Buyers / Sellers

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STARTING THE BUYING PROCESS

1. Where do I begin the process of looking for a home?

The first thing you should do is to begin focusing on what you're looking for in a Queens, Brooklyn, Long Island, the Bronx, or Upstate New York home. You can start by establishing priorities in the following three areas:

Location: Are you relocating to Queens, New York because of a new job or to be closer to your current job? How will the location of schools, shops, and transportation affect your choice of neighborhood?

Personal Tastes: How large of a home do you need? What style of architecture do you prefer? What type of lot do you prefer? Depending on where you move to, you may have a choice of homes in dozens of styles, sizes, and settings.

Budget: How much home can you comfortably afford?

As you consider these issues, do a little research of your own. Look through magazines for ideas about home styles and features. Drive through neighborhoods that appeal to you to see what's available. Read the Queens, Brooklyn, Long Island, the Bronx, and Upstate New York real estate listings in the newspaper to learn about current prices in the areas you're considering. Talk to friends about the features that you'd really like to have in your home. The more knowledgeable you become, the better your final decision is likely to be.

2. How do I find the right sales professional to work with?

The key word here is "right." While there's certainly no shortage of qualified sales professionals to choose from, it's important that you find one who can fully understand your wants, needs and individual tastes, and whose personal and professional judgment you respect.

Today's buyers also have more choices when it comes to choosing the sales professional who can best represent them in a real estate transaction. Until recent years, virtually all real estate professionals involved in a given transaction worked for the seller. However, a growing number of today's home buyers are choosing to be represented by a "buyer's agent," who represents the buyer in contrast to the traditional seller/sales professional relationship.

Many real estate companies throughout the United States have both buyer and seller agencies. A sales professional should present you with a disclosure statement before any working relationship is created. That statement should explain what a buyer's agent is and does, what a seller's agent is and does, and what dual agency means. It is very important to remember that real estate firms are governed by laws that can vary by state. Disclosure laws also vary by state.

3. How do I know how much home I can afford?

We've found that affordability is probably the single biggest concern of today's first-time homebuyers, especially in New York . Given the wide range of media coverage regularly devoted to the issue, it's not surprising that many young families wonder how long it will take them to afford their first home.

Our advice: Don't sell yourself short. Talk to your Queens real estate professional. A good sales professional is committed to honestly and responsibly working with you to determine your affordable price range. There are many financing options available today, and some include low down payments . Your sales professional will help find an option that fits your budget, and you may be surprised at just how much home you can afford.

MARKETING AND SELLING YOUR HOME

1. How do I reach the right potential buyers?

Today, people are moving farther and more frequently than they used to; it's not unusual for upwardly mobile executives to relocate across the country more than once in a year. The result is that the pool of potential buyers for your house is much larger and spreads far wider than ever before, and the competition to reach them is fierce. These developments make it more important than ever to choose the real estate company with the most sophisticated and savvy marketing techniques. Companies with frequently-visited web sites, extensive available listings, web tools designed to help consumers buy and sell, and prominent, effective advertising and marketing materials are essential for identifying the right buyers and convincing them that yours is the house for them. The yard sign is just the beginning, and with a knowledgeable sales professional, a quick close is more than likely.

2. How flexible should I be about the asking price?

Generally, the first three weeks will be the test period of your initial asking price. If you see showings drop off and very few return visits, you may want to consider repositioning your asking price. Most buyers leave room for negotiation when they make an offer. Thus, a certain degree of flexibility is usually called for on the part of both the buyer and seller.

While it is ultimately your decision to accept or reject an offer, or present a counter-proposal, a good sales professional can be of great assistance to you during the negotiating process. In fact, negotiation is one of the valuable skills a real estate professional can offer you. As negotiations proceed - whether in writing, face-to-face, or by phone - your sales professional will inform you of your options in responding to each offer from the buyer, so you can make an educated decision as to how you want to proceed.

3. Why list my house with an ERA Broker?

Exclusive services that can make selling your house faster and easier, and unparalleled expertise in local and national markets - those are two of the most important reasons why no one can sell your house more effectively than an ERA® professional.

Beyond that, we're sincerely interested in helping make the experience of selling your home as smooth and easy as possible. So even if you're not ready to list your house - if you simply have questions about the market in your area, price or mortgage trends, or anything else about real estate as it relates to you - just pick up your phone and call the ERA® office nearest you. As our tagline states, we're Always There For You®.

If you have questions about buying or selling a property, we have answers.