| My wife and I recently purchased a new home in | | | | regional companies provide excellent customer service, |
| Tennessee. Here are some helpful hints we picked up | | | | and can often give you better rates than the big |
| along the way:1. Use all of the online resources | | | | companies. Since they don't advertise and instead rely |
| available. Almost every state and local government | | | | on word-of-mouth, they have to be good in order to |
| has a website where you can research real estate | | | | get your service. We started off with a big-name |
| information. The data on home sales, taxes, and | | | | company, but in the end, we went with a regional |
| neighborhoods is invaluable when you are shopping for | | | | company because they had better rates and better |
| a home. We were able to find out the most recent | | | | customer service.5. Always have a home inspection. I |
| sale prices in the neighborhood we selected, and we | | | | think most people know this fact already, but it is really |
| didn't have to rely on a real estate agent to get the | | | | important in areas with a hot real estate market. It can |
| data for us. Doing the research yourself will make you | | | | be easy to get caught up in bidding wars, and to want |
| more knowledgeable about the market, which is key to | | | | to get a house at all costs. Some friends of ours |
| making a good purchase.2. Be realistic about how | | | | wanted a house so badly that not only did they |
| much you can spend. Try to buy a home in a price | | | | overbid, but they also waived the home inspection. |
| range that allows you to put down 20%. If you put | | | | They got the house - and right along with it they got |
| down less than this, you will have to pay PMI (private | | | | several thousand dollars worth of damage that would |
| mortgage insurance) to protect the lender in case you | | | | have been found in an inspection. As a final note, try to |
| default on the loan. I know that 20% is a lot, but it's not | | | | remember that buying a home doesn't have to be |
| unrealistic. You may not be able to do it on your first | | | | scary. It's very exciting to own your own home, so |
| home, but hopefully you can on your second home. | | | | think of all the good things that will come once you |
| The profits from the sale of my condo enabled my | | | | have made it through the home-buying process. If you |
| husband and me to have more than enough for the | | | | follow the advice above, then you should be |
| 20% down payment on our home. But we didn't put it | | | | well-equipped to make it through unscathed.6. Save |
| all down on the home - we saved some of the profits | | | | money and shop for your home insurance the easy |
| for the unexpected expenses that come with buying a | | | | way! Yeah, I know this is a shameless plug for our |
| home. We suggest that you do the same.3. Shop for a | | | | web site, but seriously, whatever web site you do use, |
| home in the winter, preferably around the holidays. | | | | get online and shop around for your home insurance. |
| Since most people just aren't interested in buying a | | | | You can get multiple home insurance quotes from or |
| home when they are trying to deal with the holidays, | | | | any of a dozen or so reputable companies online. Go |
| you can pretty much be one of the few buyers out | | | | to a search engine, like Yahoo! and type in 'home |
| there. We bought our home right before Christmas, | | | | insurance quotes.' This is the best way because if you |
| and it was definitely a buyers market. We had our pick | | | | getMatt McWilliams is one of the co-founders of |
| of homes and were able to underbid on the asking | | | | HometownQuotes.Com, an online insurance quotes |
| price, even though we live in one of the hottest real | | | | web site. He is originally from Pinebluff, NC and |
| estate markets in the country.4. Use a smaller | | | | graduated from Middle< Tennessee State University in |
| mortgage company that can offer personal service. | | | | 2002. He is considered an expert in the field of online |
| People tend to go with large, well-known mortgage | | | | insurance and finding new ways to help consumers |
| companies, since that's all they know. But the smaller, | | | | save money on their insurance. |