CHECK OUT THE SCHOOLS
Unless your realty agent has the hard data at thier fingertips, the agent may not be able to answer questions about the school districts, and even if the agent does share some information, the prospective buyer might want to do additional fact-finding on their own before deciding on a particular home or which neighborhoods they should consider.
The National Center for Education Statistics Website contains a national database of school demographics. You’ll need to click on the “School, College, & Library Search” at the top of the page in order to view data which will include a particular school’s student-to-teacher ratio and lots of other other valuable information
For a quick overview of academic performance as well as a comparison of schools, The prospective homeowner might want to browse https://schoolatters.com. This is a service of Standard & Poor’s. Susan Shafer who is marketing and communications for Standard & Poor’s School Evaluation Services, confides “People who are really attracted to the School Matters site are people who are moving”. She says “It’s a good starting point”. However, it is not a substitute for an actual tour.
Another website, https://greatschools.org, has similar tools that it offers. Many school districts and state departments post information online as well. It is probably worthwhile to take a look at an individual school district websites, especially when large systems are involved.
LEARNING ABOUT THE DEMOGRAPHICS
While most agents don’t shy away from answering any kind of real estate question, they may do so when it comes to questions regarding demographics and race – and there is good reason – Fair housing laws forbid issues of ethnicity or race to be a consideration in the real estate agents mind, who must not steer clients towards or away from particular areas based on the makeup of the neighborhood.
When Anne Kennedy, who is a real estate agent in Austin, Texas, defers questions about a particular neighborhoods’ demographics, she says her clients “completely understand,”. Her suggestion is to search the U.S. Census Bureau’s website for statistics about demographics in an area; The “Quick Facts” page breaks down the information so it is easily digestible, by city and county. Ms. Kennedy also states “it would also show socio-economic data.”
WALKING THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Finally, above and beyond the fact that there is a wealth of information online, there are several questions that are best answered by walking or driving around the area, and taking notes on your observations.
In rural NH, which is almost all of the Lakes Region, most areas are not truly considered “neighborhoods”, so it would be a more practical approach to plan to drive.
Take several trips past your prospective home at various times of the day, and note whether there are special parking restrictions that are marked on the street. This will probably give you a more informed answer.
WHY YOU MUST CHOOSE THE RIGHT AGENT
If you have been thinking about joining the “home owners club”, but you really have no idea where to start, this mini course in Home Buying is for you.
1. CALCULATE WHAT YOU CAN AFFORD
Sit yourself down with a mortgage calculator and get a baseline idea of how much you can afford. Keep in mind, however, that even if the calculator (or your lender) indicates that you can afford a $300,000 mortgage, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you can afford both the monthly payment and other routine expenses.
2. HIRE THE RIGHT TEAM
You can ask friends, family, and neighbors for therecommendations of both real estate agents and lenders that they have used, then research those people online. Arrange to meet with them, feel them out, and decide if you can trust them with probably the biggest financial transaction that you you will ever make in your life.
3.GET PRE-APPROVED FOR A MORTGAGE
Flex some financial muscle to the sellers by having a pre-approved mortgage letter in your hand. You can work with your lender who will help submitting the necessary financial documents – bank statements, pay stubs, W-2’s. all financial documents — so that you can make a strong offer quickly and powerfully. You will also increase your chances of getting the best mortgage deal possible.
4. NARROW THOSE OPTIONS
Decide what you will want (or don’t want) in terms of home amenities and features, and which items will be “must haves”. Do keep in mind that you can always do remodeling down the road, but you won’t be able to change things like a school district that is ultimately unsatisfactory
5. MAKE YOUR OFFERS
When you find the “right” home, your RE agent will submit an offer on your behalf. Including an earnest money deposit, (which is usually about one percent of the asking price) — and a preapproval letter with this offer. You may need to negotiate the terms, so make sure that your agent keeps you apprised of the current situation. Be sure to get a home inspection to ensure that there are no major defects needing to be addressed before the closing.
6. Seal the deal at closing
Once you have cleared the underwriting, it is closing time(!!) After you sign all the paperwork and get those coveted keys, you will be officially a homeowner. Congratulations!
