Buyer's Guide

Step 1: Research

Do you already know where you want to buy? If you want a condo, townhome, or single-family home? Which features do you like and dislike? What’s available on the market now? If you answered no to any of these questions, now is the time to start researching. In addition to looking for homes that interest you, also take note of any changes in asking prices. This could give you valuable insight into housing trends in specific neighborhoods and help you when the time comes to make an offer.

Step 2: Decide on Your Budget

Notice we said to decide on your budget—not determine how much the mortgage company will give you. In many cases, a mortgage company will pre-approve you for more than you’re comfortable spending, which is why you need to determine the monthly payment you feel comfortable with before talking to a lender. This likely includes doing a full household budget and taking into consideration what changes other than a mortgage payment will occur once you move into your new home. If you’ve lived in an apartment or with roommates, you may overlook new expenses like garbage, water, or HOA fees that could easily blow your budget.

Step 3: Get Prequalified

Just because you think you can afford a certain payment every month doesn’t mean the mortgage company will agree. Just as they may approve you for too large of an amount, they may also approve you for a lesser amount or deny you a mortgage altogether. Lack of time at a job, insufficient credit, past bankruptcies, or other financial issues can cause major problems when trying to secure a mortgage. Before you get your heart set on a home, talk to a mortgage professional to find out what amount you can qualify for. This will also be an advantage when you make an offer on a home, as some sellers won’t entertain offers from those who aren’t already prequalified for a loan.

Step 4: Choose a Real Estate Agent

Can you shop for, look at, and ultimately make an offer on a home without a real estate agent? Technically yes, but why would you when it costs you nothing for agents like us to take much of the stress off your shoulders? Not only will we help identify properties you might be interested in, arrange showings, and ultimately handle the offer process, but we also have knowledge of the market that you don’t possess. Finding the perfect home can be a daunting task, this is where our expertise and wealth of knowledge come into play. Let us show you around some homes that meet your dream home criteria so you can find the one that's right for you.

Step 5: Find the Right Home

This should be the most enjoyable step of the entire process (other than moving in!). We will arrange showings of homes you’re interested in that are within your price range. Take notes about what you like and don’t like, and make sure to pay attention to details. Turn light switches on and off, open and close doors, and run the faucets in various rooms. Don’t limit your inspection to the home itself. Make sure to take time to explore the neighborhood and keep an eye on traffic at certain times of the day, the parking situation, and how close it is to necessities like schools and grocery stores.

Step 6: Make an Offer

Once you have selected the perfect home, work with your agent to craft a fair offer based on the value of comparable homes on the market. Depending on what the home is listed at and whether the current environment is a buyer’s or seller’s market, your offer may be below, at, or even above the asking price. We will be able to help you negotiate if you receive a counteroffer and reach an agreement. At this point, the house will go into escrow.

Step 7: Have the Home Inspected

In most cases, your offer will be contingent on having the home inspected to ensure there is no major structural damage or large repairs needed. We can help you arrange this, and you can schedule it within days of making an offer. If there are no major issues, the process goes to step eight. If there is, you can renegotiate your offer based on what needs to be fixed, or you can withdraw it.

Step 8: Select Your Loan

Now is the time to go back to the mortgage lender who pre-approved or pre-qualified you and choose your mortgage. You will be presented with various options based on your unique financial situation, including fixed-rate, variable-rate, 15-year, 30-year, or special programs such as VA loans or FHA loans. Work with your mortgage lender to select the option you feel the most comfortable with.

Step 9: Get a Home Appraisal

Your lender will have your new home appraised so they have their independent value of it. The appraisal is to ensure that all parties involved are paying a fair price for the house.

Step 10: Finish Paperwork

No one looks forward to all the paperwork involved in buying a home, but it’s a necessary part of the process. Fortunately, everything will be arranged by your lender and title company and, when you’re finished, you’ll know you are the legal owner of your new home.

