3 Steps to take BEFORE Buying a Home

Posted by Shanna on May 19, 2010 in Blog, Buying Real Estate, Real Estate Tips | 0 comments

The process of buying a home often is overwhelming, especially for the first-time homebuyer. Working with a Realtor can help to relieve some of the stress because you have someone working for you.

Looking At the Numbers

The first step is looking at your finances and making sure you can afford to buy a home. It’s not just the mortgage, taxes and insurance costs. You also need to think about the expenses associated with maintaining the property, such as buying a new hot water tank or furnace if yours goes kaput, replacing your roof or buying a lawnmower to cut your grass.

Crunching the Figures with an Expert

Once you feel like you know about how much you can afford to pay toward your home, you need to talk with a lender or two. This is called getting pre-approved. This is going to tell you first, how much money the bank is willing to loan you, and second, how much house you are comfortable buying. There often is a big difference in the amount you can get pre-approved for compared with the monthly payment you came up with in step 1. When you go to make an offer on a home, it helps to send the pre-approval with your offer to show the sellers that you are ready and able to buy their home.

The Fun Part

Once you have a pre-approval in hand, I typically meet with you to help you figure out the area you want to be in, what you are looking for (house/condo) and what you want out of a home. Sometimes I feel like a matchmaker, and getting to know my clients and their tastes is very important to make sure I can do the best job possible. This also is when you should make sure you feel comfortable with your Realtor. If you don’t feel like you can trust your Realtor, you are going to have a stressful time ahead. Putting your biggest financial transaction in the hands of someone you don’t trust is a recipe for disaster.

After this initial meeting, I set up a website that allows clients to view homes that meet the criteria that we have identified in our meeting. On this website, my clients can save or reject listings, write comments for me or anyone else to see and view information about each listing including pictures, mapping, the auditor’s website and all the pertinent information about the property. The website will update daily with the newest listings, photo changes and price updates.

If needed, the search can be tweaked to make sure it is covering 100% of what my clients are looking for, and it allows me to see what my clients likes and dislikes as they look through the listings. If you are at this point and your Realtor is sending you homes $50k over what you can afford, find a new Realtor now!

I typically tell people that we will actually start going out to look at houses about three months before their current lease is up, or a little earlier if they have a very tight budget or unique tastes.

Being properly prepared when going out to look at houses will make the process of buying a home much easier and seamless. Knowing that you’re organized and ready will make you more appealing to the seller and their agent. In the long run, this could save you from losing your dream house, money and a lot of hassle.

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Coming Soon: The Process of Buying a Home

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Shanna Lafontaine is a Realtor with RE/MAX Affiliates who works the Dublin, Hilliard, Powell, Worthington, Westerville, Delaware and surrounding Columbus areas helping both Buyers and Sellers.