How to Buy a House
Fair housing laws prevent real estate agents from talking about neighborhood demographics. They often don’t even want to talk about other details, such as crime statistics. Luckily, online resources pick up where the agents leave off!.
Example: One prospective buyer was walking through a house in Fort Wayne, Indiana, when he began wondering aloud whether there were sex offenders living in this neighborhood.
Instead of commentting on her own, the real estate agent who was showing the home, quickly grabbed her cell phone, and brought up https://familywatchdog.us, a national sex offender registry website. Little she knew that she was actually standing with the website’s founder and CEO.
Real estate agents can offer a wealth of information about a house so a homebuyer who asks what crime is like in a particular neighborhood, might be somewhat surprised when the agent defers the question or directs a client to a website or the local police instead.
The Chicago Association of Realtors president, Alex Chapparo, remarks “The Realtor will be the one person that has the most contact from the beginning to the end. Because of that clear accessibility, the consumer feels that they can give the agent all the information that they need”
But there is some information that agents simply can’t talk about due to fair housing laws. These include demographic statistics. They prefer to leave other characteristics and statististics, such as the quality of the school district or crime statistics, to be answered by other sources.
Agents are forbidden from giving information that could be considered “steering,” directing a client toward or away from a particular property in a discriminatory
Some of this information can make or break a decision to buy a house. The quality of the school systems, for example, has been of considerable importance to home-buying families. Fortunately, there are a variety of sources buyers can use to get at the information on their own.
There is a process in finding and buying a home. People rarely decide to purchase the first home they see. To find the home of your dreagreatms, it takes time, patience, effort, and diligence (not to mention a pinch of hope and a ton of faith). Your Realtor should be right there for you from the beginning. They’ll be gettingto know you and what your needs are, in order to fulfill them. Your Realtor will stick by you through the search, offer, inspections, details and finally, the close. It takes a lot to get from A to B when buying a home, but it will be well worth it in the end because this is your LIFE we are talking about, right?
CHECK OUT THE SCHOOLS
Unless your realty agent has the hard data at thier fingertips, the agent may not be able to answer questions about the school districts, and Even if the agent does share some information, the prospective buyer might want to do additional fact-finding on their own before deciding on a particular home or which neighborhoods they should consider consider.
The National Center for Education Statistics Website contains a national database of school demographics. You’ll need to click on the “School, College, & Library Search” at the top of the page in order to view data which eill include a particular school’s student-to-teacher ratio and lots of other other valuable information
For a quick overview of academic performance as well as a comparison of schools, The prospective homeowner might want to browse the https://schoolatters.com website this is a service of Standard & Poor’s. Susan Shafer who is marketing and communications for Standard & Poor’s School Evaluation Services, confides “People who are really attracted tothe School Matters site are people who are moving”. She says “It’s a good starting point”. However, it is not a substitute for an actual tour.
Another website, https://greatschools.org, has similar tools that it offers. Many school districts and state departments post information online as well. It is probably worthwhile to take a look at an individual school district websites, especially when large systems are involved.
LEARNING ABOUT THE DEMOGRAPHICS
While most agents don’t shy away from answering any kind of real estate question, they may do so when it comes to questions regarding demographics and race – and there is good reason – Fair housing laws forbid issues of ethnicity or race to be a consideration in the real estate agents mind, who must not steer clients towards or away from particular areas based on the makeup of the neighborhood.
When Anne Kennedy, who is a real estate agent in Austin, Texas, defers questions about a particular neighborhoods’ demographics, she says her clients “completely understand,”. Her suggestion is to search the U.S. Census Bureau’s website for statistics about demographics in an area; The “Quick Facts” page breaks down the information so it is easily digestible, by city and county. Ms. Kennedy also states “it would also show socio-economic data.”
WALKING THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Finally, above and beyond the fact that there is a wealth of information online, there are several questions that are best answered by walking or driving around the area, and taking notes on your observations.
In rural NH, which is almost all of the Lakes Region, most areas are not truly considered “neighborhoods”, so it would be a more practical approach to plan to drive.
