Investing In A Better Home

If you're like many millennials, you've waited to enter into the real estate market until you could afford to purchase the home of your dreams. Now that you're looking at luxury homes, you want to make sure you know exactly what you're doing. Unfortunately, there can be a lot of confusion surrounding home purchases, especially when it comes to knowing which questions to ask. Before you start looking at homes, take a look at four common questions that many first-time buyers have.

How Much Will My Agent Charge?

Now that you're looking to buy a home, you're probably wondering about how much your agent will charge you. The answer to that is nothing. Your real estate agent won't charge you anything to help you buy a home. Their fee will come from the seller – the person you're buying your home from. Once the house sells, the seller's agent will be paid a fee, which will come from the money that the seller made off the house. Once seller's agent is paid, they will split the commission between themselves and your agent.

What Exactly is a Buyer's Agent?

If you want to get the best deal on the house you're trying to purchase, you may want to consider hiring a buyer's agent. A buyer's agent will only represent the buyer, which means they won't have a vested interest in homes that are being sold. When you work with a buyer's agent, they'll show you homes that fit your requirements and then work diligently to get you the best possible deal. If you've chosen to work with a dual agent – an agent that represents both buyers and sellers – they may show you homes in which they're also the seller's agent. If that happens, you might not get the best possible deal from the purchase.

Why Should I Get Pre-Approved?

If you're not pre-approved before you start looking for a home, you might end up working harder than you have to. When you're pre-approved before you start looking, you know exactly how much home you'll be qualified for. That means your agent will be able to confine your search to the homes that are within your pre-approved price range.

Now that you're ready to purchase the home of your dreams, make sure the process goes as smoothly as possible. The information provided here will help answer some of the questions you might have about the home-buying process. If you have further questions, be sure to speak to your real estate agent.