3 Quick Hunting Tips for Home Buyers
A
quick search on realtor.com, Trulia.com & Zillow.com will bring up
thousands of homes for sale. Educating yourself on your local market and
working with an experienced Realtor can help you narrow your priorities and
make an informed decision about which home to choose.
Start With Your Budget
Before
you begin your house search you should have a preapproval letter in hand from a
lender and an idea of your comfort level with a prospective house payment. You
and your Realtor can begin to search for homes for sale that fit your budget,
but keep in mind that you don’t necessarily want to spend up to the maximum
amount you can borrow. On the other hand, you can consider going slightly above
your preferred price range as long as the monthly payment is still affordable
or if you have extra cash to make a bigger down payment.
Find the Right Neighborhood
After
you’ve established your price range you’ll need to narrow your search by neighborhood. You should be
looking at neighborhoods that allow an acceptable commute to work. Think about
the type of setting in which you want to live – urban, suburban or rural. Do
you want a community with lots of outdoor recreational amenities; one with
shops, restaurants and nightlife; or one with plenty of activities for children
and good schools?
Many
homes, whether they are single-family residences, townhomes or villas, are part
of a homeowner association (HOA). Part of your search process should be to
consider whether you want to live in an HOA or not. On the positive side, HOA
rules help protect home values and the dues often include community amenities
and maintenance. On the other hand, the rules also limit what you can do with
the exterior of your home. You’ll also need to include HOA dues as part of your
housing budget.
Condominiums
and cooperative homes also have association dues and offer a different type of
ownership, with the association owning the exterior of the property while you
own the interior. These dues will be part of your housing budget, but they
typically include some of your homeowner’s insurance and other costs, as well
as pay for amenities such as a swimming pool or a fitness center.
It’s
a good idea to visit communities at various times of day and night, and on
weekends and weekdays, to get a feel for who lives there and what the activity
level is like.
Two
important elements of a neighborhood influence how well the homes in that
community will hold onto their value: crime and schools. While Fair Housing
laws prevent a Realtor from telling clients about crime statistics or talking
about ‘good’ or ‘bad’ schools, a Realtor can direct you to websites that
provide information about those topics. Even if you don’t have children and
don’t plan to have them, buying a home in a well-regarded school district can
help the property’s long-term value.
Start Searching
Most buyers
start searching for a home online on websites such as Realtor.com, Trulia .com
and Zillow.com but you can also ask a Realtor to help you find homes for sale.
You can request email alerts that notify you when a home that fits your list of
priorities comes on the market.
You can
evaluate a home first by looking at photos and a description online. In many
cases, homes’ online listings have virtual tours or videos that offer the
opportunity to see more.
The next step
in your house hunt is narrowing down your priorities to find the home that
meets your needs.
Look at both
new homes and existing homes. New homes are sometimes more expensive than
existing homes, but they require less maintenance and often have lower utility
bills because of their energy-efficient features.
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