Buying a home can be an extremely exciting experience. From getting into your first home, upgrading to your dream home, or downsizing as happy empty nesters who don’t need the extra space, there are so many big changes that come with finding a new home.

It can also come with a lot of stress and frustration along the way if you aren’t prepared for the process. We have a few tips that can help prepare you to be successful when you find that home that meets your wildest expectations.

How much will it cost?

The best kind of expectations are the ones that can be met. If you start looking at homes before you know how much you can afford it can set you up for failed expectations. That is why getting a pre-approval is so important, it allows you to have a very realistic understanding of exactly how much you can afford; furthermore, a pre-approval letter is nearly always required for writing an offer on a house.

Getting a pre-approval will give you a very strong sense of exactly how much house you can afford; and it doesn’t have to be painful. Since it is something you will need when you write an offer, it makes sense to have it ready before you start seriously looking.

Big Picture/Little Picture:

The next important step before you start seriously looking at homes is to establish a list of the things that you absolutely need in a home. That includes all the things like number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, etcetera; the features that will be a deal breaker if they are not according to your requirements.

Once you have that list, follow it up with a second list of features that you would like your future home to have. This list should be secondary, things like corian countertops instead of granite, hardwood floors instead of carpet. Just remember, this is the list of things that will make a home more desirable, but would not immediately disqualify the property if those features did not match your list.

Who’s got your back?

The final thing that will help make the process of finding a home enjoyable and not a frustrating one is having the right representation. The best time to have a relationship with a realtor is before you start looking for your home, that way you have time to get comfortable with the person who is going to represent your interests in one of the biggest purchases of your life.

Finding the home that you fall in love with and that matches all of the features on both of your lists isn’t that end of the purchase process, it is often the just the beginning. Having an agent that you can trust working for you when the time comes to write and offer and go through the escrow process will ensure the process is as enjoyable as it should be. They can also make sure that you aren’t paying too much. If you have any questions on how we can help you move in the right direction let us know and we will do our absolute best to serve you!