Shaun Nestor

31 October 2016

My Guiding Questions
Theme: REAL ESTATE
What is the process a first-time home buyer should follow when planning to purchase a home,
and what factors should they consider?
Is the housing market a dynamic industry? How does a house increase or decrease in value? Is
there an inherent problem with the fluctuation?
How are people introduced into home buying? Is there a problem with entering the housing
market at a bad time?

Research

What is the American dream? Most people would say that the American dream would be

to live in a simple, but progressive society that allows for an individual to easily find a job,

contribute to society, and to make a decent income with the vision of owning your own property.

But for some, the thought of buying a home can be a little more than intimidating, and a little

less than doable. To solve this problem, it is important to know what the process a first-time

home buyer should follow when planning to purchase a home, and what factors they should

consider. It would be crucial to know how a house increases or decreases in value. It would also

be good to know if there is an inherent problem with the fluctuation in prices, and what it may

be. And finally, one would need to understand how people are introduced to home buying, and

how there might be a problem with entering the housing market at a bad time.
 The process first-time home buyers should follow when planning to purchase a home

follows a pretty close pattern to that which a normal home buyer should follow, with a few

exceptions (Lewicki). For example, the standard procedure still applies: one would start by

contacting a realtor, who recommends a lender. After finding a lender, one would then discuss

possible loans that fit your income, family situation, and debt (Kreth). From there one could go

through the loan with your real estate agent, who will help that individual find a home in the

price range that the loan will allow for (Lewicki). From there, its mainly a matter of finding the

right home, finishing all the contracts, ensuring to get the house inspected, and making sure

escrow closes. Escrow is the period of time when titlement of the house is being transferred from

the seller to the buyer (Kreth). During escrow, you typically have 30 or 45 days to finish and

finalize all contracts. Before this process starts, the seller has 21 days to finish inspections on the

house, and during escrow they must solve any Section 1 issues that arise. Section 1 issues are

things that the seller needs to fix before being allowed to sell his home, and Section 2 issues are

problems with the house that come with it, and are ultimately on the buyer to fix if they desire

(Lewicki). Mortgage payment usually starts a month after the house closes escrow, and all the

contract are finalized (Kreth). There is one major recommendation for first-time home buyers

that is generally given by their real estate agent, and is definitely something they should

consider. The key to selling homes is called consumer confidence, and this is because when the
consumer is happy or confident that they are not being cheated in any way, they are much more

likely to go through with escrow. It is for this reason that the one piece of advice any real estate

agent would give a first-time home buyer is to pick the right lender (Lewicki). Consumers should

choose someone who is willing to go slow and to really break down each element of their

loan(s), so that they can have consumer confidence. It is on this basis that they should choose the

right real estate agent.

While it is important to build the foundation for buying a home, it is equally important to

understand the housing market. The housing market is a dynamic industry. This, for the most

part, is common knowledge. However, there is information within these fluctuations that need to

be addressed and understood. There are two terms commonly used in real estate to describe the

condition of the housing market. These terms are buyers market and sellers market (Case). The

definitions are simple enough: if the condition of the housing market is that of a buyers market,

then prices are down which is good for a home buyer, and vice versa (Century 21). The market

usually passes through 10 year cycles where it will be a predominant buyers market, and then

the next 10 years will be a sellers market (Lewicki). The way this occurs is through inventory.

At the industrys most fundamental level, inventory and the natural state of the economy are the

two most notable causes for fluctuation between a buyers and sellers market (Case). When you

dont have a lot of inventory, (houses to sell), inflation causes prices to go up in the housing
market. When you have too much inventory, the market becomes competitive and prices begin to

fall (Castro). The natural state of the economy is a catalyst as well, because when the economy is

down, people are making less money, and there is less inventory for more money than normal

(Lewicki). The inherent problem within this fluctuation of the market comes with the timing in

which people buy homes (Case).

In order to have consumer confidence, one needs to be able to identify the timing that

they are entering the market into. Buyers should be encouraged to buy a home during a buyers

market, and vice versa for sellers (Lewicki). Some problems for first time home buyers could be

in the way that they are introduced into the housing market. Under normal circumstances, people

dont really plan to buy a home during a buyers market, they just create an urgency for a home

when they need one. This is why some homes have a much higher mortgage than others that

seem to have more value (Case). This is also how people in high income areas are able to take

advantage of the housing market (Century 21). If people are introduced to buying a home during

a buyers market, there is a large chance that they will have to pay a substantially lower

mortgage than they would have during a sellers market (Lewicki). Sellers are taking advantage

of this by choosing to sell their high value homes while there is much lower inventory, causing

their prices to spike (Century 21).

 From this information one can piece together numerous observations. These include

statements such as how consumer confidence is the key to selling a home, or such as how

entering the housing market at the wrong time could negatively affect an individuals housing

investment. When one pieces together the information, a world of possibilities awaken. Creating

a presentation out of the information gathered would not be considered a difficult task, as it

would have been if the research was never found.

 Works Cited

Case, Karl E., and Robert J. Shiller. "THE BEHAVIOR OF HOME BUYERS IN BOOM AND

POSTBOOM MARKETS." (1988).

Castro, Julin. U.S. Housing Market Conditions. HUDUSER,

https://www.huduser.gov/portal/ushmc/home.html. Accessed 29 Sept. 2016.

Century 21. Century 21 Online. 2016 Century 21 Real Estate LLC, http://www.21online.com/.

Accessed 29 Sept. 2016.

