Buyer FAQs

Technically, you could try purchasing a home without an agent.  In practice, this is a good way to spend a tremendous amount of time and energy trying to find a home only to walk blindly into a bad deal.  Having an agent who is knowledgeable looking out for your interests is strictly a benefit, and it typically costs you nothing as real estate agents are paid out of the money received by the seller and won’t be an additional cost to you.  At Landing, we take this a step further, by helping to guide you through your search and transaction beyond the limited scope of most agencies.

Conventional wisdom is that the first step in the home buying process is pre-approval by a mortgage company.  However, at Landing, we can help you to find the right lender for your situation because we’ve worked with so many lenders across Maine.  Our expert agents can also help you to determine a great deal about what sort of home will meet both your practical needs and fiscal requirements.

While this can be confusing, the answer is pretty straightforward.  “Pre-qualification” isn’t a formal commitment by a mortgage lender, rather it is an approximate guideline with no actual certainties attached.  

Especially in a competitive market where you need to know exactly what your actual budget is for negotiations, it’s very important to be pre-approved, which is a formal commitment by a lender to get you a specific amount of money for your home purchase.  This has the added benefit of narrowing your search by understanding the exact ceiling of your budget.

There isn’t a specific number you should have in mind.  Rather, every time you look at a home, you should carefully and seriously consider how it compares to your needs, wants, and expectations because any house you look at could be the right one for you. 

If you go into the real estate buying process determined to see at least ten houses (for example), you won’t be seriously considering buying the first nine houses you see until after the tenth.  This might lead to missing the opportunity to buy your ideal home.  

Conversely, if you’ve decided that seeing ten houses is some sort of threshold, rather than trying to clearly and dispassionately assess the houses you look at, you may pressure yourself into putting an offer down on a house that isn’t actually right for you simply because you have convinced yourself that you’ve seen all there is to see.

There is no hard rule here.  We will be happy to advise you on what offer makes the most sense given our knowledge of the market and experience with similar transactions.  Ultimately, it is up to you what you are comfortable and willing to offer a seller, though.

Generally, you should try to be pre-approved before you start looking at homes.  Sometimes pre-approval has an expiration date, though, so it’s probably not worthwhile to try to get pre-approved more than a month or two before you start looking at houses.  Really, once you’re firm that you’re going to be seeking a house it’s a good idea to talk to your mortgage provider and start strategizing.

Being pre-approved means that your mortgage lender has certified that you can borrow up to a stated amount thanks to your credit score and their verification processes related to income and savings.  It makes getting your loan when you need it much faster.

A good credit score is important for getting approved for a home loan with good terms.  As such, building up your credit is essential to your home search.  We’re not a credit provider or coach, but there are a couple of things that are common knowledge on this subject.

1) Pay your bills on time.  Utilities, credit card payments, existing mortgage payments, even medical payments can be registered with credit bureaus. On-time payments are good, late or entirely missed payments are a problem.

2) Apply for and responsibly use credit in other forms, like credit cards, student loans, car loans, and so on. Having a few credit accounts on the record that get to a respectable age should significantly improve your credit score.