How to Find a Good Deal on a Home

As a Mission Viejo Realtor, I am often asked what is the best way to find a great deal on Mission Viejo homes in today's real estate market.

First we need to determine what type of buyer you are. Are you an investor looking for basic rental property in average condition, an investor/contractor looking for fixer upper Mission Viejo homes to renovate? Are you a first time buyer with only enough cash for a basic down payment? Are you "buying up," with enough cash from the sale of your current home to make the down payment and then do some remodeling after the sale? Or, are you looking for something move-in ready that won't involve costly upgrades and repairs. There are hundreds of buyer circumstances.

Sometimes people want to find homes selling for far below market value that need no updating or repairs. This would be a rare find indeed, and in most cases a bidding situation would develop where the price finally agreed upon would be higher than that bargain-basement listing price they were hoping for.

All-cash buyers with full proof of funds who are able to close escrow quickly with no loan contingency are able to snag the best deals. Most buyers do not fit into that category. Having liquid assets sufficient to pay cash for a home does not prevent you from getting a loan to purchase it, it just means that if you can't get the loan in time, you agree to use those assets to purchase it on the agreed upon closing date or you lose your earnest money deposit which would be at least 3% of the purchase price in this scenario.

The best way to find a great home is to communicate to your agent exactly what you want. First, get pre-approved for a loan amount that demonstrates your ability to buy. Next, decide on the basic area where you would like to live. Then, discuss with your Realtor the minimum size and the features you absolutely need in a home. It may be necessary to adjust your minimum criteria to match your ability to pay. This is something you can discuss with your agent and get recommendations on certain tracts and neighborhoods to consider.

A professional real estate salesperson will not take you window shopping for homes until you have provided proof of an ability to pay for a home. This comes in the form of a loan pre-approval or a financial statement that indicates you have cash available for the purchase. Once the financial component is complete, she will ask you a series of questions that will help her to filter out homes that you obviously will not be interested in. She will take an in-depth look at the inventory of homes that are available in you price range and locate ones that most closely match your criteria. She will search for the best values for homes in your price range, call the listing agents for additional information and check on what the recent sales prices have been in those areas. She will then provide detailed information on these homes, and set up a time to show them to you. By proving up front that you are a ready buyer, you can expect the highest level of service from your real estate agent.

It's a fact that short sales and foreclosures are having a downward effect on the pricing of the whole market. "Teaser Pricing" of short sales by some agents can create an inaccurate impression that homes are available for unbelievably low prices when actually they are not. This is where a buyer needs to rely on an experienced agent who can research what actual sales prices have been to determine whether a particular offer on a home is likely to be accepted or if it will sit on the lender's shelf for months, waiting for a better offer to come in. So often potential buyers say that they have seen homes shown on the internet are selling for extremely low prices and they want to pay even less. What they may not realize that today's listing prices are irrelevant to what actual sales prices are due to short sale teaser pricing.

Once a home is lender owned, the lender is more committed to selling. These "Bank owned" properties are normally sold as-is and without a warranty. Sometimes they are referred to as REOs, which stands for Real Estate Owned. If you want a home warranty, you most likely will have to purchase it yourself. Also, pre-existing conditions of the home are not likely to be covered by one of these one-year warranties..

Some bank owned properties are in pretty rough shape. Appliances may be inoperable, components may have been removed. The electricity and gas have typically been turned off, so it may be impossible to know what works and what doesn't work. The previous owner, angry because of their loss of money and credit, may have damaged the home in some unseen way. There are a lot of unknowns when buying a lender owned property.

With a short sale, the lender has not made a commitment to sell for any particular price. The listing price set by the agent can be far below what the lender is willing to accept. When any offers come in, the lender makes the final approval of the accepted offer. There is no deadline of how long the lender can take to make up its mind whether an offer is accepted or not, so the lender can stall indefinitely as it waits for higher offers to come in, even if the offer was the listing price. We have seen a lot of this.

