It has been a dream for mostly everyone to have a house they can call a “home.” Due to the huge cost of buying a home, it is usually a once in a lifetime venture for many. Since there is a significant financial investment when buying a home, it makes sense to do your homework before making a final decision. There are certain steps you should take to ensure you are choosing the right home for your family; one that is structurally safe, in a good location, within your budget, and that meets most of your wants/needs, etc. The worst thing you can do is make a haste decision to buy a home without having your “ducks in order.” I’ve laid out a few basic guidelines that you should follow to guarantee you are choosing the right house for your family.
Assess your current situation and needs
Your current life situation plays an important role in the house you choose in the end. You and your family should determine what you need in a house - location, number of bedrooms/baths, space needed (square footage), commuting options, etc.
Something I recommend is that you (and your family) make a list. First, write down your “non-negotiables (features that you MUST have), then your “negotiables” (features that would be nice to have but won’t break the deal if you don’t have them). Each family member should have a say in what he/she would like in a home since they will be living there (it’s just fair and prevents arguing).
Determine your financial limits
This is also the time that you would sit down and do your household financials. Write down all your monthly expenses (car payments, insurance, groceries, personal items, entertainment, gas, etc), and I mean down to the penny. The last thing you want to do is find the perfect house and find out you really can’t afford to buy it. I can tell you, seeing it happen many of times; it can be heartbreaking for a family.
Having a clear limit on the cost of the house will help plan for the purchase or for repayments if you are buying on mortgage. Overestimating your limit may lead you to a bottomless financial hole that will lead to serious debt and possibly bankruptcy. It is quintessential that you determine what your family can afford.
Engaging a competent realtor
Buying a house is not easy, it is consider one of the more stressful life decisions you’ll make. To lessen the burden of home-buying you should make use of a local Realtor to guide you through the process of purchasing a home.
A good real estate agent is competent about the real estate market in your area and all the details that go into buying/selling/investing in a house. The agent will be able provide you with a list of possible home options that has been filtered down to meet your home wants/needs.
Just a warning, don’t rely on sites like Zillow or Trulia to find you a house, they are several days behind on providing the most recent information on the houses they have listed. Often times the houses you a viewing on these sites are already sold or under-contract. These site are unlike an agent, who will provide you with the most current property listings at any given moment. A good realtor will help you with the finer details of the home-buying process – inspection, appraisal, referral to a lender, title, etc. Best of all, a real estate agent will negotiate on your behalf to get you the best possible deal.
Inspection
Choosing a house from the general appearance is not advised. Again, I’ll say, avoid making haste decisions. Have the house go through a thorough inspection to identify any structural and functional problems (leaking roof, faulty electrical, bad plumbing system, unstable foundation).
Having a home-inspection is just the right thing to do before signing on the dotted-lines. An inspection will run you a few hundred dollars but could save you thousands and prevent you from buying a “money-pit” house. Also, having an inspection can give you leverage when negotiating the price. You can often get reduction in price or have the current owner fix the identified problem areas before closing on the house.
If there is a large list of problems that the home inspector finds, I normally recommend that you move on and look for another home. Home repair estimates are just that “estimates,” more than often they end up costing 2 times the estimate to complete (from my experience).
These basic guidelines will help you make smart choices during the home-buying process, along with saving you time, money, and headaches.
If you are looking for homes for sale in St Petersburg FL and want to work with a licensed Realtor in the area, please contact me to discuss your family’s needs.
Assess your current situation and needs
Your current life situation plays an important role in the house you choose in the end. You and your family should determine what you need in a house - location, number of bedrooms/baths, space needed (square footage), commuting options, etc.
Something I recommend is that you (and your family) make a list. First, write down your “non-negotiables (features that you MUST have), then your “negotiables” (features that would be nice to have but won’t break the deal if you don’t have them). Each family member should have a say in what he/she would like in a home since they will be living there (it’s just fair and prevents arguing).
Determine your financial limits
This is also the time that you would sit down and do your household financials. Write down all your monthly expenses (car payments, insurance, groceries, personal items, entertainment, gas, etc), and I mean down to the penny. The last thing you want to do is find the perfect house and find out you really can’t afford to buy it. I can tell you, seeing it happen many of times; it can be heartbreaking for a family.
Having a clear limit on the cost of the house will help plan for the purchase or for repayments if you are buying on mortgage. Overestimating your limit may lead you to a bottomless financial hole that will lead to serious debt and possibly bankruptcy. It is quintessential that you determine what your family can afford.
Engaging a competent realtor
Buying a house is not easy, it is consider one of the more stressful life decisions you’ll make. To lessen the burden of home-buying you should make use of a local Realtor to guide you through the process of purchasing a home.
A good real estate agent is competent about the real estate market in your area and all the details that go into buying/selling/investing in a house. The agent will be able provide you with a list of possible home options that has been filtered down to meet your home wants/needs.
Just a warning, don’t rely on sites like Zillow or Trulia to find you a house, they are several days behind on providing the most recent information on the houses they have listed. Often times the houses you a viewing on these sites are already sold or under-contract. These site are unlike an agent, who will provide you with the most current property listings at any given moment. A good realtor will help you with the finer details of the home-buying process – inspection, appraisal, referral to a lender, title, etc. Best of all, a real estate agent will negotiate on your behalf to get you the best possible deal.
Inspection
Choosing a house from the general appearance is not advised. Again, I’ll say, avoid making haste decisions. Have the house go through a thorough inspection to identify any structural and functional problems (leaking roof, faulty electrical, bad plumbing system, unstable foundation).
Having a home-inspection is just the right thing to do before signing on the dotted-lines. An inspection will run you a few hundred dollars but could save you thousands and prevent you from buying a “money-pit” house. Also, having an inspection can give you leverage when negotiating the price. You can often get reduction in price or have the current owner fix the identified problem areas before closing on the house.
If there is a large list of problems that the home inspector finds, I normally recommend that you move on and look for another home. Home repair estimates are just that “estimates,” more than often they end up costing 2 times the estimate to complete (from my experience).
These basic guidelines will help you make smart choices during the home-buying process, along with saving you time, money, and headaches.
If you are looking for homes for sale in St Petersburg FL and want to work with a licensed Realtor in the area, please contact me to discuss your family’s needs.