Buying a home is a large purchase. It is one of the biggest purchases that you will ever make. For this reason, a lot of thought and planning should go into the home buying process. You will find that a real estate agent will be your best resource during the entire process, making it important that you find a good one who is familiar with your real estate market. It is likely that there are multiple homes on the market, making it difficult to narrow down the results. A professional real estate agent can help with narrowing down the available homes with the following considerations.
Choose a desired location. Your new home should be convenient to your work and social living. You do not want to purchase something that makes the commute to your current position difficult. You also want to purchase a home in a city or town that you are comfortable with. Checking things like the crime rates, school district ratings, and city safety scores can be helpful in your decision.
A lot of this information can be found online. Your professional real estate agent can also help with obtaining this necessary information. Most buyers are familiar with the city they move to, as many move close to their previous homes. There was only a median of 14 miles between the homes that recent buyers purchased and the homes that they moved from. Buyers also have better access and availability to view homes that are in their nearby location, further contributing to closer moves.
Figure out a housing budget. This is probably one of the most important decisions when it comes to viewing homes. The home buying process can be extensive and time consuming. You should only request to see homes that are in your budget price range. Anything else will be a waste of time, for both you and your realtor. A budget should be determined by estimating what a comfortable mortgage payment would be. This is not always the same number as what the bank preapproves you for. Too many homeowners lose their homes to foreclosure, because they could no longer afford the mortgage payments.
Clarify which amenities are important to you. Every home will have different amenities, including different number of bedrooms and bathrooms. Some will have basements. Others will have garages. It is important to identify which of these factors in a home are the most important to you. This can help to narrow down multiple search results. Perhaps you have always dreamed of owning one of the lake homes in your city. Lake homes can be pricier, depending on the city that you purchase in. In cities with more lake homes, you may be able to find a great deal on a lake home for sale.
Lake homes also have different amenities. For example, you may desire a lake home for sale with a walkout basement. You may also only want to look at lake homes that are situated on all sporting lakes, meaning that you can put a boat on it. You might decide that boating is not important to you, and you would rather have a no motor lake to simply enjoy the lake views on. Either way, understanding your desires and needs ahead of looking is always helpful.
Decide if a home renovation is acceptable for you. A great way to save on the price of a home is to purchase a home that requires renovations. This is acceptable for some buyers, while others prefer only move in ready homes. Most recent buyers who purchased new homes were looking to avoid renovations and problems with plumbing or electricity at 34%. Buyers who purchased previously owned homes were most often considering a better price at 32%.
Be patient. Purchasing a home is a huge investment. Be patient. Listen to the advice of your realtor. Buyers typically searched for 10 weeks and looked at a median of 10 homes. It takes time.
Purchasing a home is an important purchase. It requires a lot of consideration and decision making to ensure that you are satisfied with your home choice.