A fter years of representing buyers of real estate, Orange Key Realty is offering some advice to anyone dipping their toes in the real estate buying pool for the first time or for the first time in a while. Orange Key Realty firmly believes that smart, successful people surround themselves with smart, experienced, experts who can help them to a well thought out decision. If you don’t buy and sell real estate every day, all day for a living, it may be difficult to understand the real estate homebuying process. Because the Orange Key Realty broker/owners Ofir Hillel and Michael Matthews, and their team of sales professionals, are in the trenches daily, and not locked in a corporate structure, they know what trends are really happening in their customers’ marketplace.
Get prequalified: Every day, potential buyers call Orange Key Realty and tell what the upper limit of their property search is. Often they have used an online calculator, which is not always accurate. Getting preapproved is a 100 percent free, no obligation way to find out what you can really afford. Be honest with yourself about what you can afford every month, and remember that you don’t have to spend the max amount you can qualify for.
Create priorities: “Buyers should consider everything before looking at homes: price, beds/baths, square footage, outdoor space, location, floor plan and neighborhood. Be realistic about what you can afford, and then sit down and actually write down which features would be nice, which features are essential, and which features are not deal breakers. Try to rank the features because you will ultimately be forced compare and decide,” Hillel says.
“Enjoy the journey,” Matthews says. “Buying real estate should be a fun, rewarding process. There will be stress and emotion because of the costs, time, complexities and personalities involved, but try to enjoy the process. Orange Key Realty’s candid professionals will make you feel comfortable and allow you to breathe, smile, and just maybe even laugh occasionally.”
Orange Key Realty’s staff of sales and broker associates can be reached at: 863 Georges Road, Monmouth Junction (732- 297-6969) serving Middlesex County, and 60 Main St., Freehold (732-863-6699) serving Monmouth County.