Step Four: House Hunting

This is part 4 of a series of 7 articles that guide potential buyers through the home buying process. These articles provide insight and suggestions to help homebuyers find the home of their dreams.

Step One: Get Your Finances In Order
Step Two: Find An Agent
Step Three: Get Pre-Approved For A Home Loan

Phew, step four and it’s finally time to look at houses! Back in Step 1 when you figured out your finances, we had you make your wish list. Now it’s time to take that dream home wish list and put it to use searching the market. Search online, visit open houses, ask your friends and family and get looking!

Tip 1: Be patient

When it comes to finding your dream home, that house you just love, the perfect abode for you and your family (current or future), it’s important to realize it’s going to take some time. It may take several months and quite a few offers before you secure that desired property.  Just take your time and be persistent.

This is where having a buyer’s agent will come in handy once again. You have your job so hire a buyer’s agent to represent you so they can do theirs. With an agent working for you to search, follow up and secure prospects, the process will go by much quicker and easier. If you try to tackle the home buying process alone you could be at it for months without any success.

Tip 2: Make back-up offers

In the course of your house hunting you will come across several homes that are already in escrow or your offer on a house might be rejected in favor of another buyer. You might feel like one particular property or another is “the one that got away”. When you run into these instances, sellers will usually accept a back-up offer, so make one!

There are several benefits of back-up offers and your buyer’s agent can help you submit these in order to make your home search more successful. Don’t let your dream home go without a fight! Submitting back-up offers is definitely worth your time because if the house becomes available and you’ve got your back-up offer in, there’s no more competition or negotiating – you’re in line to buy the house.  Back-up offers are binding contracts so just be sure you’re ready to make a serious commitment if you decide to submit one on a home.

Tip 3: Be open to compromises and suggestions

I know I said you just have to be patient and wait for that perfect house however, it’s important to realize you may not know something’s your dream home until you give it a shot. You already got your finances in order which means you’ve set a budget or price range and made your wish list. But just think, if you compromise on a few square feet you could find an available property in a better location than you expected. If you give a town home a try you might find all those extra amenities you’ve been craving.

Your agent is the perfect person to listen to because they know the market better than anyone. By widening your search some unexpected gems could pop up. So take their suggestions, live a little and try out some homes that you might have otherwise over looked. You don’t have to settle for something you don’t want, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to look.

Once you've found that perfect home, the next step is to make an offer. Tune in next week when walk you through making an offer a seller simply can’t refuse!

If you have more questions about the home buying process and would like help, contact us at First Team. We can match you with the perfect agent to guide you through the process and give you the tools you need to find the home you’ve been dreaming of.

 Email us at clientservices [at] firstteam.com

or Call 888-870-1142

Buyers - What is the most helpful thing an agent can do for  you during your home search?

Agents - What is the most important piece of advice you have for buyers while house hunting?

Originally posted at: http://www.firstteam.com/blog/?p=7500