Getting a pre-approval letter from a lender to: - Let you know how much you can borrow and prevent disappointment caused by falling in love with unaffordable homes. - Show how much money is required for the down payment and closing costs. - Demonstrate that you are a serious buyer to both your real estate agent and the person selling their home.

Under normal market conditions, the average time to complete the sale of a home is 30 to 45 days, giving you enough time for due diligence and get a loan completed.

In a seller's market, increasing demand for homes drives up prices. Here are some of the drivers of demand: - Economic factors - Interest rates trending downward - A short-term spike in interest - Low inventory

A buyer’s market is characterized by declining home prices and reduced demand. - Economic disruption - Interest rates trending higher - Short-term drop in interest rates - High inventory - Natural disasters

Home buyers pay little or no fees to an agent to buy a home. Listing brokers represent sellers and charge a fee to represent them and market the property. When the home is sold, the listing broker splits the listing fee with the buyer’s agent. Thus, buyers don’t pay their agents.

The national average for down payments is 11%, though first time homebuyers usually only put down 3 to 5% on a home. Conventional loans often require more and are typically taken out by repeat buyers who could use equity from their existing home as a source of down payment funds. There are also programs that can take the down payment even lower, depending on circumstances.

That’s up to you! The ability to search for homes online and see pictures, even before setting a foot outside the comfort of your living room, has completely changed the home buying game. Convenience is at an all-time high. But, nothing beats visiting a home to see how it looks and ‘feels’ in person. The Agent Creative will help arrange and be with you on these visits.

While there’s no crystal ball, the best way is to work with The Agent Creative to check out comparable sales and whether those prices have been going up or down in the recent past

When you make an offer on a home, you'll need to provide a “deposit” to accompany it, typically 1% to 2% of the purchase price. Earnest money is made in good faith to demonstrate – to the seller – that the buyer’s offer is genuine.

Your written offer will stipulate the timeframe in which the seller should respond. A typical timeframe is 24 hours after the offer is submitted.

Yes! While not always required, home inspections are highly recommended because they can reveal defects in the home that are not easily detected. Home inspections bring peace of mind to one of the biggest investments of a lifetime.

While buyers can always back out of a deal, doing so without good reason, or outside what is stipulated in the contract, may forfeit your earnest money.

The Agent Creative always recommends and provides a final walkthrough. This gives us the chance to make sure all requested repairs have been made and nothing has changed since the contract was executed. You, as the buyer, can choose to be present if you wish.