Fifteen Simple Steps To Buying a Home in North Carolina, Part One

Everyone thinks purchasing a new home is complicated and the truth is...they are right.

In addition to managing your own work, family, and social responsibilities, you have to navigate a myriad of steps and tasks required to purchase a home.

That's why so many people rank buying and/or selling a home as among the most stressful times in their lives.

The following list is not exhaustive. For some buyers, there may be many more steps involved. For others, i.e., a cash buyer, the process can be much simpler.

This is a high-level overview, but should give you a good idea about what's involved in purchasing a new home.

And remember...you, too, can buy a home in just fifteen simple steps!

Just don't forget your Realtor®!

Fifteen Simple Steps To Buying a Home in North Carolina Getting Started & Finding Your Home

1. Get pre-qualified or, even better, pre-approved for a home mortgage loan by a mortgage loan professional.
2. Determine your monthly budget. A mortgage professional can help you figure out exactly what your highest and most comfortable monthly payments will be and how that translates into purchase price.
3. Hire a Realtor®. You will need to review and sign a few papers up front, but they are mostly for your protection. Examples of the forms you'll review and sign in North Carolina are: Working with Agents, RESPA, and Exclusive Buyer Agency. You will also be asked to confirm receipt of a sample Offer to Purchase & Contract, a Q&A on Home Inspections, and a sample Professional Services Disclosure. Come to think of it, you might just want to talk to a Realtor® first. In the majority of transactions, the seller will pay 100% of your agent's commission, so hiring a Realtor® shouldn't cost the buyer any money.
4. Determine where you want to live. What general area and which specific neighborhoods do you like? Do you want or need to be in a specific school district? If you are relocating, you may not know much about the area, but your Realtor® can help you with this. You will also need to decide what size and style of home you want to buy, which specific features you can not live without, where to look if restricted by loan type (i.e. USDA), whether or not you want to live in a neighborhood with a Home Owner's Association (HOA), etc.
5. Review homes and neighborhoods online with your agent. Narrow down your list of prospective homes and schedule a tour with your Realtor®.

This concludes Part I of Fifteen Simple Steps To Buying a Home in North Carolina!

Stay tuned for Steps 6 - 10 in Fifteen Steps, Part Two!

Please contact me directly if you or someone you know would like to know more about buying and selling real estate in the Carolinas.

About the Author:
Jimmy Grappone is a Realtor® living in the Charlotte area for nearly a decade. His hobbies include fishing, playing golf, watching football, and writing articles about things that interest him. Jimmy is a licensed Realtor® with Allen Tate Company in North Carolina and South Carolina. He is passionate about helping his clients find shelter and having a good time along the way!

Contact the Author:
Social Media: @jimmygrappone
Online: www.jimmygrappone.com & www.itsjimmyon.blogspot.com
Email:  Jimmy.Grappone@AllenTate.com
Phone:  980-298-9385

The Truth About Working in Residential Real Estate Sales: Five Things You Should Know Before Becoming a REALTOR

Congratulations!  You just decided to get your real estate license and you are ready to start selling homes, making money and living the high life!

Woo-hoo!!

Well, not to be a downer, but there are a few things you should know before rushing out to purchase a brand new Lexus prior to taking your first sales appointment.

Getting Your Real Estate License Is Not a "Get Rich Quick" Scheme.

The majority of REALTORs are not "rich," though the most successful agents typically earn well above minimum wage.

Note #1: The minimum wage in residential real estate sales is zero minus office fees and dues, association fees and dues, and all of the costs associated with actually operating a business.

Top producers can earn well into the six-figures per year and some are pulling down seven-figure incomes, but the majority of agents earn between 40K to 60K dollars per year with only one in five earning more than $100,000 annually.

This is not to say you won't be in the top 20% making 80% of the money!

But to make it big, you'd better have big goals and specific plans on how to achieve those goals.

As my father often told me when I was young, "Son, you can 'spit' in one hand and wish in the other. Tell me which one fills up faster."

If you are fortunate enough to have one or two prospective clients who are planning to buy or sell real estate as soon as you get your license, that is fantastic.

But you will not "get rich" off a couple of sales and the entire world is not going to knock down your door begging you to represent them.

Never Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch

Do not count on the couple of "easy" early leads you have until your "clients" are pre-approved for a loan, have signed agency agreements (thus becoming your actual clients), are under contract to buy or sell a house with you as their representative, are beyond inspections and repair negotiations, successfully through underwriting, have signed papers at the closing attorney's office, and are handed the keys to their new house after the deed has been recorded at the County seat.

Note #2: "Easy" clients, such as family or friends, should be treated the same as those clients who are more difficult to come by. People you are close to can be among the most challenging clients to work with if you cannot speak frankly and separate the emotions of your relationships from the business at hand. As long as everyone is aware that you are a serious business person operating a serious business, everyone can relax and have fun. Always treat your clients fairly and honestly, regardless of your personal relationships, and you will be just fine.

Promote Thyself and Thy Business

In order to earn people's business, you have to let them know you are in business. And you have to be persistent!

You have to work your sphere of influence. You have to market where you live and play.

You have to hold open houses. You have to knock on doors and talk to people.

You have to speak to people in the grocery line and at the gas pump. You have to wear a name tag everywhere you go.

You have to ask everyone you know and meet who they know that needs to sell or buy real estate.

In summary, you have to shamelessly self-promote. You don't have to be annoying about it, but you actually do..at least just a little bit.

In person. Online. Through the mail. Over the phone.

You have to have gumption to make it in the business of real estate sales. You have to let people know that you are in the business.

And you have to take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way, no matter how big or small.

