7 Tips to make your next home purchase painless
Buying your next Idaho home should be a wonderful experience. It does not have to be a stressful and anxious experience. Follow these tips and you will be well on your way to making your next home experience one you will remember.
1) You have heard the term location, location, location! Do some homework before you go looking for your new home. Even if it meets all of your requirements is the home located in an area that is convenient to schools, shopping, interstate and is the area positioned to grow? I heard on the radio recently that Starbucks does a lot of homework before it decides to go into an area. When it goes into an area Starbucks has decided that area is poised to grow based on certain factors. This does not mean you need to be near a Starbucks but a Professional Realtor can help you analize areas you are considering similar to the way Starbucks analyzes areas.
2) You just are not buying a home, you are buying an area. So you have found the perfect home for your family, what next? Stand at the front door and look around you in every direction. Get in your car and drive around the entire area within a square mile or so. What do you see? Is there anything that concerns you? Too many buyers focus on just the home but the area and what surrounds it can have a lot to do with the growth of your area and the resale of your home.
3) Advice is good but who's is it? I can't tell you how many buyers I have worked with over the years that found the perfect home for them and then they asked the advice of parents or their siblings or some other friends that gave them poor advice. Please remember that very few parents, siblings or other friends are professionals when it comes to buying a home. They act more on emotion and they almost feel like they have to find something wrong with the home or the area to gain your respect or to feel they have contributed. If you have done your homework and worked with a Professional Realtor there is a lot of reason to have faith in your decision.
4) If you have young children have you searched the area for sexual offenders? How would you feel if you have two young girls and you find out after closing the man living next door is a registered sexual offender? Doing your homework now will make you sleep better at night.
5) Let's make a LOW BALL OFFER! I have heard this more in the past 6 months than I have heard it the past 28 years! With all the talk about foreclosures and short sales the media has scared a lot of buyers and told you to not buy now and if you do, make a low, low offer. This can backfire on you. Sellers are human beings complete with emotions. If you make a very low offer it is likely the sellers will be offended. I have seen sellers that received real low ball offers and refused to negotiate or submit a counter offer. On the other hand I have seen buyers make a "reasonable" offer and get a good deal on a home. Many homes are already priced at rock bottom prices. Making LOW BALL offers way below these already low prices could backfire on you. Again, a professional Realtor can do an analysis for you and you can see where a particular home is priced comparable to other homes that have sold and are pending.
6) That's O.K. "I will buy the home in as is condition". Wrong! I have heard too many buyers tell me they are O.K. with a home they have made an offer on and don't need a professional home inspection completed. The most common problems that can become major problems are often unseen to the average person. I have seen furnaces that are on their last breath. I have also seen mold in crawl areas of newer homes. The $250-$350 you will spend on a private home inspection is the best money you will spend on your new home. Not only will the inspection disclose flaws of the home, a good inspector will give you sound written advice on maintaining your home for the years to come. Also, please remember that relatives and friends have great intentions but they are not professional inspectors and could end up costing you thousands if you allow them to do your inspection.
7) Let's go buy that new furniture now that we have a home in escrow! Wait a minute! If you have made an offer on a home and closing is pending the last thing you want to do is go create any new debt before closing. Remember, your mortgage lender has approved you based on your current income/debt ratio among other factors. If you go out and splurge on new furniture or a new car you not only change your income/debt ratios, you could shoot yourself in the foot by all of a sudden not qualifying for that new home.
The home buying process can be a painless and wonderful experience. Follow these tips and you will be well on your way on having the home of your dreams.
Get started on your home search by going to Idaho Home Search