With available homes flooding the market, prices and mortgage rates sinking to lows not seen in years, and sellers desperate to move, it’s making choosing any one home more and more difficult. Should you look for a foreclosure, wait on a short sale, go the ‘for sale by owner’ route, or stick with the old standby, a standard market listing? While only you can make that decision, there are certain criteria to consider that will make your decision easier and safer financially.
1. Look at the neighborhood
Knowing and understanding the demographics, location, available transportation systems and routes, and local industries of an area can be a great way to begin evaluating how to pick a house. While the home itself will be important as well, if you don’t feel safe, comfortable, and happy in your neighborhood, you’ll feel like you’re living in a prison.
2. Review other homes in the area
Reviewing comparable homes in the neighborhood and surrounding areas can give you a good idea if the home or homes you are considering are properly priced. Knowing a home is set in a reasonable price range or if it’s under or overpriced can also strengthen your bargaining position when the time comes.
3. Negotiate
Speaking of bargaining, a large part of picking the right home, and being happy within that home once you’ve made a decision, will be determined by the sales price you’ve negotiated. If you feel you’ve been ripped off in the home purchase process, you will most likely harbor negative feelings toward your home, where as if you feel you have gotten a deal, your feelings will most likely be positive.
4. Ask your Realtor
Picking the right house can be an incredibly intimidating process. It’s kind of like picking someone to be married to for years to come without having a chance to date him or her first. It is therefore important to consult other people and take into consideration their opinions of the home as well as their knowledge of real estate to assist you in your decision. Think of them as the nosy friends in your home ‘marriage’ relationship. Finding a good realtor to help guide you through the process can help relieve some of the stress you are feeling. Besides being a great resource in determining pricing, evaluating certain aspects of the home, and pointing out positives and negatives regarding the homes you see, they can be critical in the negotiating process once you’ve made a decision.
5. Talk to neighbors
When picking a home, you can’t be sure who you’re moving in next too. Bad neighbors can put you through hell, and those neighbors who are neglectful of their homes can diminish the resale value of your own home down the road. Once you have a house in mind, talk to the neighbors closest to you, and consider whether you would be comfortable living next to them.
6. Utilize your friends and family
Family, friends, and co-workers can be the perfect people to ask questions to or advice from when it comes to deciding if a house is the right one for you. They can tell you about their experiences with purchasing a home and things to look out for. You can also even have them come to the house to walk through it with you, and ask for their thoughts and opinions.
7. Taxes, HOA, and, condo association fees
These fees are sneaky little devils that can creep up on you if you’re not careful. Be sure that when you’re out looking for a good home to buy that you are aware of the property tax rates and any homeowner association or condo association fees. Make sure that the property tax information you receive is as current as possible and not based upon senior discount rates unless you yourself are a senior and will receive similar discounts.
8. Home inspection services
Finding a good home inspection service can be the ultimate safeguard in protecting yourself when determining if a home is the right choice for you. Follow and listen to your home inspector closely to find out if you have indeed made the right choice on a home.
9. Get pre-approved
Being pre-approved for a mortgage can help you avoid costly delays when you finally make a decision on a home and are ready to make an offer. Pre-approval shows you are a serious buyer and it can strengthen your position if there are competing offers on the same home.
10. Listen to your gut
While a home can grow on you over time, often your initial gut reaction can be the true indication of whether a home is the right one for you.
About the author
Mark Brown writes about matters concerning personal finance and money management such as finding the best personal loans and low rate credit cards for an Australian money comparison website.
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I loved the editorial about “10 Tips for When You Are Choosing a Home to Buy”. It is very interesting. Thank you for the information. I will be back.