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1. Check your credit score. If it is too low you may be forced to pay a higher interest rate
or be denied a mortgage altogether. Ask your lender for any suggestion you could use
to improve your credit score.

2. Get Pre Approved. This process will help you and your Realtor know what price range
you can shop in and will help your Realtor negotiate a better purchase price knowing
that you can close quickly.

3. Price. Research sales prices of nearby homes to make sure you are getting a good price.
Ask your Realtor for an analysis of past sales in the area and of the neighborhoods
anticipated future values. Some properties may have been on the market for quilt a
while and their listing price is based on values from several months ago and may be high
for the current market.

Also, bank owned properties often offer great buying
opportunities. Banks do not like being in the business of owning, managing and
maintaining real estate and are likely to be more aggressive in accepting lower bids (
sometimes as much as 90% of the listed price), just to get a property sold.

4. Make sure additions to the home have been approved/permitted by the local
authorities. An unpermitted addition or alteration to a home could cost you dearly in
the future and will affect the appraised value of the home. An unpermitted structure is
not financeable.

5. Know that appraisers will more likely under appraise rather than over appraise the value
of any property. Ask your Realtor to take this into consideration when discussing the
market value of the property you are considering.

6. Get an Inspection so that hidden problems such as mold and termites don’t sink the
property’s value later. It is always better to know of a potential issue and be able to
proactively plan for future contingencies