Take several trips past your prospective home at various times of the day, and note whether there are special parking restrictions that are marked on the street. This will probably give you a more informed answer.
WHY YOU NEED TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT AGENT
If you have been thinking about joining the “home owners club”, but you really have no idea where to start, this mini course in Home Buying is for you.
1. CALCULATE WHAT YOU CAN AFFORD
Sit yourself down with a mortgage calculator and get a baseline idea of how much you can afford. Keep in mind, however, that even if the calculator (or your lender) indicates that you can afford a $300,000 mortgage, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you can afford both the monthly payment and other routine expenses.
2. HIRE THE RIGHT TEAM
You can ask friends, family, and neighbors for their recommendations of both real estate agents and lenders that they have used, then research those people online. Arrange to meet with them, feel them out, and decide if you can trust them with probably the biggest financial transaction that you you will ever make in your life.
3.GET PRE-APPROVED FOR A MORTGAGE
Flex some financial muscle to the sellers by having a pre-approved mortgage letter in your hand. You can work with your lender who will help submitting the necessary financial documents – bank statements, pay stubs, W-2’s. all financial documents — so that you can make a strong offer quickly and powerfully. You will also increase your chances of getting the best mortgage deal possible.
4.NARROW THOSE OPTIONS
Decide what you will want (or don’t want) in terms of home amenities and features, and which items will be “must haves”. Do keep in mind that you can always do remodeling down the road, but you won’t be able to change things like a school district that is ultimately unsatisfactory
5.MAKE YOUR OFFERS
When you find the “right” home, your RE agent will submit an offer on your behalf. Including an earnest money deposit, (which is usually about one percent of the asking price) — and a preapproval letter with this offer. You may need to negotiate the terms, so make sure that your agent keeps you apprised of the current situation. Be sure to get a home inspection to ensure that there are no major defects needing to be addressed before the closing.
6. AT THE CLOSING, YOU SEAL THE DEAL
Once you have cleared the underwriting, it is closing time(!!) After you sign all the paperwork and get those coveted keys, you will be officially a homeowner. Congratulations!
Other Tips
Fair housing laws prevent real estate agents from talking about neighborhood demographics. They often don’t even want to talk about other details, such as crime statistics. Luckily, online resources pick up where the agents leave off!.
Example: One prospective buyer was walking through a house in Fort Wayne, Indiana, when he began wondering aloud whether there were sex offenders living in this neighborhood.
Instead of commenting on her own, the real estate agent who was showing the home, quickly grabbed her cell phone, and brought up https://familywatchdog.us, a national sex offender registry website. Little she knew that she was actually standing with the website’s founder and CEO.
Real estate agents can offer a wealth of information about a house, but when a homebuyer who asks what crime is like in a particular neighborhood, they might be somewhat surprised when the agent defers the question or directs a client to a website or the local police instead.
The Chicago Association of Realtors president, Alex Chapparo, remarks “The Realtor will be the one person that has the most contact from the beginning to the end. Because of that clear accessibility, the consumer feels that they can give the agent all the information that they need”
But there is some information that agents simply can’t talk about due to fair housing laws. These include demographic statistics. They prefer to leave other characteristics and statistics, such as the quality of the school district or crime statistics, to be answered by other sources.
Agents are forbidden from giving information that could be considered “steering,” directing a client toward or away from a particular property in a discriminatory
Some of this information can make or break a decision to buy a house. The quality of the school systems, for example, has been of considerable importance to home-buying families. Fortunately, there are a variety of sources buyers can use to get at the information on their own.
There is a process in finding and buying a home. People rarely decide to purchase the first home they see. To find the home of your dreams, it takes time, patience, effort, and diligence (not to mention a pinch of hope and a ton of faith). Your Realtor should be right there for you from the beginning. They’ll be getting to know you and what your needs are, in order to fulfill them. Your Realtor will stick by you through the search, offer, inspections, details and finally, the close. It takes a lot to get from A to B when buying a home, but it will be well worth it in the end because this is YOUR LIFE we are talking about, right?
All that being said, I would love to be YOUR Realtor, and I promise I will give you 110% of my effort and attention!