What Are the Answers to the Most Commonly Asked Buyer Questions?

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The number one question I’m asked by buyers is, “How much do I need to put down on a home?” It depends on what programs you qualify for, so today, we’ll run through a few of your options.

If you’re eligible, your best bet is a VA loan. It requires no money down and its interest rates are very competitive. If you’re not eligible for a VA loan, there are local banks that offer community loans that require as little as $500 down. Conventional loans are another option, and they range anywhere from 3% down to 20% down, sometimes even more.

The next most common question I get from homeowners regards how long the process takes. How long does it take to find and purchase a house? Well, it depends on the price range and a few other factors, but generally speaking, it takes between 30 and 45 days to find the perfect home. The closing and loan process takes about 35 days from end to end, so if you have a lease coming up in July, you would really want to start looking at homes in May, at the latest.

Another question we often get is, “How do I stand out when there are multiple offers?” I truly believe that a big part of people missing out on a house is due to their Realtor and the way they wrote the contract. You obviously need to be creative and ethical in this market, but there are certain things that we can include in our contracts that will make the purchase look better to the seller.

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Interest rates drastically affect your ability to buy real estate!

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Buyers often ask how interest rates affect their buying power. If we use the example of a $200,000 house with a 20% down payment, you would have to put $40,000 down and get a loan for $160,000. At today’s interest rate of 4%, the payment on that is $763 a month. If the interest rate jumps only 1%, the payment becomes $858 a month. The difference is only $95 a month, but when you stretch that over the life of a loan, you’re looking at losing out on the equivalent of $20,000. In other words, interest rates drastically affect your ability to buy real estate!

The 5th most common question we get from buyers is whether they are buying at the top of the market. There are many things to look at to answer this question accurately. When you get a loan and you purchase a home, you have a fixed housing bill: you don’t have to worry about rent increases, you don’t have to worry about interest rate increases, and you’ll always know exactly what you have to pay each month. If you wait to purchase a home and interest rates go up, you have a whole lot less buying power, especially because home prices are expected to rise. In short, there isn’t a clear metric to see whether you’re buying at the top of the market, but from what we’ve seen recently, now is a fantastic time to make your move in the Denver area!

If you have any questions about Denver real estate, or if you need our assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to hear from you!