I am not an advocate of teaser pricing of short sales. I price short sales based on what other exact match short sales have actually recently sold for. Of course, all offers are presented to the lender, no matter what price they come in at. But why would I want to trick some unsuspecting buyer into thinking he could buy the home for much less than the lender is likely to accept, tying up his or her ability to purchase another accurately priced home. Teaser pricing further deteriorates area property values which can result in more homeowners being "upside down on their home loans.

I have found that a home being sold as a regular sale may cost a little more, but the value in terms of condition, having a home warranty in place, upgrades already accomplished, and speed and certainty of the acceptance of an offer can far outweigh trying to buy a short sale for an unrealistic price. It is not uncommon for a buyer to spend time looking at short sales and then determine they would prefer buying a regular sale even if it might cost a little more.

Many people think they are going to get fabulous deals on foreclosures and short sales, but it is often not true. Those short sales advertised at extremely low prices may not really be available for those prices to the average buyer and they may be disasters that will cost a lot of money to make them livable.

If you want to find a good deals on Mission Viejo homes or homes in any area of Orange County, call me and we can set up a time to meet. When you come to my office, we will start the process by going over your loan pre-approval. If you need to get pre-approved, our loan division can take care of that for you right away. We will go over my buyer's agreement and my commitment to service and you can ask me any questions you might have about buying a home. I will ask you a series of questions to help me determine what kind of home meets your criteria. Once this groundwork is complete, I will be committed to working for you to find the very best deals on homes that match your criteria and price point. When we locate a home you want, I will negotiate the best possible price and terms.


I was recently asked by a repeat client what I thought was the best type of property to buy in South Orange County. I told her that, personally, I thought Single Family residences with large yards and/or a view are most likely to hold their value over time. I also told her to avoid homes with old pools that have not been cared for, that they can be problematic and expensive to maintain and repair. Buying a home with no HOA is fine if you want to save a little money, but don't let a small HOA fee deter you from buying a home. HOAs can be good value protectors in that they have the power to keep neighborhoods looking better, which helps maintain the property value. Even Mello Roos may not be as bad as some people suspect. Some Mello Roos fees are very low and others will soon be paid off. Others are very high and do have an effect on affordability and resale. Each property is different, so don't totally discount all homes with Mello Roos. Look at each one separately. If a home is 20 years old, the Mello Roos may be close to being paid off very soon. Mello Roos is a bond, and these bond payments don't last forever.

Important considerations when buying a home are:

1. Is the area nice and does it show neighborhood pride of ownership,
2. Does the home meet your basic needs,
3. Are you buying it for a good price,
4. Can you imagine living there for 4-5 years and being comfortable,
5. Does it have most of the features you want,
6. Is the condition good so you won't have to invest a lot of money in it. Replacing carpeting and flooring and repainting is expected, but it you have to do major work to get it up to the level of today's homes, it can cost a fortune. When people upgrade a home, they usually spend more than they get back, unless they have been very careful to only do the most cost-effective upgrades in the proper level for their community.

Buying a home in nice condition allows you to take advantage of all the money the previous owners have already spent and gives you a home you can enjoy immediately and for years to come.

For more information on buying homes, contact April Hay

http://www.socdreamhomes.com/
http://www.greatmissionviejohomes.com/

Why We Live in Mission Viejo

Call April Hay

http://www.greatmissionviejohomes.com/
http://www.socdreamhomes.com/

We have chosen Mission Viejo homes for various reasons. Some of us came here to live in one of the safest cities in the United States. Others of us chose to buy Mission Viejo homes because we liked the focus on family life in this area. Some moved to Mission Viejo homes in adult communities, such as Casta del Sol and Palmia, because we wanted the serenity of senior living. Some of us moved here because of the focus on sports, with this city producing many Olympic medalists in a variety of sports. Some moved to Mission Viejo homes to enjoy the luxury of the lake. Many of us continue to live here because the schools are excellent. We enjoy the absence of graffiti and the feeling of acceptance of the various ethnic groups.



