| Judi K. Barrett |
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| Judi K. Barrett BROKER Integrity Real Estate Services Serving Southeast Oklahoma Our name says it all. 580.212.5946 cell/office 580.366.0019 fax |
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How can you give yourself the best possible advantages when you’re shopping for a
home and/or land in Oklahoma?
1. I strongly recommend that first, just as is recommended in every other state, you take
the steps that will help you secure funds to purchase. Get your finances in order. If you
are paying cash, you will want to be able to prove that you have the cash to purchase. If
you are expecting to borrow the funds, (purchase by placing a mortgage on your new
home purchase) now is the time to get pre-qualified for a loan. The pre-qualification
letter can usually be obtained by visiting with a lender, either in person, on the telephone,
or by filling out forms on the internet. This pre-qualification letter will tell you how
much a lender is willing to lend you based upon the information that supplied to the
lender. It is not a guarantee for a loan or even a pre-approval. Pre-approval is a little
more involved and will entail you making application and usually supplying more
detailed documented information. Knowing the price range that you can afford, either
with cash or with a mortgage will save you and your real estate agent time and effort as
you search for that perfect home.
2. Work with an Oklahoma Real Estate Licensee (a real estate agent). I am not telling
you this simply because I am an Oklahoma Real Estate Broker. I am telling you this
because it is the best advice I can give you. You will want a professional working for
you that will locate possible homes that you might be interested in, can pull comparables
to help you make an educated offer and who can supply you with a list of contacts for
other related services such home inspections, WDI (Wood Destroying Insects)
inspections, etc. This is a good place to talk about the difference in Oklahoma law as it
relates to licensing.
One of the differences in selling or buying a home or other real estate within the state of
Oklahoma is that Oklahoma is a Transaction Broker State. Many licensees work as
transactions brokers and work for both sides of the transaction; both buyer and seller.
They do not “represent” either side, do not speak for either side nor work in the best
interest of either side. They usually pull comps for both sides, can do a cma (comparative
market analysis) for both sides, etc. They write up offers for the buyer and present them
to the seller. Counter-offers are carried back and forth. Each side makes their own
decisions. A licensee can instead choose to work as a Single Party Broker, working in
the best interest of that client. A licensee may not work as a Single Party Broker for both
sides in a transaction.
3. Another way that buying a home, land, or any real estate in Oklahoma is a little
different from buying in our surrounding states is that Oklahoma is an Abstracting State.
Most property owners also own a “hard copy” of the abstract of their property. The
abstract is a bound book of actual copies of documents that have been filed on the
property legal description at the County Clerk’s office, the County Court Clerk’s office,
and any tax related liens and unpaid taxes, in the county court house of the county where
the property is located. It goes all the way back to the land grant if you have a complete
base abstract. A supplemental abstract will also need the base to have a compelte record
of chain of title for the attorney to look at. Abstract are created, extended, and certified
by Abstract Offices which are licensed and governed by the Oklahoma Abstractors
Board. . The Oklahoma Abstractors Board was established by law, January 1, 2008.
Their website has information on it which should be of interest to any and all individuals
selling and purchasing real estate in the state of Oklahoma. You will find an Abstractor’s
Directory, sorted by county along with rate sheets for the services offered by those
offices.
The bound abstract has value and most property owners keep it in a safe place. It can be
costly to have to replace it. Abstracts are read by an attorney who will render a title
opinion to the buyer, the bank making the mortgage, or to the title insurance company if
title insurance is being purchased on the property. Attorneys usually charge a certain
amount per page to read the abstract and usually have a minimum that their fee can be
lower than.
In 2007, the law was changed to allow a Title Insurance Policy to written for a buyer with
the attorney reading back through the abstract to the point that the seller’s title insurance
was issued instead of having the new policy based upon the whole abstract each time a
new policy is written.
4. Much of Oklahoma is rural. Especially where I am. I am approximately 3 hours to
Dallas, TX; 3 1/2 hours to Tulsa, OK; 4 hours to Oklahoma City; and a little over 3 hours
to Little Rock, AR. It usually takes us longer to drive to a major airport than the length
of time in the air for the flight. Living in a rural area means that you need to think about
whether the location has electricity, rural water or a well, etc and also where is your
nearest medical services, police, and shopping. Do you want to live on a dirt road or do
you demand a paved location. Things to think about if you’re moving to the rural areas of
Oklahoma.
5. Oklahoma’s Ad Valorem Tax Rates (property taxes) are considered to be very
reasonable which adds to the value of deciding to purchase in Oklahoma.
Oklahoma is a great place to live and to own property. I would welcome the opportunity
to help you with purchasing real estate in the great state of Oklahoma!
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