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05/05/2012 12:33 PM

Your Home: How to Buy

By: Innae Park

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Last week on "Your Home" we helped sellers navigate the spring market and what to expect when selling your home this time of year. This week, we turn our attention to the buyers. According to experts, buyers have a lot of options.

“Our inventory in the spring market with the warm weather is picking up dramatically. We're seeing an uptick in homes coming on the market as well as buyer activity.", said real estate broker Kevin Clancy.

So where do you start when looking to buy a home? You don't even have to leave where you currently live to check out where you may live in the future.

“The Internet is the number one tool when searching for homes. With a cup of coffee and an hour of time, you can peruse 40 to 50 homes and limit your search. Virtual tours are now taking the place of open houses. Instead of driving around on a Sunday, you can sit at your computer and view homes,” said Clancy.

After you find homes you would like to look at in person, contact your agent to set up a viewing. And be prepared, you will likely look at more homes than you thought you would.

“The average homebuyer will look at eight homes before they buy one. So that's around where you likely should be. Typical buyers may look at more than that, everyone has their own comfort zone,” said Clancy.

We all know that buying a home can be an expensive endeavor, especially up front with a down payment. As Clancy tells us, there are some other costs you should be aware of.

“An inspection fee, a typical bank will want to see homeowner's insurance paid up for a year, those are typically not included in your closing costs. Included in your closing costs would be title insurance, appraisal fee, attorney fee. So all of those fees do add up in the process,” said Clancy.

While that does seem like a lot of money up front, if you're looking to buy now, you can save some money throughout your repayment of your mortgage, as rates are still very low.