Oh so you’ve never heard of this game. Well I’m not surprised. Up until now, people have thought that Duck, Duck, Goose was the only game in town.

But let me tell you, when it comes time to buying a home in Birmingham Alabama, it’s no game and you’ve got to make sure that you have all of your ducks in a row.

Don’t let your goal of buying a Birmingham home be thwarted by a goose.

Thinking About Buying a Home in Metro Birmingham-Hoover Area?

1. Why would you even start your Birmingham home buying search without confirming that a lender is willing to finance your Birmingham home purchase? (ducks in a row)
2. Even if you are not quite ready, it’s always a good idea to talk with a lender beforehand.
3. Be realistic about expectations especially when it comes to price. You can keep your frustration level down by focusing your attention on searching for homes that fall within your price range (ducks in a row)
4. Even if there are claims that you can buy a home with no down payment, you WILL need money for something. Namely your upfront cost when purchasing a home in the Metropolitan Birmingham Alabama will consist of your earnest money deposit, the cost of a home inspection, appraisal and perhaps some closing cost. If you don’t have this money in place, then perhaps it’s a good idea…..no let me rephrase that…..it IS a good idea to delay your home search until you do have it. House hunting on the pay day plan is a bad concept any way that you look at it (ducks in a row)
5. Relying on someone to help you make decisions? Introduce them into the equation at the beginning of the process.
6. If you know that you have some credit issues to clear up, then still speak with a mortgage loan officer. They can tell you which issues matter more than others (ducks in a row).  You real estate agent will be able to refer you to a lender that has a good reputation for getting loans closed.
7. Stay focused on the task and the goal of finding a home to purchase and making an offer that has the greatest likelihood of being accepted.
8.  Keep your spending in check and by all means, once you start you home search, do not establish any new credit. None. Zilch. Nada (ducks in a row)
9. And just for kicks see if you can guess whether this statement is true or false:  A real estate agent works with buyers and sellers just for fun.  If you guessed false, then you guessed it right.  Seriously, if you don’t have items 1 -7 in place, then your real estate agent is really working for nothing.  You can be assured, that as your real estate agent, I will be doing everything possible to find the home that you’ve described to me.  But here’s the deal, why would I work so hard when you don’t even have your ducks in a row?  Make sense?  Be upfront so that I can take the right course of action at the appropriate time instead of wasting time (ducks in a row)

This list can be lengthy so if you’d like more info, please contact me, Charita Cadenhead, and we can go into further detail.

Buying a home is not a game and especially not a game of chance. It’s a process that should be well thought out and there is no one better to help you plan than a Realtor®.