If you’re seriously thinking about buying a home, it’s important to put the right things into place and get off on the right foot. Here are 3 things I would advise you to focus on first so that you have a solid start in your home-buying process.
1. Speak with an experienced and proven Realtor
The first thing you should do is connect with an experienced Realtor. Tell them a little about you and what you’re homeownership goals are. Use this conversation as an opportunity to learn more about the area you are looking to move to, the home-buying process and how to get started, local market conditions, and so forth. A conversation with a top Realtor can save you tons of time and energy that you would’ve spent doing your own research alone. Additionally, if you find value in the conversation you have with this Realtor and you feel that they can represent your needs, then you’ve just locked down one of the most important components of the home-buying process in general, which is finding a great buyer’s agent to represent you.
2. Get pre-qualified by a reputable mortgage lender (if needing a loan)
The second thing you should do if you’re thinking of buying a home is to get pre-qualified by a reputable mortgage lender. During this prequalification process, you’ll have an opportunity to run numbers with that lender and find out how much home you can afford to buy and whether or not there are any special programs available to you. If you’re paying cash, you won’t need to get pre-qualified, you’ll just need a way of proving that you have funds available. Whether you’re getting a mortgage or paying cash, you’ll need evidence of your ability to do so at the time of making an Offer on a home. So, have this in place if you’re actively searching for a home.
3. Familiarize yourself with the local real estate market
Browse for homes online and start to familiarize yourself with what the market is offering in the areas you’re considering. Make sure that you’re set up on an automated home search as well. At Keller Williams Realty, we’ll not only set you up on a custom home search but we’ll also copy ourselves on it so that we are always actively looking right along with you. When you feel that the time is right, have a game plan set with your Realtor to go see a few homes and hopefully find ‘the one’.
Conclusion
In our experience, many homebuyers like to skip right to #3, home searching, and start there (which is the fun part, right?) and then worry about finding a Realtor and getting pre-qualified later. Frankly, that’s not the wise approach. If you don’t have the right Realtor/Buyer’s Agent representing you and have a good relationship with them, you may still find the right home but not necessarily win the offer…especially in a multiple-offer situation which is common in the current seller’s market. Additionally, if the right home does come on the market, you don’t want to be scrambling to put those first two things into place (finding representation and getting pre-qualified) while other buyers and their agents are beating you to the punch.
So if you’re thinking of buying a home, reach out to us for a friendly buyer’s consultation and get prequalified to start your home search.
Kathy Bradley
REALTOR® | MRP, PSA, ABR, SRES®
Keller Williams Realty West
856 Waterbury Falls Drive, Suite 200
O’Fallon, MO 63368
(636) 697-4707
[email protected]
www.kathybradley.realtor