You have decided you want to buy a home this year – now what? What are your first steps?
The first thing you want to do is meet with a lender and get your mortgage approval. Most realtors want to make sure you are ready to buy and getting that approval shows that you can purchase a home. It also will help you narrow down your search based on what you can afford. There is nothing worse than finding a home you love and realizing you can’t buy it!!
Second is to figure out what you want in a home – what are your “must have” and “would like” items! Think about things you need – number of bedrooms, bathrooms, etc. Do you need a two car garage or will a one car work? Do you need a “man cave” or is that something that would be nice to have? Maybe it’s something as simple as do you need a patio or a back yard? Maybe you want a 3 car garage but you can live with a two car garage? Make a list and that will help you as you are looking for a home.
Decide what neighborhood you want to live in. Every neighborhood is different – do you want to be in the suburbs or in the city? Do you want to live in the country? Do you want a specific school district? Think about your commute to work and school. Spend some time driving the areas you are thinking about and that will help you decide where you want to live.
Look at home styles – think about your family and what you need. Do you need one level living? Are steps an issue? Do you want all the bedrooms on one level? Maybe you want the master bedroom on the main level and other bedrooms upstairs? Do you want a townhome or a single family home? Once you narrow that down, it will help you in your search.
As you start looking at homes, make notes. If you see several homes over different days, it can be hard to remember what you have seen. Take pictures if possible to help you remember what you liked or didn’t like about a home. Make notes on the listing sheets so you can remember what you thought about each home.
As the spring market picks up, any advantage you can give yourself will help. If the inventory is low like last year, it will be more important to be prepared so that if you find the home you love, you will know it and be ready to write an offer. There were days last year that you didn’t have time for a second showing – you had to make a decision the day you saw the home – usually the day the home came on the market. Hopefully it’s not that crazy again this year but it does help to be prepared!
Leslie Vanderwerf, NMLS ID#335509, American Mortgage & Equity Consultants, Inc., An Equal Housing Lender, NMLS#150953 – Email – Website