Kreth, Melinda L. "A small-scale client project for business writing students: developing a

guide for first-time home buyers."Business Communication Quarterly Mar. 2005: 52+.

Academic OneFile. Web. 30 Sept. 2016.

Lewicki, Judy. Personal interview. 6 September 2016.

Lewicki, Judy. Personal interview. 13 September 2016.

Lewicki, Judy. Personal interview. 27 September 2016.

Lewicki, Judy. Personal interview. 24 October 2016.

 Annotations

1 Case, Karl E., and Robert J. Shiller. "THE BEHAVIOR OF HOME BUYERS IN BOOM AND

POSTBOOM MARKETS." (1988). 2 To demonstrate the behaviour of home buyers in

both boom and post-boom markets. 3 The article describes its method of data collection,

then talks about how it analyzed the data to prove the nature of booms within the housing

market. 4 The possible audience for this article could be college professors, U.S.

government officials, university students, or even real estate agents. 5 This information is

relevant because it lays foundation to show how the housing market is a dynamic

industry, and how it might change in the future. 6 This article used a questionnaire that

was was sent all around the world to boom cities, post boom cities, and control cities. 7 A

large portion of this article is analyzing the data which could have many different

interpretations, so while there are no strict biases, it might have a defect in its analysis.

1 Castro, Julin. U.S. Housing Market Conditions. HUDUSER,

https://www.huduser.gov/portal/ushmc/home.html. Accessed 29 Sept. 2016. 2 To collect

data on the U.S. housing market to make accurate predictions and journal articles. 3 It

goes over national, regional, and state/metro/local housing market data and analysis, and

provides tons of articles to explain and guide readers through its content. 4 Literally and

real estate professional or attorney could use this information. 5 This information is
 relevant because it is a direct data compilation of just about everything the United States

has to offer on this topic. 6 This article is made up of special features, it is a mass data

compilation with articles to guide and back it up. 7 There should be no bias or defect as it

is a major data compilation created for the use of accurately creating scholarly journals

and predictions.

1 Century 21. Its a Three-Peat. 2016 Century 21 Real Estate LLC, http://www.century21.com/.

Accessed 29 Sept. 2016. 2 To help guide home buyers/sellers through their process. To

help real estate agents with recent news, housing prices, and journal entries. 3 The

website goes through an array of houses for sale, housing market prices, and load

requirements. It also lets real estate agents get direct information about the housing

market such as a recent ascent in nets houses sold in a region or a guide on how to fill out

a specific contract. 4 Intended for home buyer/sellers and realtors. 5 This information is

relevant because it shows me a basic how-to on just about every process I would ever

need to consider. 6 There was a 2016 Home Buyer/Seller Satisfaction StudySM survey.

In 2016 a study based on 1,453 total responses, measuring the perceptions and

experiences of customers who bought and/or sold a home between March 2015 and April

2016,was taken, and surveyed February-April 2016. 7 There is a bias in favor of the
 company, but that does not discredit any of the how-to guides or journal articles that the

website posts.

1 Kreth, Melinda L. "A small-scale client project for business writing students: developing a

guide for first-time home buyers."Business Communication Quarterly Mar. 2005: 52+.

Academic OneFile. Web. 30 Sept. 2016. 2 The main purpose of the work is to create a

guide for first time home buyers. 3 The article creates a guidebook for negotiating the

process of buying a home, especially one with a timeline for when things were supposed

to happen and with explanations, in plain English. 4 The article was meant to be read by

first time home buyers. 5 This information is relevant because it builds foundation as to

what the actual process is to buy a home. 6 There are no special features. 7 As this article

was created with the intention of being purely informational, I dont believe that there is

any bias.

1 Lewicki, Judy. Personal interview. 27 September 2016. 2 She is a real estate agent who was

able to answer any questions I had. 3 We discussed the housing market, a real estate

agents job, first time home buyers, and other loose ends to any questions I had. 4 I was

the only audience she had in this interview. 5 This information is relevant because it will

go to tie up loose ends in my research that my other sources wont be able to cover. 6
There are no special features in this interview. 7 There isnt really any defect or bias

other than it is just one persons point of view which, although credible, could be false.
 Reflection on Research

Reflecting back on the research section of the research paper, I can see a few faults in my

research and a manifold of highlights. Most of the faults can be found within the possible

application of knowledge that I have gained, while the highlights are mainly seen in the vast

amount of information I now have and the clear learning gap that had taken place.

Starting with the faults within my research, I spoke about application. The reason I say

there are still possible errors to be had within application, is because while I personally feel that

my research is solid, how I use this information is still up to me. I have to take what I have

learned and teach a class about buying your first home. While I feel that I have sufficient

knowledge about the subject, there are several key parts that I have to look out for in the future.

In my research paper, I went into a little bit of depth about the housing market. This could

potentially end up being a hindrance to the understanding of first time home buyers due to the

housing markets confusing and dynamic nature. People might have a difficult time

understanding the process if I start talking about the housing market. But at the same time, I feel

that this information could be useful to some, which is why I included it into my research, I will

just remain on the side of caution and go through this subject very slow.

My research paper also had numerous highlights. These included a newfound

understanding of the process to buy a home in general, as well as new understanding within the
processes of the housing market and several tips on how first time home buyers should go about

buying their first home. This information will be useful in the future because not only do I plan

to start working as a real estate agent, but I also plan to use this when teaching the class on first

time home buying. For example, the advice that I have learned from interviewing Judy included

things such as how to pick the right lender. All of this is essential to my project because I really

wouldnt be able to help people without it, and my project has to be both scholarly and humane.