Friday, April 10, 2009

Hey Harold—Grab that Purple Crayon and Draw a Dream Home!

When I was in grade school, I loved reading the story of Harold and the Purple Crayon. It was a picture book written by Crockett Johnson. I wanted to be like that little bald kid who drew out his dreams in his footy pajamas. Though not fond of the color purple, I always wanted one of those special violet Crayola type sticks to draw what I was dreaming of! Imagine if life were only so simple…





Today many people are sitting on the fence dreaming about their perfect home but aren’t certain that they have the tools necessary to take advantage of this unprecedented $8000 tax credit for first time buyers and amazing affordability in the Twin Cities home market. Maybe they are looking for one of Harold’s purple crayons too so they can draw out a path to a perfect new home…

Draw YOUR perfect REALTOR® Grab that magic purple crayon and sketch out your ideal of a trusted professional REALTOR®. The first step in owning a dream home is to find the agent of your dreams to represent you throughout the process. Make certain to sign the buyer’s representation agreement for with a blue ink pen not a purple Crayola.

Draw Your Preapproval letter. Pre-approval is an important step before you begin looking for a home. It not only determines how much home you can afford to spend on a home, it guarantees that you are ready to write up the offer when you find your dream home. The letter will serve as notice to the sellers that the bank has committed to lend you a specified amount based on your financial history. This gives you significant buying power as a seller recognizes you are approved for a loan. Your professional REALTOR® can assist you in locating a qualified loan officer that will work with you to make your dream home a reality.

Draw YOUR perfect home! Draw YOUR perfect home! Here’s the drawing you have been waiting for...glide that purple crayon across the page and sketch out your dream home. Your perfectly depicted purple REALTOR® will set up an MLS search for homes that meet the needs and price you have drawn up. As perfect homes hit the market, showings will be set to view the homes in person.

Draw up a Purchase Agreement and happy seller! Draw up a Purchase Agreement and happy seller! Use that magic purple crayon to draw up a contract on your dream. Okay the contract will have to be completed in something other than that crayon, but here is where you draw up contract including all of the details such as what you want to pay for the home, what personal property is to be included as well as the date you want to close and move in.

Draw a Qualified Inspector. To be certain that you didn’t miss any important details when you sketched out the beautiful purple palace, draw a home inspector that is qualified to check out your new purchase.

Draw up a SOLD sign. A big purple "SOLD" sign will announce to the world that this is YOUR dream home! It will stay on the sign while the home is "pending" the closing. During this period prior to closing, your purple professionals work closely together to ensure that details such as the appraisal and updating the title are handled in a timely manner. It is your job to use your purple crayon to mark off the days until you get to the closing table!


Draw the Keys to your new front door! Draw the key to your new front door! One final purplish piece of art will complete the home buying process—Sketch up a set of house keys! When closing day arrives, be prepared to attend with your state issued picture identification, a 10 year address history, your checkbook, and all other information requested by the closer. At the end of this hour meeting, you will be handed the keys to your new home.




Copyright 2009 Teri Eckholm http://www.terieckholm.com/

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