Live and Work to Serve Others

Real estate sales is a service business.

Though there is (hopefully) a transaction that results in the transfer of the ownership of property, real estate agents do not actually sell a product. We sell a service.

Home owners sell houses.  REALTORs sell knowledge, experience, guidance, expertise, and a helping hand.

REALTORs should care about their clients' well-being and generally enjoy helping people.

And not just during the fun parts like chauffeuring clients in that shiny new Lexus you just purchased.

Note #3: Do not take buyer clients out to "look" at houses. Take them out to "buy" a house.

But also during the difficult parts, like negotiating repairs and conflict resolution.

To truly succeed in residential real estate sales, an agent must have a passion for helping people through one of the largest and most life-altering purchases and decisions they will make in their entire lives.

You should probably have more than just a moderate interest in houses, too, but the most important thing is your desire to help others.

If you help enough people and if you truly have your clients' best interests in mind at all times, you will be rewarded infinitely.

Happy clients with whom you form relationships and keep in touch before, during, and in-between transactions are not only a source of future business, but the main reason you should be in this business.

To Be or Not To Be (a REALTOR)

Hopefully my statements will not dissuade anyone who is truly passionate about helping others, making a fantastic living, and building personal wealth with nearly unlimited earning potential through commissions, investments, and residual income from pursuing a career in real estate.

I believe wholeheartedly in pursuing dreams and serving others through a career that is more of a mission and a calling than just another job.

Business takes off for some agents more quickly than it does for others, but anyone who is persistent and who is committed to helping others has an opportunity to be successful.

Real estate agents are entrepreneurs operating small businesses which help drive our economy. Being a REALTOR requires discipline and flexibility, but it also offers tremendous freedom from being on an employer's schedule.

Earning my real estate license in my thirties was the best career decision I have ever made, and I believe I needed the work experience earned in my twenties to be successful in my career as an agent. I look forward to growing my real estate business, helping good people find good homes, and putting food on my family's table and in the pantry for many, many years to come.

But maybe I will save one or two people from thinking that real estate sales is nothing more than a highway to a quick buck and they will choose a different path. Perhaps they will choose to work in commercial real estate.

If you have any questions about working in residential real estate sales, feel free to contact me directly via email, social media, or a good old fashioned phone call or text.

And if you know anyone considering buying or selling a home, please send them my way!

See, I have no problem with shameless self-promotion.

About the Author:
Jimmy Grappone is a Virginia native living in Charlotte for nearly a decade. His hobbies include fishing, playing golf, walking the dog, and writing articles about things that interest him. Jimmy sells real estate for a living with Allen Tate REALTORs in North and South Carolina and he is passionate about helping his clients find shelter and having a good time along the way.  

Contact the Author:
Social Media: @jimmygrappone
Website: www.jimmygrappone.com
Email:  Jimmy.Grappone@AllenTate.com
Phone:  980-298-9385

It's Jimmy On Why the Holiday Season Can Be a Great Time to Buy or Sell a Home

It is that time of year again.  Leaves are falling from the trees and there is a hint of Arctic chill in the air. Retailers have wrapped up Halloween, skipped Thanksgiving, and moved on to the Christmas shopping season.

Consumers are in a festive mood, anxious to spend their hard-earned money on retail products and gifts for family and friends. So, why wouldn't they want to make the most important purchase of all -- a new house -- as the holidays approach?

Well, if they are "just shopping," then they may want to wait until a less hectic time of the year to become serious about the home buying process. 

However, holiday season home buyers and sellers understand that this is the time of year when those who are out there shopping are likely to be shopping with a purpose.

Here are three reasons the holidays are a great time to sell, or purchase, a home.

1.  Nobody wants to waste anyone else's time.  Sellers who put their homes on the market around the holidays know they will be inconvenienced by potential buyers who want to see their home while they are basting the Thanksgiving turkey.  But they also know that most potential buyers shopping at this time of year are ready and willing to pounce on the right home for the right price.  Holiday shoppers are also likely to be pre-approved and they won't want to risk offending the seller with an under market offer if they are serious about closing the sale.

2.  Winter vacation can make moving more convenient.  Kids are generally out of school for a couple of weeks and many employers shut down for several days around the Cristmas and New Year's holidays.  That means more help packing and less time missed from work and school due to the move.  Many potential buyers relocating from outside the area will also want to move into their new abode in time to test drive their new chimney ahead of Santa Claus.

3.  Everyone wants a fresh start to the new year.  New Year resolutions are often made January 1 and nearly as often broken within a couple of weeks.  What better way is there for a buyer to begin the new year than by keeping their resolution to move into a new home?  As a home seller, you can make this dream come true for your home's new owner and you get to move into your next home, too.  Now that is what we in the industry call a win-win!

Spring may be king in the eyes of most real estate practitioners, but for those sellers looking to sell in a less crowded market in which the buyers who are out there are more likely to make a substantive offer, the holiday season may be the biggest gift of all.  

So, think again before deciding to wait until March to put your home on the market like everyone else in your neighborhood, and consider adding a "For Sale" sign to your outside holiday decorations.

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If you are considering buying or selling a home this holiday season, or if you know someone who is, be sure to consult a REALTOR for their local knowledge, industry expertise, and marketing resources.  As a NC & SC licensed REALTOR, I work with buyers, sellers, and relocated renters in the greater Charlotte area.  I am also a member of the global real estate referral network, Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, so I can help you no matter where you currently live or want to move.  Thank you in advance for considering me for all of your real estate needs.

Jimmy Grappone

www.jimmygrappone.com

jimmy.grappone@allentate.com