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8 Tips to Guide You on Your Home Search
- Research before you look. Decide what features you most want to have in a home, what neighborhoods you prefer, and how much you’d be willing to spend each month for housing.
- Be realistic. It’s OK to be picky, but don’t be unrealistic with your expectations. There’s no such thing as a perfect home. Use your list of priorities as a guide to evaluate each property.
- Get your finances in order. Review your credit report and be sure you have enough money to cover your down payment and closing costs. Then, talk to a lender and get pre-qualified for a mortgage. This will save you the heartache later of falling in love with a house you can’t afford.
- Don’t ask too many people for opinions. It will drive you crazy. Select one or two people to turn to if you feel you need a second opinion, but be ready to make the final decision on your own.
- Decide your moving timeline. When is your lease up? Are you allowed to sublet? How tight is the rental market in your area? All of these factors will help you determine when you should move.
- Think long term. Are you looking for a starter house with plans to move up in a few years, or do you hope to stay in this home for a longer period? This decision may dictate what type of home you’ll buy as well as the type of mortgage terms that will best suit you.
- Insist on a home inspection. A home inspection will help you learn about the home and identify the issues.
- Get help from a REALTOR®. Hire a real estate professional who specializes in buyer representation in the area that you’re interested in. Unlike a listing agent, whose first duty is to the seller, a buyer’s representative is working only for you and Buyer’s reps are usually paid out of the seller’s commission payment.
If your plan is to move from one home to another, just putting your home on the market isn’t enough. Your home will need to be ready to show and you’ll need a strategy to accomplish the sale and purchase of another home in a reasonable time frame.
With 10 years selling homes in metro Salt Lake and 20 years in the real estate business, I have many strategies and an in depth understanding of what it takes to help you sell and buy another home. Call or email me if you’d like to take advantage of this opportunity!
Contact SLCHomeBuyer and Kevin Coyle
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