The Internet is brimming with information that is helpful to novice purchasers. Brokers also are eager to do research for their clients.

A young couple, both academics fresh out of graduate school, began a house hunt as soon as they received faculty appointments.

Within days they were excited to find a 1920s-era cottage in an up-and-coming neighborhood. The tiny place was tastefully renovated, with highly polished hardwood floors. Its elegantly designed kitchen boasted new cabinetry. But was the owner, a textile designer, asking too high a price?

They needed information on current home values in the neighborhood -- and they needed it fast, before they put in a bid. For answers, they turned to their real estate broker, Peggy Lance Little.

Little's first step was to check a database of public records on similar home sale deals that had closed recently in the same community. She found several properties that had sold for at least $50,000 less than the textile designer was asking. Little probed further. She called the seller's listing agent, seeking information on the basis for the asking price. The listing agent produced data on two pending sales of comparable homes in the neighborhood that were being sold for as much as the textile designer's price tag.

Armed with up-to-date information, the couple decided to make a full-price offer. Bingo! The house was theirs. Had they bid lower, as their initial instincts told them, they would surely have lost out to another contender, Little says.

Today's home buyers are increasingly able to access the information they need to make reasoned judgments, says Little, a past president of the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents.

Faced with mounting competition, many real estate agents and mortgage lenders are eager to do research for their clients, she says. Also, the Internet is brimming with up-to-date information that is especially helpful to novice purchasers. Here are pointers for home buyers seeking to empower themselves with good information:

• Make sure you receive home inspection information from a reliable source. The trend in the home inspection field is toward more training -- making it increasingly likely that home buyers will receive correct information from an inspector, Little says.

But Little urges caution in selecting a home inspector. She says it's wise to choose one who has met the standards for inclusion into a professional organization, such as the American Society of Home Inspectors ( www.ashi.com).

These days, reputable inspectors go beyond a mere scouring of a property in search of defects. They also take the time to explain their findings and to inform would-be purchasers on how best to maintain a home, says Rick Carlberg, an ASHI-affiliated inspector.

Carlberg recommends that you ask for references from an inspector's recent clients. Phone two or three such clients and determine whether the inspector was successful in identifying major defects in the properties they bought.

A good inspector should catch significant problems -- like those involving a home's roof or its air conditioning, plumbing or electrical systems, Carlberg says.

• Take advantage of community-oriented websites. Government entities, including school systems, are posting an increasing array of online data that can prove helpful to home buyers who wish to compare alternative communities. It's simpler than ever to find online information on property taxes, crime rates and public transportation options.

• Make sensible use of mortgage information from the Internet. The websites of organizations in the business of tracking mortgage rates can be very helpful to consumers who want to follow the home-loan market, Little says.

One such site ( www.hsh.com) is that of HSH Associates, a financial publishing firm. Here you can stay abreast of prevailing market rates, not only for loans made to prime borrowers, but also for those available to people with ``bruised credit.''

Rate information from such sources is often more reliable than that provided on the websites of many online mortgage brokers, Little says. She notes that several of her home-buying clients have had unhappy dealings with online brokers who use ''bait and switch'' tactics to lure customers. Once the client is ready to apply for the mortgage, the broker's rates mysteriously rise.

Though the mortgage business is often puzzling, Little says you're likely to get the straightest answers to your questions from mortgage brokers and lenders who have an established reputation in the area. She advises that you ask your real estate agent for several names of people in the home-loan field whom they've come to trust.

• Mine information from an established real estate agent. Relying on the Internet, home buyers are increasingly able to identify properties of interest without the help of an agent. As prospective purchasers become more self-sufficient, successful agents realize they must provide much more than traditional services, such as showing homes and writing up offers, Little says.

Good agents help buyers assess the true market value of properties by seeking out information on comparable sales. They offer sound advice on negotiating strategies. And they never tire of answering buyers' questions.



Source Miami Herald

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