Buying A New Home

As professional Real Estate Agents, we are supposed to act in the best interest of our clients, aka YOU, not our own.  However, the traditional commission-based compensation model makes it very difficult to do so!

Why is that, you may ask?

If you have ever bought or sold a house, you know that the agents involved in the transaction get paid a percentage of the sales price, even for the Buyer's Agent!  Yes, the Buyer's Agent, the one who's been driving you around, showing you homes, giving you advice etc. Yes, he/she gets paid by the Seller, based on a percentage of the sales price (normally 2.5% - 4%).  At first glance, this seems to be a great deal for you, Mr. Buyer, right?  You get all of the agent's services for FREE! It's the Seller who…

Recently we had a prospect asking us about the difference between a Lease Option contract and a Seller Financing contract, so we wrote up what we thought, while trying our best to not "practice law" :-).

A lease-option (or "lease-purchase-option," or "option to purchase," or "rent to own" and their many other cousins) is usually a normal lease in conjunction with another option contract to allow the tenant to purchase the home at a later date. There is no title transfer at the time the contracts are signed.  The renter is normally required to put down some sort of “option money” to secure the “option” to purchase the property within a certain amount of time at a specified price.  Additionally, some people work out arrangement to even make…

When building and purchasing a home from a New Home Builder, you can help protect your interests by utilizing a Real Estate Professional to represent you.  Additionally by using New Option Realty as your representation you can look forward to a commission rebate after closing on your new home.  Depending on the purchase price, that could be thousands of dollars!  What could you do with that extra cash?  New furniture?  New appliances?  What about moving expenses?  Before you start dealing with a New Home Builder, make sure and contact New Option Realty.

#add-this#

It's been busy around here lately. We've had a few clients closing this month, and that means .... REBATE checks!!! Our rebate checks this month range from $2,500 - $21,000!. Yes it's a $21,000 rebate check! And we have a picture to prove it too :-).

Give us a call next time you're in the market for a new house! How much can you save? It's all up to you!

#add-this#

Follow the long driveway to the detached 3 car garage with covered breezeway to home. Oversized private cul-de-sac lot with large covered patio and attached porch swing (see pics!). Master bedroom on the first level and 3 bedrooms plus an additional living area upstairs. Custom Elfa organizational systems in closets. Additional attic storage in garage. Community water park! Seller to pay up to 3% of Buyer's closing costs with a full priced offer.

#add-this#

Ready, set, it's about to be home buying season.  If you are in the market for a new home - are you prepared?  Securing your financing is the first step to home buying.  The following information is courtesy of Realtor.com.

There are thousands of loans available out there from a variety of lenders, but in general, the mortgage you choose will likely be determined by at least several key factors:

• How much down? Loans with 5 percent down or less are available -- in fact, loans from major lenders with no money down have appeared in recent years.
• If you place less than 20 percent down, lenders will want the mortgage guaranteed by an outside third party such as the Veterans Administration (VA), the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)…

You’ve decided to buy a home and you’re wondering if you really need a real estate agent.  Finding a home online is easy these days – you can see tons of pictures, descriptions, and even street views of a neighborhood.  What could you possibly need a Realtor for?  Because no matter how much information you can see online, you never know what kind of situation you’re actually getting in to.. That’s where a Realtor can come in handy.  If you sign a buyer’s contract with a commission based agent, they will work for you for FREE – but there’s a catch!  People generally don’t work for free.  In fact when you buy a home, RealEstate Agents are typically paid by the Seller, most often 3% of the sales price!  If you give $200,000 to a…

Recently, we've seen JCPenney changing its pricing strategy, inspired by the intelligent and empowered consumer.  JCPenney CEO Ron Johnson commented on the new pricing by saying, "We want customers to shop on their terms, not ours. By setting our store monthly and maintaining our best prices for an entire month, we feel confident that customers will love shopping when it is convenient for them, rather than when it is expedient for us."

With the same nod to the consumer, New Option Realty acknowledges the importance of shopping on your own terms.   To set ourselves completely apart from the pack, New Option Realty offers up-front flat fee hourly services to Buyers.  We don't make our money off of commissions or even if you purchase a home. We…

I hate it when other people get a better deal than me!  After coming to the realization that I left money on the table after purchasing my home this past summer, I couldn’t help but think about what I could have done with that extra money. 

If I had been able to use a Real Estate Company like New Option Realty, I could have paid for only the time and assistance I needed to purchase my home, and received the entire commission that my Real Estate Agent got instead!

New Option Realty allows you to save money by paying for hourly services upfront.  I looked at 9 homes to find a keeper.  Let’s say ½ hour to view each home.  That’s 4.5 hours looking at homes.  I needed some assistance making the offer, about 2 hours, I’m fairly…