Looking To Buy?

   I understand you may not know exactly what you're looking for, so you’ll need someone that’s patient while you learn your way around. And I also know you may wind up deciding not to purchase, and that's important, too - no sales pressure.

   You may, or may not, find your heart’s desire here, but either way, you’ll enjoy searching for it with me. And yes, I do offer Buyer’s Agency. It’s the only way I work with buyers and it’s no charge.

   As you research Smith Mountain Lake and the surrounding area, remember that while the Internet is good for getting a feel for an area, it's not the way to find property when you get serious. This is because Internet real estate information is somewhat minimal.

     Call me and I'll do a complete search for you - 70,000 properties in our MLS system, searchable by 200 categories! The individual listings you'll get to review will have all the key things you selected, plus they'll contain far more detail.  More importantly, you'll have an expert to guide you!

 Please contact me if I can be of service in any way!  It would be my privilege to talk with you!

                                             Sincerely,
                                             Dave Gresham
                                             Associate Broker

If you will be borrowing a part of the purchase price, get your mortgage loan pre-approved because it puts you in a better negotiating position with the seller if you make an offer on a property.

Take notes when you visit listings. Use memory joggers to reference them, for example: "huge fireplace", "great shoreline", etc. I’ll give you an individual printout on every property we visit. Only keep the ones you like, relentlessly throwing away the ones you don't. Everything is a blur after looking at just 4 or 5 places and this helps keep your thinking clear.
 

Shop for a mortgage!  Compare everything, then choose without emotions. One buyer liked a particular mortgage loan officer because she was very nice during the 20 minutes they spent on the phone... When it was all said and done, everything was equal between lenders except the nice one was charging 1/4% more for the loan. This means that for $400,000 financed over 15 years, this 20 minutes was costing her over $10,000. That’s $30,000 an hour!  She wasn't that nice!

Plan a whole day to look for property? Probably not. With 500 miles of shoreline and over 1000 miles of driving to see it all, you're going to need to budget more time. Click here for logical advice on getting to know Smith Mtn Lake.

This is just a small sampling of things to look out for. I have a lot more advice that I would be pleased to share. Call me, we'll talk. Real estate is a service business and I take that maxim seriously. We’ll discuss the pros and cons of any property you like, and you’ll get some additional insights from my experience as a state licensed building contractor!