so in other words, XYZ Realty and ABC Realty both use the same database to email buyers listings. Realtors have access to each others listings for sale, therefore, we can show just about any property for sale in Berks County. Don’t use more than one! There are many advantages to using just one agent to help you. That one agent will learn your likes and dislikes, and will be able to match properties to your needs more efficiently. If your Realtor is not cutting it, it is best to fire them and move on to another one to use exclusively. You really only need to hire one good agent, and a good agent will not want to dedicate much time to you if you are not using them exclusively.

Are you ready?

Wait until you are ready to buy or close to it before looking at too many properties. The market changes everyday. Properties sell, expire without selling and change in price. If you learn the market today with a planned purchase date in 6 months you will most likely have to relearn the market again in 6 months.

Timing the market

If you are trying to time the bottom of this market start looking at property when you feel the bottom has hit or is about to hit. You can learn a lot about properties for sale from this website by viewing virtual tours, photographs and details. Monitor the market and then start viewing homes when you feel the time is right to buy. Besides, it is very difficult to accurately time the market.

Feel free to contact me to discuss your needs!