Questions about buying a home

How can a REALTOR help

• What are the advantages of using a real estate professional to help me buy a home?
• Where do I begin the process of looking for a home?
• How do I find the right sales professional to work with?
• How do I know how much home I can afford?

Local Information

• What should I think about when I'm deciding which community I want to live in?
• Where can I get information about local schools?
• How can I find out what homes are selling for in a given neighborhood?
• How can I find out what my property tax bill will be?
• If I'm moving a considerable distance, is there any way I can screen homes before I start traveling?

Looking for Homes

• When I start visiting homes, what should I be looking for the first time through?
• What do all those abbreviations mean?
• How many bedrooms should I be considering?
• Is an older home as good a value as a new home?
• What do I need to bring along when I'm looking at homes?
• What should I ask about each home that I look at?
• What should I tell the sales professional about the homes I look at?
• How many homes should I look at before I buy?
• How does buying compare to renting?

Professional Advice

• How do I know I'm getting the best value for my money?
• I'd like to have a professional look at the home before I buy it. What does a home inspector do?
• Do I need to use a lawyer to buy a home?
• Do I need to talk to my insurance agent?

Offers and Closing

• When I've found the home I like, how do I make an offer?
• How do I determine the amount of my initial offer?
• What is "earnest money" and how much do I need?
• Is there any way I can protect myself against emergency repair bills in my new home?
• There's so much to remember before I close. What do I have to do?
• What should I look for on my final walk-through?
• What will happen on closing day?
• Should I move myself or use a moving company?