If you are considering a move to Mission Viejo, contact me, April Hay. at ERA Pacific Meridian. I have lived in Mission Viejo for 25 years and am very familiar with this part of South Orange County. I can help you find Mission Viejo homes that exactly match your criteria in any of the many desirable areas of this great community.

Visit GreatMissionViejoHomes.com to begin your initial search. Once you find Mission Viejo homes your are interested in, give me a call and we can set up a time to meet and discuss how your can get pre-qualified for a purchase amount. We can look at homes to find the right one for you.

April Hay, GRI, Realtor, http://www.greatmissionviejohomes.com/

Mission Viejo Homes with Curb Appeal

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YOU'VE SEEN Mission Viejo homes with curb appeal. They look like everything is beautiful and is in its correct place. For some Mission Viejo homes, curb appeal comes naturally because of the way the house is set on the lot. But true curb appeal requires more than just where the house sits.

Other things that add to the curb appeal of Mission Viejo homes are: The yard looks meticulously manicured, the curbs are not scuffed with black tire marks, the numbers on the curb are clearly painted, the gutters and sidewalks are swept and clean, there are no cobwebs or dust on the front of the house or the front porch, the windows are sparkling clean and you can see portions of the inside of the house through open curtains. The garage door is down, and no cars are parked on the driveway. The house has been painted within the past few years, and special attention to the front door area has been taken, with new door handles and a new doorbell button. The front door has a fresh coat of semigloss. If the house has shutters, they are freshly painted, too.

Most Mission Viejo homes can have curb appeal. Regular maintenance and gardening are the biggest factors contributing to curb appeal. The biggest turn-offs are: dirty exterior, peeling paint, oil stains and old cars in the driveway, basketball hoops in the street, skateboard ramps in front of the house, garage doors left open, plant overgrowth, dirty walkways with toys strewn along them, too many potted plants on the porch, rusty/tarnished hardware on the front doors, closed drapes at every window, torn window screens. You can see how inexpensive it is to get good curb appeal. Clean, Clean, Clean. Unclutter. Stash the toys and sports gear. Paint a little. Replace a few worn items. And clean some more.

Those who have Mission Viejo homes with curb appeal can get a higher price for their homes. If you would like more information about selling your Mission Viejo home, call April Hay or visit:

http://www.GreatMissionViejoHomes.com/.

Paint Clean Up Tip

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http://www.GreatMissionViejoHomes.com/
http://www.socdreamhomes.com/

Have you even stood over the sink, washing out your paint brush, and it seemed like the paint just kept on coming out of the bristles. You rub it and paint gets all over your hands. It's a mess! When I painted my Mission Viejo home recently, I discovered a way to clean brushes fast.

First, wipe as much of the paint as possible on the wall you are painting. Take the brush to the sink and wet it. Pour a large amount of baking soda on the brush and work it through the bristles thoroughly. Rinse the brush and you will see most of the paint come out of the brush. Pour another dose of backing soda onto the bristles and handle and work it into a paste. Let it remain on the brush for a minute and then rinse. The brush is clean and there is no paint remaining on your fingers. Let the brush dry. The next time you paint, the bristles will be soft and ready for the job!

I have owned older Mission Viejo homes for the past 25 years have always dreaded painting. Discovering this technique of brush cleanup really makes the job a lot easier. The manager of the store in Mission Viejo where I purchased the paint had never heard of my technique, so I am assuming it is something new. If not, then maybe it's one you haven't heard about. I like it because you don't need to waste as much water and it's environmentally safe.

When I painted my Mission Viejo home, I found that the cleanup of the paint tray also was made easier using baking soda. I like to use the plastic trays that are a little smaller than the big metal ones. They have hooks that attach to the ladder I use as a paint stand.

As money gets tighter due to increased fuel prices, painting your own home may become more popular. Owners of Orange County homes are really feeling the sting of higher fuel prices, so do-it-yourself projects may become more of a necessity than ever. Make your Mission Viejo home look beautiful with a new coat of paint. Lift your spirits with a lighter, brighter shade. Mission Viejo homes that are freshly painted sell for more.