9 minute read
First Time Buyer Guide: 10 house
By Ruby Frazier
fIRst tImE buyER guIdE:
10 HOusE-HuntIng mIstAkEs fOR fIRst-tImE HOmEbuyERs
House hunting can be very serious and exhausting at the same time. more often than not, buyers who are in the market for the first time have issues deciding what to do and not to do while trying to get the house they desire. Here are some common mistakes made by new homebuyers and how to avoid them.
1. TOO LITTLE DOWN PAYMENT
The 20% rule for a mortgage is a law nearly everyone knows about. Yet, only a small percentage of people really pay up to 20% on their first mortgage. This error, as little as I may seem, has caused lots of people to lose out on their mortgages as they couldn’t afford to make the right payments.
2. ONLY ONE LENDER
The options are limitless and still, people go for one option. Maybe this may be due to the fact that they obviously cannot keep up the stress of having to fill out paperwork or asking and reasking questions. Still, homebuyers should always make sure they have options when buying.
3. CREDIT SCORE? IGNORED
No matter what, ignoring your credit score while buying a home or making a mortgage payment is the worst decision you can ever make. Your finances are important. Stay updated.
4. TOO LITTLE, TOO BIG
Most times, homebuyers discover too late that the house is either too big or too small for their needs. When this happens, they are faced with the problem of creating space or filling up excess spaces.
5. ADJUSTABLE AND NOT FIxED
MORTGAGES
Adjustable mortgages are usually based on market indexes. They may appear low for the first few years but a sudden leap in the market will automatically increase your mortgage. This is unlike a fixed mortgage where the interest is just what it is: fixed.
6. MISINFORMATION
Knowledge is power and information is key. When you talk to the wrong people about buying a home or taking a mortgage, be sure that you just set yourself up for an epic fail.
7. CHOOSY
Some homebuyers are very picky when hunting. They either don’t like this or want this or want that and in the long run, settle for the worst kind of house available on the market. The deepest regret comes later when they discover that they had actually settled for less while thinking they had the best.
8. MORTGAGE NOT PRE-
APPROvED
If your mortgage has not been approved and you venture into house hunting, you may get one that’s too much or too little for your mortgage payment power.
9. IGNORING MONTHLY
PAYMENT
The deadliest mistake here is to ignore payment dates. You’ll be out on the street in no time if you do this. As a matter of fact, you must always be up to date about your mortgage plan, changes, and payment schedule.
10. NO KNOWLEDGE ABOUT
HOW MUCH TO AFFORD
You should always be aware of what you can do with your credit score. Don’t take a mortgage that you can never ever afford to pay off.
You can also watch the series on Facebook Live or our YouTube channel. Tune in today!
REFERENCES
Michaels R. Personal Finance Contributor; interest.com https://www.interest.com/ mortgage/10-first-timehomebuyer-mistakes/ https://www. familyhandyman.com/ list/house-hunting-andhome-buying-mistakesyou-can-easily-avoid/
www.prominentproperties.com
MEET ChArlie OPPLER
Charlie Simon Oppler was born in 1958 in a small upstate young family settled there with his father taking a job at a local office of B’nai B’rith, a Jewish College of New Jersey, Charlie encountered one of his lifealtering moments while working
New York town of Sidney. His service organization, while his at his first job with the March of family would later move, to join mother worked in the office of a Dimes. “One of my first projects his father, who was at the time nearby Faberge perfume plant. was organizing a sports awards serving as a marine at the Camp When asked, Charlie simply dinner,” he says. “I recruited
Lejeune base in Jacksonville, N.C. remarked, “I had everything I [New Jersey] brokers Joe Murphy
When he was four, his family needed.” and Dick Schlott to co-chair the moved to Ridgefield, and part dinner, which raised $50,000 of the reason for this move was In 1980, after graduating with and was successful enough to because his mother’s brother a degree in communications become a regular annual event.” was already living there. The from the Trenton State, now the The duo would later grow to
become lifelong mentors and advisors to the young Charlie and they recruited him into real estate in 1981. Charlie first went to work for Murphy
Realty Better Homes and Gardens, attracted initially by the prospects of making $25,000 a year as his mentor suggested and this would have doubled his earnings at the time. However, they never told him that the cash would come from his sales commissions. But, he exceeded that by making $26,000 in his first year. “I had no perspective, and I still think I got lucky.” between the years 1984 to 1989, Charlie worked as a Branch Manager for Schlott.
Charlie was drawn into the industry because he felt a strong passion for helping people become property owners and soon enough, that passion turned personal. In 1983, when Charlie was just 24, he bought his first home at $90,000. He describes the feeling as “surreal.” “I had never lived in a house before. Something as simple as coming home to a private place was a new experience.”
