Thinking about buying a home? As much as I’d like to say there are certain times in the market that make it the perfect time to buy a home and historically low interest rates could definitely help create the “perfect timing.”
I’ll let you in on a little secret:
There is no surefire, perfect, or silver bullet time to buy a home. The best time to buy a home is when you are ready to buy a home.
So if you’re thinking about buying a home, call me ASAP and let’s start looking at homes! WAIT… don’t do that! As much as I love, love, love, looking at homes, I highly recommend you do not start shopping for a home until you do this one thing.
Here is the one thing and the super fun part. And just so you know, I tend to use the word fun in the place of hard or challenging because it’s my way of staying positive and finding the silver lining.
So, keeping that in mind, one of the most important things buyers can do when they are searching for a home is to get their Pre-Approval letter. If you already have your Pre-Approval letter or your paying cash, please raise your right hand and pat yourself on the back. You are off to a great start! And you can call me to go check out some homes!
If you don’t have cash or a pre-approval letter, don’t worry, very few people start their home search with a lender or have the funds to pay cash.
However, in today’s market, it’s an absolute! I cannot even introduce you to one home until you have this information. Sounds kind of silly, right? Believe it or not it is one of the most important steps in the home buying process.
HGTV has a show called “Property Brothers”. Have you seen it? In the beginning of the show they introduce them to the most gorgeous home. The home is sexy, smart, and sweet – all the things a buyer dreams of in a new home. Then they pull the rug right out from underneath them. They tell them how much the home costs. Which is always absolutely ridiculously over their budget. It’s painful to watch!
I don’t want to do that to you. It’s painful! You go through the searching process and you see a lot of homes that are not a good match. Then you finally find the one! It’s perfect! And then…. the home you love, the one you have mentally started placing furniture in, imagined the family dinners around the dining room table, and the BBQ’s in the beautiful backyard… is way out of your budget.
Or even worse, I’ve seen the exact opposite happen. You search for a home in a certain price point. Find nothing that works for you, so you stop looking. When actually you’ve been selling yourself short. You might be able to afford more than you think you can; and an additional $10,000 can open up a slew of possible homes. And you wasted valuable time.
So, the first thing…and I cannot stress this enough… the very first thing you need to do, if you are thinking about buying a home, is to start with your lender or mortgage broker. I promise you will not be sorry you did!
If you’re not sure what you should be looking for in a lender, I’ve got you covered. Check out my blog post, Questions to ask When Choosing a Lender.
