Buyer Services

“I Am Thinking About Buying A Home In Perrysburg”
A Free Special Report From Jon Modene

I'm Thinking About Buying A Home In Perrysburg.

Picture the scene: The family, in the market for a new home start looking at real estate. They look on-line at realtor.com and other real estate sites. They make phone calls on a few properties from an advertising book. They talk with a lot of different real estate agents. They look at a lot of houses. They visit open houses and drive through the neighborhoods that they want to move to. They find a house or two that they really like, but just miss out on buying them - someone else got there first.

They finally find the right house, and the real estate agent writes an offer for them. She works for the seller, and can't tell this couple what the home is really worth, what the seller's motivation is, and other salient facts. The real estate agent goes to the seller, tells the seller everything that the buyers told her, and the seller counters their offer. The buyers have no one to turn to for advice. They really want the home, and the agent did tell them it was a “great buy”.

They sign the offer, go to their bank and apply for a loan. They close on the home some weeks later. Did they do a good job? Well, they bought a home, but they made mistakes. Big mistakes. Mistakes that may have cost them thousands of dollars. Mistakes that they can never overcome- even if and when they sell their home.

Another young couple, using the strategies contained in this special report, can find a better home, get a cheaper mortgage, pay less for the home, and insure that they are not taken advantage of. If they can pay less for the home at purchase, when they sell it they stand to reap thousands of dollars of profit.

I have sold thousands of houses, lots, condos, and apartments. As the first REALTOR in Toledo to represent buyers as their agent- a “Buyer's Agent” - I have years of experience in protecting buyer's interests and helping buyers make good decisions.
Year after year, some of the most amazing thing that I see in real estate are the actions of buyers. A person will think nothing of reading Consumer Reports and doing basic research when it's time to buy a new car or range. If they are going on a vacation they will read detailed travel guides and get recommendations. But, show me a buyer who, when making the largest single purchase that they will ever make, just goes out and buys a house - and I will sadly show you the average buyer.

It's sad but true. Most people will be better prepared to go to Disney World for five days than to buy a $195,000 new home that might last them thirty years. These buyers are asleep at the switch. They are asking for trouble. And they often find it. But you don't have to make these costly mistakes. You can be armed to the teeth with information. You can learn how to make good decisions. Here's how: Just avoid making these common House Buying Mistakes and you are well on your way:

Mistake Number 1: Working With the Wrong Agent

Can you imagine negotiating a treaty with another country and inviting a spy for the other country to join in on your most secret council sessions? You wouldn't do it. You would call it treason. But most buyers invite a spy into their camp. The spy is called a seller's agent.

A seller's agent works for the seller, and has a positive legal duty to tell everything that they hear or know to the seller if it would affect or influence their decision about your offer. If you love the home and tell the seller's agent that you will pay anything to have the home...guess what, YOU WILL.

If you tell them you will pay $150,000 but want to offer $145,000 then the seller's agent is duty bound to tell the seller you are willing to pay $150,000 but wrote at $145,000. The seller's agent has to work for the seller and can't tell you if the home is over or under priced. The seller's agent is the legal representative of the seller, and as they say, "anything you say can and will be used against you."

Sometimes you have to work with a seller's agent- you called them and they have to work for the seller on the home you want to see. BUT DON’T TALK TO THEM EVER ABOUT PRICE or your motivation or timetable.

Mistake Number 2: Buying A Home Too Late

Some families rent for years to save the down payment for their first home. Then something happens- interest rates go up, a baby comes, and they can never seem to afford a home. With all of the incredible financial tools available to buyers today, there is no excuse for anyone with good credit and a job to not have a home.

A buyer can get an FHA loan with 3% to 5% down. A veteran can get a loan with nothing down. A buyer can look for a property today with a subsidized down payment and a subsidized interest rate. Can’t find a good bank? Credit unions are easy to work with. On-line mortgages are available. Mortgage brokers have investors who want to loan you money. And a buyer can always look for a home with owner financing, where the owner is the bank.

When one of the last great tax breaks is the mortgage interest deduction, it makes no sense for someone who can afford a home, who can buy a home, and who can qualify for a mortgage to wait and wait, and while waiting to pay a large monthly rent. Only the landlord hopes that you won't get smart and get your own home.

Mistake Number 3: Not Being Pre-Approved For Financing

Here's one of life's little non-mysteries: Cash speaks louder than credit. The man buying a new car with cash gets a better deal than the man financing his purchase.

And, in the same manner, a person paying cash for a home gets a "cash discount" that while unmeasurable from transaction to transaction is still real. Even if it's only 1%, on a $200,000 home the cash buyer can save $2000. How can you, if you don't have the cash to buy your next home, get treated like a cash buyer?

