Many home buyers face home buying obstacles, and it's even worse when you are buying your first home.

Very few first-time home buyers have clean-as-a-whistle-credit and sail through buying a home. There are always little problems that seem to pop up when you least expect them. And even the problems that you can anticipate have a way of blowing themselves out of proportion. This is when your agent and loan officer will be most valuable to you.

There's a saying that when faced with a mountain, you either climb over it, go around it or tunnel under it. But sometimes, if you're really lucky, you can make that mountain vanish before your very eyes . . . read more about Home Buying Obstacles.

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• Tips for First-Time Home Buyers

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Is it true that experienced real estate agents work with happier real estate clients? Or are clients happier working with an agent who has experience?

Hey, it's no secret that because of the falling real estate market in many areas of the country, lots of real estate agents are dropping likes flies. These are mostly people who came into the real estate business at the height of sellers' markets and could not adjust to the changing marketplace. My own local Board of REALTORS has reported a dip in membership and loss of revenue.

My take is agents who have been through the ups and downs of rising and falling real estate markets over the years tend to weather these storms without much problem. Experienced real estate agents are also better able to predict problems before they arise and know how to handle difficult situations without running for help. And I believe that being able to draw on past experiences to guide clients is a valued service that ultimately keeps clients happier . . . read more about Experienced Real Estate Agents.

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• Two Agents to Buy and Sell?
  
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Home owners face many choices for home exterior siding, but making the right selection depends largely on climate, followed by your home's character and your financial means.

Goodness knows, I've bought my share of homes that came with various types of home siding disaster stories. My present home's exterior is brick, wood and mostly stucco. That style is in keeping with the age of my home and its location.

But my last home was an 1898 Victorian, and its previous owners had covered the exterior in vinyl. Purists believe vintage homes such as Victorians should always retain their character. And contrary to popular belief, vinyl siding is not indestructible. One year, my Victorian's siding was damaged during a freak hail storm. It looked like it had been shot at with a machine gun. I had a hard time finding matching vinyl panels because manufacturers change tab dimensions and colors on a regular basis. So, I ended up tearing apart two walls to replace the damaged portions, redoing another wall in its entirety with a slightly different colored vinyl.

Vinyl siding has its pros and cons; however, lots of people intensely dislike vinyl. They dislike it so much that a home in Sacramento's Land Park neighborhood was on the market for six months before a buyer purchased it -- primarily because everybody objected to its vinyl siding.

I also owned a semi-custom Minneapolis suburban home that had peach aluminum siding. When I sold it, the buyers decided they did not like the peach color of the exterior and decided to paint it. One of the reasons to own a home with no-maintenance siding is because you never have to paint it, but paint the aluminum, they did . . . read more about home exterior siding.

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• Buying New Construction
  
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Because many buyers don't understand the short sale process, they tend to become very impatient while waiting for short sale approval.

In fact, buyers who cancel the transaction prior to short sale approval are the biggest problem facing shorts sale specialists across the country. If buyer's agents would simply explain the short sale process to their buyers and obtain a commitment upfront, the number of frustrated sellers left standing at the gate of approval with no buyer would drop.

Moreover, listing agents wouldn't have to sell those homes 3 or 4 times before a buyer decides to stick with it and hang around . . . read more about the Short Sale Process.

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