Story of an Internet Home Buyer

This story was written by Aubrey Carr who along with her soon to be husband purchased a home in the Memphis area using the Crenshaws team after finding our web-site on the Internet. Aubrey did an excellent job of using the Internet and the Crenshaws to locate and purchase her first home and I hope you can gain some insight by heeding her excellent advise. Red text was added by the Crenshaws

I'm from Nashville, but moved to a Suburb (about 15 miles east of Memphis) to go to graduate school. Here are the steps I went through when purchasing my first home:

1. TO BUY OR TO RENT, that is the question.
   If your stable and will be living there at least 3 years, I say go for it and buy. Buying is a huge step, so make sure your ready for the responsibility. Being late on a mortgage payment can mess up your credit worse than being late on an apartment payment.
2. FIND A MORTGAGE COMPANY.
   How much can I afford and still be comfortable? This is a question that your mortgage company can answer. This step involved faxing check stubs and verifying employment to get pre-qualified for a certain amount. I went with my personal bank. ( Crenshaws can help with this if you like.)
   Although my bank is bigger than any mortgage company, I now like being able to see our mortgage decrease each month. Also, one misconception is that you have to be working at the same job for a couple of years to buy a house. This was not the case. You have to have consistent employment, preferably in the same field for couple of years. The bank does not penalize you if you moved jobs for a better opportunity.
3. SEARCH ONLINE.
   Once I had a "ballpark" idea of the price range, I first began searching online on yahoo.com's real estate and printing out the houses/duplexes that were in my price range. This "homework" step can be the most important. It's better to compare for hours online, instead of trying to physically view hundreds of houses. Also, think about how far the house is to your work. I used mapquest.com to see how far each house was from my school. (The Crenshaws E-mailed homes we suggested to Aubrey once she contacted us and told us her needs It is easy to search for homes in the Memphis area using this web site just click on Property Search)
4. FIND THE RIGHT REALTOR.
   I stumbled across , and registered on their website. Although I registered on other realtor's sites, the Crenshaw team with Cry-Leike were the most hard-working and on top of it. Timing is everything, especially when I was getting married and moving to a new city. The Crenshaw team didn't leave me hanging for a week or two. They worked with me on a daily basis through the home buying process. 
5. SEARCH IN PERSON.
   I didn't have a lot of time, but Kent and Bettye Crenshaw set aside an entire weekend to show us properties in Memphis and the surrounding areas. I brought all my house printouts and wrote down short notes so I would later remember things I like and disliked about each property.
6. YOU'LL KNOW IT WHEN YOU SEE IT.
   After looking at about 10 properties, 1 really stood out. It was a brick duplex in a suburb of Memphis with a very nice neighborhood and a reasonable asking price.
7. MAKE AN OFFER.
   I went back to the Crenshaw's office and decided on an offer. This is the time to negotiate and ask for things you might want the seller to leave, such as the washer & dryer, storage room, or curtains. Also, consider what to offer. We offered the asking price because the seller had already dropped the price about 2 times.
8. CHOOSE A TITLE COMPANY.
   When writing up the offer/contract, I decided to go with the seller's title company. This can make the process go faster.
9. BE PATIENT.
   Something I had to learn to do. The buying process took about 1 month for me. Actually not that long, but at the time it seemed like a million years.
10. NEGOTIATE until an agreement is made.
    Always remember to write in the contract that if any structural type of damage to the foundation, etc is found or if the house is destroyed before you move in, the contract is void. The Crenshaws knew everything to include and helped me with this tedious part.
11. CLOSING DATE AND CLOSING COSTS.
    Consider when you'd like to move in. Also, how do you plan on paying for the closing costs? I financed my closing costs into my mortgage payments. I bought my first home with no money down.
12. INSPECTION.
    I went with a man that the Crenshaws recommended. If everything (A/C, foundation, roof, etc) turns out ok, then your almost there.
13. OTHER IMPORTANT THINGS TO

REMEMBER:

* Choose a HAZARD INSURANCE COMPANY

My mortgage company had to do the following:

• Order a title
• Get an appraisal
• Check to see if flood insurance is required
• Check to see if I had chosen an insurance company

* Consider when your rate expires that you've been locked into after QUALIFYING!

So when relocating to Memphis and buying a home, you'll need a cell phone, a fax machine, financial records (bank stubs), a mortgage company, a computer w/ internet, the Crenshaw team, a weekend to look at properties, an offer, a title company, some patience, negotiation, a closing date & closing costs, an inspection of the property, and an AGREEMENT! Once you’re in your new home, I recommend using automatic payments to be sure to pay your mortgage payments on time every month and keep your credit good.

Contact: Kent & Bettye Crenshaw about Real estate Memphis Tenn and Memphis homes listings / homes in Memphis Tenn. Call 901-756-4561