His experience with homeownership clarified the important role that REALTORS® plays in people’s lives. He affirms that “I’m proud to be a REALTOR®.” “We make a tangible difference in communities and people’s lives.” Charlie was inaugurated as the 2021 President of the National Association Realtors and as his presidency begins, Charlie focuses on the reinforcement of the importance of maintaining perspective in a year in which business is strong for many real estate stakeholders and practitioners but still fraught with uncertainties and losses for a lot of members and consumers. Each of us has struggled with something. Each of us has lost something—in some cases, the people closest to us. But we’ve persevered,” he said during his inaugural address at the virtual REALTORS® Conference & Expo in November.
A New Focus To Community Development One of Oppler’s priorities as the 2021 NAR President is focusing on developing and aiding communities and also providing support for the commercial members, who have been especially hit hard by the economic downturn as a result of the Pandemic. Charlie employs an empathy-driven approach that is driven by personal experience and, including the repercussion of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
During the attacks, Randy Ketive, Charlie’s business partner since 1992 was with him on that horrific day.
Interestingly, this Fall also marks the 20th anniversary of REALTORS® Relief Foundation which was created following the attacks to provide homeowners with housing relief. The relief fund has raised more than $8 million dollars to help the families of 9/11 victims to stay in their homes. In September, Oppler will oversee a telethon to bolster the relief foundation’s ability to deal with the growing need for emergency relief. Over 20 years, the foundation has been able to raise a total of $34 million for the victims of disasters, including floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and wildfires. September’s telethon will make sure that the REALTORS®’ philanthropic efforts remain prepared and funded. One of the things he targeted for the first quarter of 2021 was the launch of a mentorship program, which pairs members with high school and college students of diverse backgrounds who are interested in real estate. The initiative “will expand our REALTOR® family by bringing in new talent and diverse voices.” In addition to that, to reinvigorate the commercial real estate market and to generate support to the commercial real estate practitioners, Charlie has been working hard to launch a new event dubbed the C5 Summit which has been scheduled for September as an in-person networking and educational gathering in New York City. The 5C stands for; Commercial, Connection, Commerce, Capital, and Community.
“We’ll invite top commercial brokers, economic development teams, REIT representatives, developers, and state and local associations to work together to secure business opportunities for their clients that are critical to keeping our economy moving,” he says.
All these initiatives are meant to provide strategic priorities that will receive a lot of association attention in the year ahead. These include expanding housing equality and affordability, championing REALTORS® as consumers’ best source of information on real estate transactions, enhancing member engagement and member experience, and driving community development.
ONE TOGETHER
“[Oppler’s] slogan ‘One Together’ was [a result of] us sitting in a room trying to figure out how we encapsulate who he is. This was back in 2017 when he decided to run,” says Jarrod Grasso, CEO of the New Jersey Association of REALTORS®. And its message is just as relevant today. “It’s never been about Charlie Oppler; it’s about what’s for the greater good for the organization,” says Grasso. “It really encapsulates what he believes in, that it’s not the one individual. It’s not just the leadership team. It’s all of us working together. I think that’s who he is.”
Oppler’s journey in the ranks of NAR leadership has come from far. He was first elected the president of the Eastern Bergen Board of REALTORS® in 1996. In 2004, he became the president of the New Jersey Association of REALTORS®. Charlies McMillan, the 2009 NAR president gave Oppler his first national committee chairmanship on RPAC Trustees Committee; and two years later, the 2011 Ron Phipps named Charlie as a committee liaison.
For the NAR’s two appointed leadership positions, Charlie picked leaders who he says are well suited to help him navigate REALTORS® through these trying times. Broker-owner and coach Leigh Brown, CIPS, CRS, of Concord, N.C., is vice president of advocacy, while Tommy Choi, a broker with three offices in Chicago, is vice president of association affairs. “I wanted a team that reflected the diversity and the future of the organization. Charlie says that these two are the most respected and talented people he has met. However, he burns with passion for his family. He and his wife Geri have two sons and two daughters. Today, Geri helps Charlie as needed with the business. His older son Michael runs the company as Chief Operating Officer. His Daughter Jacky is a social worker and lives in Rhode Island, while Karli works in human resources in New York. his youngest son, Jason is a college student at the James Madison University in Virginia.
Charlie admits that he had initially hesitated to seek the role of first vice president for NAR years back, concerned by how much it would take him away from his family. “I wrestled with it, mainly because of Jason,” who was in high school during the campaign, he says.
HIS LOvE FOR FAMILY
Charlie is a big fan of sports and real estate.
https://magazine.realtor/news-and-commentary/feature/ article/2021/01/big-heart-big-dreams https://www.nar.realtor/charlie-oppler#section-02 http://www.realestateindepth.com/web-exclusive/fivequestions-with-nar-president-charlie-oppler/ https://www.nar.realtor/sites/default/files/documents/opplercharles-2019-bio-11-12-2018.pdf
