By Joseph F. D'Amato Broker, E-Pro

Hudson Harbor Realty Corp.

jdamato@hhrealtycorp.com

If you are planning the purchase of your first home, you're probably experiencing two conflicting emotions - exicement and apprehension. The positive energy from your excitement is an asset in your home search, but the negative energy from your fear of the unknown is a liability you can leave behind once your armed with some basic information.

Paramount to buying your first home is understanding how much you can afford. You can start with any number of online financial calculators, and once you've established a budgetary picture, take the all-important next step - loan pre-qualification.

Pre-qualification may sound intimidating, but it's a great way to find your "comfort zone" and build your purchasing confidence. When a lender interviews you and reviews your financial documentation, you'll know right now how much home you can afford.

With that magic number, you can easily weed out homes above your budget, which will save you loads of time (and disappointment) during your home search. Then once you've found a home you love, you can rest assured that your offer will be taken very seriously, because your financiang has already been conditionally backed by your lender.

Visit the office of Hudson Harbor Realty Corp and speak with one of our real estate professionals to get an overview of the purchase process. He or she will discuss with you the process and help you with  pre-qualfication, with one of the many lenders who service our office.

How would you place the value on your home? More critically, how would you put a price on your home? Sounds like the same question, but it suggests the difference between price and value that's important to understand as you prepare to sell your home.

Two homes may have identical features and prices, but factors like location and condition can impact the homes precieved value. To arrive at an attractive asking price, you must compare your home's value against its competition, which is easily done through reality websites , advertisements and the assistance of a real estate agent at Hudson Harbor Realty Corp.

Your goal is to set the price right away. Your best window for a full price offer will come within the first three weeks, so if you don't see any activity in that timeframe, take action. In changing markets, pricing a home becomes an ongoing activity. You need to consider real estate dynamics- new listings, recent transactions, expired listings, shifts in inventory and so on.

Your best source of information and guidence is your Hudson Harbor real estate agent, whose vocation it is to monitor all those conditions and bring buyers and sellers to the table for a satisfying transaction. Meet with your agent to discuss your motivation and timetable, compare your home's value against the competition, and analyze current trends in this market. The realtionship between price and value will become crystal clear.

Wishing You Success,

Joseph F. D'Amato Broker