One of the biggest mistakes people make when buying homes is they rely solely on local neighborhood market analysis information to determine the right price to pay for a home.

Before you buy or refinance your home, INSIST on seeing a total market overview of exactly what is going on in the ENTIRE market. Then narrow your analysis to local market information.

Why do I say this? Because you want to know two things:

1) What is the ENTIRE market doing with values? Are they going up? And by how much?

2) What is the specific area doing with market values? How does it compare to what the total market is doing? Are the growth rates the same, lower, or higher than the overall market?

Understanding these parameters will save you thousands of dollars when you make an offer on a home. I frequently perform both of these analyses for my buyers, in an easy to understand format, so you know EXACTLY what youre buying!

The general location of the home youre considering could determine how happy youll be living there, and what kind of an investment youre buying. Heres an important tip that will almost always make you money

Buy The Midrange Home In The Best Neighborhood You Can Afford

Why do I say this? Because the better the neighborhood, the better the appreciation for you over time. And if you buy the midrange home, the home will generally appreciate faster and greater than a higher priced home in the same area.

Plus, you will most certainly spend money updating or decorating your new home, and you dont want to get upside down on your homes value after spending money for improvements.