Our Testimonials

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Arthur E. Mandelbaum

I am a real estate attorney with 35 years of experience. I have worked with hundreds of real estate agents in Indiana and elsewhere over my career. Lynn Reecer is the most knowledgeable, prepared, well-versed, attentive real es...

Mark Paul Smith

Special thanks to long-time friend and real estate innovator Lynn Reecer for helping us sell The Castle at 1202 West Wayne Street. Lynn led the way through a long and winding road from listing to closing. Through sales negotiat...

Kris Mink

Lynn was amazing to work with - buying and selling! She went out of her way to ensure all needs were met even after closing. She is very knowledgeable and passionate about real estate, and even more about her community. We woul...

Steve Mink

Lynn and her staff were great to work with. Lynn got us top dollar for our Condo and helped us with the purchase of our new home. Lynn continues to be a huge help after the sale. We had some issues with our new home and Lynn he...

Nicole Saunders

Lynn was an absolute pleasure to work with! She is very patient and knowledgeable. We moved across the country prior to selling our home and we were able to put our full confidence in Lynn and her team to get the job done! Lynn...

Jennifer Houser

Lynn has been at the beginning, during, and after the sale of our home! Always willing to help & advise, even with our new build. She has an outgoing personality, passion about selling homes, and decor ... which makes her wonde...

We recently had the pleasure of working with Lynn and Kate from Reecer Real Estate Advisors. These were two exceptional agents who went above and beyond to make our home-buying experience seamless and enjoyable. They knew the l...

Robert Stine

Lynn and Kate are the best! They recently helped us with sale of a property and identified an ideal buyer for us at top price without the property even needing to be listed. Service and responsiveness were perfect, but even bet...

Bradley Gough

“I just wanted to take a minute to thank you (Kelly) and Lynn for helping Stephanie and I find our Dream Villa in Herron Preserve. My Family and I have done numerous transactions with you and your Team and you have always looke...

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Lynn really nailed it. She and her team understand the market dynamics of the lake scene very well. We got the right price. The whole process went very smoothly, and in only a few weeks. Very pleasant and professional.

Peter and Karen McMahon

“ We have now purchased two homes from Lynn, and could not feel any more fortunate to have met her. She is outstanding! I think she’s more like a “match maker”; she knew what we wanted in a lake house and when she got a new lis...

D. Amen

When we first moved to Fort Wayne, Lynn gave us a tour of the city, introducing us to different neighborhoods. We have seen a variety of different homes with them, and they have demonstrated a unique ability to connect us with ...

Joe and J. Malfait

They were always willing to go the extra step to get our lake house sold, and also to help us in our negotiations to purchase a new home. They were always available, either by phone, text, or email. We would highly recommend th...

B. Zielke

I would recommend Lynn Reecer, without any reservation whatsoever to handle your real estate needs...whether buying or selling. With 40 years of experience in business and not for profits, I have become convinced that things ge...

Doug and M. Copley

We can’t thank Reecer Properties enough for doing such a great job of selling our Lake Wawasee condo. We had multiple showings and got multiple offers! When we first decided to sell the condo, we realized that it looked ‘old an...

Jane and Dr. G. Schmitt

We couldn’t have been more pleased with the job done. Their combined talents result in a well- organized and efficient team. Communication was always prompt and accurate, they used state of the art marketing media and were exce...

Todd and A. Freeland

We tried to sell our house for about four years. It was a very difficult listing, as it was a historic home with a substantial addition. We worked with four other realtors and went all that time with very few showing and no off...

D. Lance

When my wife and I decided to list our lake house last year, we didn’t have great expectations. We had listed our house the year prior and were discouraged by the results. We wanted to find a Real Estate firm that would take a ...

R. Boyd

I don’t often use superlatives, but for Lynn and her colleagues at Reecer Properties: ‘Wow! Just, wow! Lynn suggested a Luxury Auction may be the best way to sell our condo. One of the features of going the luxury auction route...

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