Buyers Stuff

Would you ask an alley mechanic if you needed a new clutch?

Would you ask a real estate agent if now was a good time to buy a house?

Yeah, right.

At Terradigm, we are not house hawkers.  We don’t just want to have clients, we want to create partnerships.  The question isn’t,  ”Is now a good time to buy a house,” it’s “Should I buy a house?”  We will help you answer that with some helpful, sales pitch-free Q & A.

Here’s something to think about: If you were to close escrow today on a $300,000 home with a 3.5%-down FHA loan, you would be underwater tomorrow. Why? Besides the down payment of $10,500 and loan fees of $7,000 or $8,000, you’d have to pay a broker’s commission if you had to sell. That’s $35,000 and change. Could you net $35,000? Hardly, because the house is still worth $300,000.  It would have to appreciate in value more than 10% for you just to get your money back.

But people have reasons for buying a house.  It can be so great have a place you own, that’s yours, that you can fix up however you want.  Paint the walls purple, turn up the music,  get the kids and dog excited, party until 2, have a home business, whatever.  It brands you as the unique you.

What so many real estate agents don’t get is that most 21st century homebuyers have been searching online for months and are already loaded with information.  At Terradigm, we think that’s your half of the deal. Our half is to help make sense of it, refine it, so that when you make an offer on a house, it’s bullet proof.  That’s the partnership.

We can recommend other professional helpers–lenders, home inspectors (about whom, ahem, we are very picky, since  we come from the developer/investment world), lawyers, accountants, and contractors.

We also are Earthadvantage certified, and we get sustainable materials and practices.

The Terradigm way won’t work for everyone, but if you think it will work for you, contact in a schmooze-free zone at bill@terradigmrealestate.com.

Unless you have a fee-for-service contract, your agent is paid by the real estate company listing the house for sale.   So, it’s not like you have to write a check to your agent.

Most houses, even new ones, often have repairs that have to be made prior to taking ownership. It depends on the house and the repairs, but, yes, they can be done before you move in.

And if we don’t think a house is right, we’ll tell you, even if you’ve fallen in love with the place.  If you want to look on your own for a while, cool. Let us know what we can do to help.  Here’s a link to Zillow and Trulia.  Lots of people like one of my toughest competitors,  Zip Realty.  And don’t forget Redfin.