Shopping Journey Begins with Homescape Buying Guide
They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and the home-buying process, as long and intimidating as it may seem, is pretty much like that. You have to take it a step at a time, familiarizing yourself with all the details and challenges you encounter along the way.
A great place to start the journey is right here on HomeFinder.com. Not only is our Web site packed with more than 3 million home listings from across the country, but we now have a new comprehensive Home Buying Guide to put you on the right footing. The guide is well-furnished with more than 30 articles, advising you on the entire buying process — from the point you start considering a new home to the day you finally move into it.
To name a few…
- Should you buy or rent?
- How much home can you afford?
- Choosing the right home
- What to look for in a community
- Working with a real estate agent
- Figuring out your down payment
- Applying for a mortgage
- Home appraisals and inspections
- Making and offer and counteroffers
- Handling closing problems
- Insurance for your new home
These simple-to-understand articles are written by two experts in the consumer-real estate world: Shelley O'Hara, the author of the bestselling 'Complete Idiot's Guide to Buying & Selling a Home,' and Mark Nash, a veteran real estate broker and writer, who has churned out a few books of his own and shared his wisdom on CNN, The Today Show, Fox News and CBS News, to name a few. To complement their expertise, we'll be rolling out some new consumer tools that will further help you along the home-shopping road. So check back with us often.
In the National Association of Realtor's '2007 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers,' the Internet was selected by consumers as the most useful source of home-buying information, with real estate agents coming in at No. 2. Sure, there are oceans of real estate info on the Web, but few sites will give you the depth and thoroughness that our guide offers.
So before you hire an agent or start visiting open houses, or even while you're doing all that, spend some quality time with HomeFinder.com's Buying Guide. Print it out, share it on your favorite networking site, send it to a friend, recite it at a poetry slam. Each article also comes with a comment box, because we're always eager to hear about what you think.
Knowledge is power. And the more you know about home buying, the easier and less-scary it will be.
Do you have any questions about HomeFinder.com's Buying Guide? Contact Dean Golemis at openingdoorsblog@HomeFinder.com.
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