It's simple. Get FULLY pre-approved for your mortgage before you look at houses. Get proof of that preapproval (the lender will give you a card or letter), and after you have found the home you want to purchase, provide your proof to the seller along with your offer.

Sellers tend to evaluate offers with pre-approvals the same as cash offers. And, as there is less risk for the seller, they will lower the price you pay for the home. Please note that I don’t mean a preapproval subject to your child support being brought current after your divorce is unsealed because the bankruptcy court has not yet had the final hearing. This will not impress the seller. This will actually frighten them.

Mistake Number 4: Not Using The Right Contract

Some buyers use a contract that is not only unfair to them, it is too fair to the home seller. It's called the "Standard Board Contract" and it is used by hundreds of Realtors in Toledo. It was written by attorneys and real estate agents whose background was in representing sellers, and their bias shows through. It's a great contract to receive if you are SELLING a home, for the buyer gives control over the results of their inspection to the sellers and the home inspector over what constitutes a major defect. Buyers are also potentially agreeing to buy the home in "AS IS" condition without any extra inducement or compensation from the home seller. And, you can even be forced to buy a home against your will, even if it is riddled with termites or charred to a crisp by fire as long as the seller agrees to pay to treat the infestation or repair it to “habitability”.

This "standard" contract is liked by most Realtors and attorneys for two reasons. First, they don't have to read it or understand it, because it is "standard". And second, their years of experience representing sellers tells them that it is good to be fair to sellers and biased against buyers. The attorney for one Fortune 100 company in Toledo that handles all of that company's incoming corporate transfers will not let their employees use the "standard" form without modifying it. Shouldn’t you get the same protection??

Also note that the "standard" contract lets people who will have no ongoing interest in the home you are buying choose where you will purchase your Title Insurance at. This is absolutely amazing!

Your Title Insurance policy will protect you for as long as you and your family own the home from false claims on it's title. It's a very important tool that you have to have.

But the "Standard" contract lets the seller and their agent make this choice for you. They often choose to go with the Title Company that takes the Realtor to the golf course the most. It's a stupid way for a buyer to buy a home, don't you think?

Mistake Number 5: "I Don't Need To Inspect It" or "I'll Have My Brother Inspect It"

First of all- you must make sure that you inspect your new home. If your twin brother is selling it to you, PLEASE, still get it inspected. I have seen brand new homes have major flaws at closing- flaws that if not quickly discovered could have caused a lot of expensive damage.

Remember, an inspection is not designed to provide you with a perfect house- you couldn't afford a perfect house. But, an inspection is designed to protect you and your equity from financial damage, and your home from physical damage. And remember that no inspection is perfect. But a good whole house inspection will find any major systems problems that could ruin your equity position after you buy in ignorance.

The best inspectors inspect hundreds of homes a year. They know what to look for, and they know what areas, what builders, and what designs present their own special problems. Your brother or friend or father doesn't know these things, and may also have an emotional investment in the home that could prevent him from being objective.

How often have purchasers caused family feuds by having a friend or family member do their home inspection for them?
So, if you are going to inspect your home- and you should- have a professional do it, not a friend.

Mistake Number 6: Not Getting An Experienced Buyer's Agent

Do you know what it takes for a real estate agent to claim that they are a buyer's agent? A simple check mark on the Ohio Agency Disclosure Form. Yes, that's right, any agent with or without experience, training, expertise, and knowledge can say that they will represent you and work for you. It's as if you went to a medical specialist, needed and asked for a vascular surgeon to help you, and were told by a radiologist that would be happy to be a vascular surgeon that day.

When you are looking for a REALTOR to help you and work for you, make sure that they have some of the following:

• Experience in representing buyers as a buyer's agent.
• Some training in the specialty of buyer representation.
• An understanding of your family's goals and real estate needs.
• References of buyer clients that bought homes with their services recently.
• Any advanced or specialty designations such as an ABR (Accredited Buyer's Representative).

Mistake Number 7: Getting An Attorney Involved At The Wrong Time

Most attorneys will agree that after a contract is signed, it's often really too late for them to help you unless you have built some safeguards into the contract from the beginning.

Here's my favorite. Just insert this clause into any offer you make:

"This offer is subject to review and approval by Purchasers Attorney within 5 business days of acceptance."

If you use this clause your attorney then has the power to make modifications to the purchase contract that can be presented to the sellers for their approval. But most buyers simply invite their attorney to the closing after the transaction is heading down the road. By then it's too late to have your attorney's input and counsel.

But note that you should NOT get an attorney involved during the NEGOTIATIONS for your home. Attorneys will simply wreck many standard residential transactions by clogging the deal with needless hurdles and legal penumbras. In my opinion, attorneys are valuable at a closing, but not during a negotiation. Also be sure to get your attorney to give you a price quote on a standard residential closing BEFORE you hire him.

