How To Prepare for House-Hunting

 

Save for Your Down Payment

To help you reach your savings goal, automate your checking account and set aside a portion of each paycheck to go directly into your home buying fund.

How Much Home Can You Afford?

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Work on Your Credit

Your credit score impacts your future home loan. Consider credit monitoring so you can keep track of your spending record and improve your score.

Work with Us

Connect with us so you have expert advice on how to reach your goals throughout the process.

Get Pre-Approved

Contact a loan officer to get a pre-approval letter. This way you’ll know how much you can borrow. We can help you find a mortgage professional to work with.

Know that there’s no “right” time to buy.

If you find the perfect home now, don’t risk losing it because you’re trying to guess where the housing market and interest rates are going. Those factors usually don’t change fast enough to make a difference in an individual home’s price.

Don’t ask for too many opinions.

It’s natural to want reassurance for such a big decision, but too many ideas from too many people will make it much harder to make a decision. Focus on the wants and needs of the people who will actually be living in the home.

Accept that no house is ever perfect.

If it’s in the right location, the yard may be a bit smaller than you had hoped. The kitchen may be perfect, but the roof needs repair. Make a list of your top priorities and focus on things that are most important to you. Let the minor ones go. Also, accept that a little buyer’s remorse is inevitable and will most likely pass.

Don’t try to be a killer negotiator.

Negotiation is definitely a part of the real estate process, but trying to “win” by getting an extra-low price or refusing to budge may cost you the home you love.

Remember your home doesn’t exist in a vacuum.

Don’t get so caught up in the physical aspects of the house itself that you forget about important issues such as noise level, access to amenities, and other aspects that also have a big impact on your quality of life.

Plan ahead.

Don’t wait until you’ve found a home to get approved for a mortgage, investigate insurance, or consider a moving schedule. Being prepared will make your bid more attractive to sellers.

Choose a home first because you love it;
then think about appreciation.

A home is still considered a great investment, but its most important role is as a comfortable, safe place to live.

Don’t do it alone.

Having a buyer’s agent on your side before you make an offer and before you even look at homes is really the key to getting exactly what you want. Buyers’ agents work for you and are dedicated to making the offer in terms of your benefit, not just to make a sale. Plus, it cost buyers nothing to use their own agent, so why wouldn’t you?

If you have questions on the home buying process, don’t hesitate to contact us and let us know. We’d love to get you started so feel free to reach out to us at any time regardless of where you are in the process, and we can get the ball rolling.

Here is what our buyers have to say about us:

“Not to be dramatic, but our entire home-buying journey changed when we met Shelhee and David. As first-time homebuyers in an unprecedented market, we had been looking and bidding for months with no success. At the initial meeting, Shelhee and David came prepared with our customized portal set up, with 30+ listings already populated. They took the time to calibrate, to walk us through the market, various neighborhoods we hadn’t yet considered, and the process + documentation so we could have full transparency. It was clear that they took the partnership with their clients very seriously. When we signed the exclusive agreement with them, they proved that to be absolutely true. Within 21 days, we had an accepted offer on our dream home. Shelhee and David provided us with data-driven insights, were incredibly responsive, and always took time to answer our questions in earnest, no matter how small. They partnered seamlessly with all the stakeholders during escrow and handled all timelines and communications with ease. Their experience and strategic approach, paired with their empathy and care, making them a joy to work with, and I would gladly and confidently recommend them to anyone who was looking, whether a first-time buyer or a seasoned homeowner. “

Deborah Berube