First
work with a real estate professional who you feel comfortable with.
Buying a home is huge financial commitment and can be an emotional
experience. The agent you choose needs to be skilled and a good match
to your personality.
Decide
specifically what features you absolutely want or don’t want in a
home. You will save valuable time by avoiding viewing houses that won’t work for
you.
You
need to determine if you are looking for a starter house with the
intentions of moving up in a few years OR if wish to stay in this
home for many years to come. Share these thoughts and discuss them
your agent and your mortgage professional.
If
you find a home early in your search, choose to make an offer because
you love it. Don’t try to wait for lower interest rates and lower
market values. The truth is home values and interest rates have a
history of fluctuation, however large changes happen over the course
of months, years or more. A good home won’t stay on the market
long. Be aware waiting to make your offer may not only allow you to
miss out on the home you love, but interest rates and values could
change ever so slightly during the period you are looking to buy and
rise instead of fall. That is the two-fold situation you want to
avoid.
There
is no perfect home. Every house will have flaws. You are looking for
a home that fits your needs best, the location you desire and your
target price range. Try not to be overly picky, focus on the things
that are most important to you when viewing homes and look past minor
imperfections. No home will ever be perfect, there is no perfect.
The
physical aspects a house like room sizes and kitchens are not the
only features to consider when buying. You need to also consider noise (trains, planes, automobiles) distance to places you travel to the most, can have a big impact on what it’s
going to like to living in your new house. So many times I hear I
love my house if only I could just pick it up and move it.
You are buying a home, it is natural to ask for opinions and
thoughts but too many influences makes it much harder to come to a
decision. The only pro and con list that matters is yours. You are
the one buying.
Don’t
make an unreasonably low offers “to get the best deal” the art of
negotiation is definitely a part of the buying and selling process,
but trying to “win” by getting an extra-low price may lose you
the home you love. Always review comparable sales prices with your
agent before you decide to put an offer in writing. This may even
prevent you from making an offer that would prove to be unreasonably
high, which can create complications in your transaction as
well.
I cannot stress this enough, Plan your financing. Did
you look over your credit report? Do you have enough money to cover
your down payment and your closing costs? What available types of
mortgages are open to you? How long do you plan on living in the
home? Do not wait until you’ve found a home to get approved for a
mortgage. Seek these answers now, before viewing homes is highly
recommended. Trust me, being a prepared buyer makes a world of
difference in your overall experience.
After
you have a mortgage pre-approval consider your monthly payment and
what you truly can comfortably afford. You should not desire to be
“house poor”. If you max out or over extend your budget you will have no money left for maintenance, personalization,
minor updates and other important financial expenses. Even if you buy
a new home, there will be some things that you may want to change.