This is a true story about a young couple who barely avoided losing their dream home at the closing table. A story riddled with incompetence, greed and fear from the very professionals who should have been protecting this young couple’s best interests. Most new buyers don’t realize the level of impact their RE agent has on the entire process of buying a new home. Everyone hopes it’s a positive one, but the opposite is often true.

Photo courtesy of thousand.birds’ photostream via Flickr

I was a licensed Broker/Realtor® representing the seller in this story. The volume of closings I handled attracted a significant number of mortgage lenders to my office for the express purpose of getting a small piece of the pie. There’s a LOT of money to be made at every stage of buying and selling real estate which is why it’s such a deeply developed process – many professionals working together for the same end goal.

The problem is – sometimes those professionals lose sight of their integrity in favor of putting money in their own pockets.

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Photo courtesy of Patrick Goossens via Flickr

During my years as a licensed Broker/Realtor® I was appalled to witness the plight of first time home buyers. Picture a couple of innocent lambs wandering in the wilderness looking for shelter. Read the rest of this entry

Photo courtesy of echiner1 via Flickr

What does this rocky economy and stormy real estate market really mean for the first time home buyer?
I read somewhere that the American dream of buying a home has been extinguished for now. Some even say renting has become the new American dream. I hope you’re not falling for that doom and gloom. The reality is that first time home buyers are in the cat bird’s seat right now. Read the rest of this entry