HOME TIPS: BUYERS AND SELLERS

9 tips for homebuyers and sellers in 2009

By Steve McLinden • Bankrate.com


In residential real estate, 2009 arrives much the same way that 2008 did: via a rocky road with deepening potholes. While more homebuyers are swooping in and picking up great deals, and sales are slowly increasing in many markets, the ongoing excess inventory of foreclosed homes continues to depress the market.

While potential buyers are getting very low mortgage rates, they also are facing much tighter credit standards and demands for significantly larger down payments. And we haven't even started absorbing the financial fallout from adjustable-rate mortgages, slated to ratchet up in 2009.

No one can really say quite when this downward spiral will cease. If former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan and current Chairman Ben Bernanke were surprised by the depth of this housing crisis, who among us can accurately make the call?

There is growing sentiment out there that this darkness directly precedes a new dawn. A late-2008 consensus survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Urban Land Institute, based on input from more than 600 industry experts, projects the U.S. residential market should start rebounding appreciably in 2010.

But what about now? Well, this new economy has added some wrinkles to home buying and home selling strategies, while reintroducing some of those old-school favorites like sound fundamental fiscal practices. So here are nine tips for homebuyers and nine for sellers to help them survive and hopefully thrive in the transition year of 2009.


9 tips for homebuyers and sellers in 2009


Tips for homebuyers
1. Cash is the new king
2. Negotiate extras ... and more extras
3. Start a down payment fund
4. Determine your own home buying budget
5. Clean up your credit score
6. Research equals savings
7. Don't overlook neighborhood issues
8. Watch for foreclosed-property inventory to loosen
9. Look for other looming opportunities

Tips for home sellers
1. Price correctly from the get-go
2. Fix earlier pricing mistakes
3. Looks do matter
4. Don't overdo it
5. Don't be an ambiguous seller
6. Be an energy miser
7. Know all of your options
8. Become a landlord
9. Hold fast: Don't sell in a panic