What to Expect When Buying a Home

Searching for a home is exciting! We want to get to the fun part-touring homes and imagining our future. And while this is my favorite part, there are a lot of other steps that need to be taken before we get there.  This is not to rain on your parade but for your well-being and a “smoother” buying process.

Things to consider before setting up your first home tour-

~budget

~lifestyle

~space needed

~buying power (how much money you have and lending you can receive)

~distance from work, school, social activities, family (maybe distance is desired?)

I don’t list these things to discourage you from starting, I share them because I care and I understand the disappointments that come when your offer isn’t accepted. These are actually things that you should be discussing with your realtor! When I first met with a realtor to buy, I knew I needed a reality check of my home dream but I didn’t know how much and let me tell you, it was a much bigger reality check than I was expecting!

So when we first meet, we will discuss these, keeping a balance of the logistics and the dream. We don’t want to lose sight of the dream!

We will discuss some negotiation options at this time as it’s best to be prepared early.  While we hope that our offer is accepted outright, the reality is that there will likely be a returned counteroffer. What to consider offering-earnest money, higher offer, short closing timeframe, paying for closing costs. What to consider when receiving the counteroffer-seller pays closing cost, seller buys discount points to lower your mortgage interest rate, professional cleaning. These are pretty standard negotiation topics but they can get creative-I heard that someone once had their lower offer accepted because they agreed to keep the seller’s cat that they would have had to put up for adoption when they moved.

Paperwork is just part of my role as your realtor, which is pretty big! But I am also here to advise you, search for homes, help negotiate, keep things civil between parties, and help you reach your goal. There is no pressure to buy when working with me.  I want what’s best for you and sometimes an emotionally removed party can help you better see that. That realtor I mentioned earlier who was helping me in my first home search, she helped me avoid buying a home that would have been a very bad financial investment for me! I was emotionally invested that I couldn’t see the bigger picture as a first time homebuyer. I want to do the same for you! That’s why those initial conversations are so important!

We will also discuss what happens after your offer is accepted-the process is just beginning!

Now for the fun part-searching for homes and setting up tours! It’s important to note, that it’s encouraged to look at homes online and send ideas to your realtor, but if you request information through that site, you are actually being connected with someone who is not representing the home for sale but who is available to represent you as the buyer.  So if you see a home online, send the address to your realtor and they will get the information for you-it’s what you’ve hired me to do. And let me have some fun too! The home search is the best part!