Mistake Number 8: Paying Too Much

One of the saddest things that can happen to a home buyer is what happens when he overpays on a home. You see, you just can never make that money back. No matter how hard he or shes tries, the money is lost.

In inflationary times, or when a house appreciates in value, when the overpaying buyer goes to sell, the odds are that the next buyer won't make the same mistake that the overpaying buyer made, and will find that he will not make the profit on the gain in appreciation that he would have had, had he payed only the market price for the home in the first place.

And, in a market that doesn't gain in value, the sale of your house could leave you with a substantial loss as the market corrects your mistake for you.

It's a fact- pay too much, and the money is gone forever.

Here's a quick checklist to help you avoid paying too much:

• Make sure your offer is subject to the home appraising at or above the purchase price.
• Have your own buyer's agent do a complete "Agent's Opinion Of Value" on the home you
  intend to purchase showing what the buyer's agent believes it's value is.
• Consider hiring your own fee appraiser to do an appraisal for you- bank appraisers work for the
  bank, not the buyer, to protect the banks money, not yours. If you have a 50% downpayment then a
  bank appraisal is merely perfunctory.
• Try to find out the motivation and reason for selling of the current home owner.
• Find out what the last several homes in the neighborhood have sold for. If you are buying
  the most expensive home in the area be careful.

Mistake Number 9: Buying The "Big Dog" On The Block

This is a broad generalization, but it's also a safe generalization: Try not to buy the most expensive home in an area or subdivision. That home might very well be the best. It might be the nicest. But, experience shows that the largest, most expensive home in a subdivision appreciates the slowest, and has the most trouble appraising high in any market.

So, if resale is ever going to be a concern, try to stay away from the "Top Dog" house.

Mistake Number 10: Not Using Smart Negotiation Techniques

What is the right negotiation strategy for the home you have decided to purchase? Well, there really isn't a "right" strategy, for if there was, everyone would use it all of the time, and it wouldn't work anymore.

Here are some keys to negotiating smart:

• Know what your goal is before you start a negotiation, and don't get sidetracked.
• Know what your "walk away" point is and don't go past it.
• Find out as much about the competition as possible.
• After you have learned about them, try to determine what their goals might be, and see how your goals conflict and how they match.
• Build a negotiation strategy before you start.
• Be willing to eat some crow if you have resorted to bluffing and it didn't work.
• Make sure your spouse and you are on the same page of the playbook- if you have to win
  over your spouse during a negotiation, it will be tough to win over a home owner too!
• Try to let a skillful intermediary communicate for you.

Mistake Number 11: Letting A "Dual Agent" Work For You

In my opinion the only thing worse than having a seller's agent represent you, is to have a dual agent represent you – at least you can COUNT on the seller’s agent to be loyal to one side!

For while the seller's agent's duties are clear to everyone, the dual agent has to split his loyalty between the buyer and the seller. The dual agent decides who to tell what to, and how much loyalty to show to each side- the buyer and the seller.

It can fairly be said that in a dual agency transaction both the buyer and the seller are cheated of their representation, and neither party knows who was cheated. If a REALTOR tells you that they want to be a dual agent for you, simply tell them "no thanks" and find someone who will either clearly work for you or will clearly work against you.

With Ohio's new "real estate agency" law many agents will tell you that they won't be dual agents - just their brokers and managers. Well, no law firm could legally operate under those rules. Dual agency is just being pushed down further from the sight of unwary buyers and consumers.

Mistake Number 12: Not Hiring Jon Modene

With 15 years of experience, advanced training and credentials, and a reputation for integrity and excellence I can promise you this: I will listen to you. I will be loyal to you. I will lead you to a safe, resellable home. With my excellent team backing me up, we are able to show you more houses, find the best house for you, negotiate the best price for your family, and make sure that your interests are protected at every stage of the transaction.

The little things I provide like use of a free moving truck for life and client trips and events are only there to remind my clients how serious I am about representing them, protecting them, being their advocate, and providing them with such incredible service and results that I become their real estate agent and consultant for life. A recent professional survey company who interviewed homeowners in Perrysburg found that my name was the most well known and most recommended in Perrysburg.

It’s a honor and a trust bestowed upon me by my neighbors that I take very seriously.

For more than 15 years, Jon Modene has been serving the needs of Toledo's home buyers and sellers. Jon has gained his status as one of Toledo's top agents in a remarkably short time. He holds the prestigious OAR Award of Excellence as a residential agent, and from 1996 to 2004 he helped over 1500 families with their real estate needs. Jon provides not only the finest service possible to his clients, but also provides the most vital component of any successful real estate transaction - information.

Page Last Updated: 3/22/05