Buying a new home or your first home is a very exciting thing. If it’s your first time, you might quickly find that there is a lot more to home buying than you originally thought. You can take care a lot of the early work—like loan pre-approval and looking into a home warranty—on your own. For most other things, you should be able to turn to your real estate agent for help. Here are 5 tips to get you started toward buying a new home.
1. Start by making 2 lists for your new home: a list of needs and a list of wants. Needs should come first. For instance, if a home warranty is important to you, then make sure that is included with your home. If you must have at least 3 bedrooms and a big yard, put that on your list. If you want a big yard, but don’t necessarily need one, put that on your wants. Prioritize needs versus wants.
2. Get loan pre-approval. You might be able to do this before you find an agent to work with. Loan pre-approval will help you know how much money you are able to borrow to purchase a home. Essentially, this is like getting your home buying budget established. You will likely want to find a home that falls within the limits of your loan. Shop around for loans to make sure that you get the best interest rates. You don’t necessarily need to go with the first loan that you are approved for, so be choosy when you can.
3. Find a good real estate agent. You want someone who will listen to you and try to find exactly what you want in your home. Your agent needs to have good communication and should basically go to bat for you to make sure the home buying process is as stress-free as possible. You should be able to ask your agent any questions, such as what makes a good counter-offer or who you should hire for an inspection. Make sure you are comfortable with the agent that you choose.
4. Get an inspection before you buy. Even with a good home warranty in place, some things might not be covered even if you didn’t know about it before you purchased the home. Hire a professional inspector to look over the home thoroughly so that there are no expensive surprise repairs that need to be done after you close the sale.
5. A home warranty can save you a lot of money if there are certain issues that arise with the home. These issues might be anywhere from structural to electric. It may or may not include the appliances in the home depending on the warranty. It is probably a good idea to consider getting the warranty with your home as you never know what issues may pop up later.
Buying a home is a very exciting adventure, even though there is a lot of work and waiting that goes along with it. If you are looking to buy a home, try following the tips listed above to get started. It will hopefully help things to go smoother. Don’t forget to ask your real estate agent about the home warranty. As with purchasing anything, a warranty could come in handy when the buying process is finally finished. Happy house hunting!