Home shopping is an extremely important process. Unfortunately, there are numerous pitfalls that can ruin the experience and negatively impact your overall result. It’s no secret that being homeowner can have far-reaching implications; it's paramount that you walk into this process with a good deal of information at your disposal

The end goal is obviously an affordable home that you love, that being said, things can go sideways and interfere with achieving your goal. We’re here to help arm you with information so that you are well equipped to handle the home-buying process. Here are some tips we think will help:

• Set a realistic budget. For most of us, it’s easy to find homes that we’d like to live in; but much harder to find ones in your price range. Take the time to take a hard look at your assets and financial health so you can get an accurate picture of your budget and price range. While this might not be as helpful during this process; we have access to some finance professionals through our bank partner. They may be able to help you plan your long term financial goals and improve your financial health.
• Talk to a mortgage expert. While you might not need a mortgage, it’s worth speaking to a mortgage expert about the option. It may be that your best financial move is to leverage great rates or save your cash on hand for other investment opportunities. It might not be the path you take, but at the very least it’s one you should explore. If you’re interested, we have mortgage experts (through our bank partner) on standby if you have any questions.
• Don’t overbid. You may be worried on losing out on your dream home, especially if the sellers or their agent indicate that there are other interested parties. Don’t let it get to you. Present a reasonable offer and work with your agent to iron out the details at the negotiating table. If you overbid you may end up with issues when it comes to the appraisal, mortgage, or reselling process.
• Shop Around. Make sure to truly get the lay of the land (no pun intended) before you put in an offer. Your agent should give you a list of comps to view and help you find homes that fit your needs. If you’re just browsing on your own on Zillow or a similar service, make sure to set a few parameters that you will not compromise on (bed/bath count, price range, school zones, etc…). Once you have a good picture of how your needs/wants fit in with the volume of listed homes; you can be much more confident that you’re submitting the right offer and negotiating from an informed position
• Get an Agent. Once you’re truly ready to shop for homes, get a real estate agent. Once you’ve engaged a licensed real estate agent and signed them on as your exclusive representative; you have a staunch advocate who will make sure your interests are protected. The last thing you want is to be dealing with a seller’s agent without some representation of your own.

We hope your home buying process goes a little smoother now that you’re prepared with this information. In addition, be sure to give us a call if you need anything regarding insurance for your home.