Searching For & Finding The Right Home For You
Once we have determined your home buying budget, the next step is to get pre-qualified so when you find the home of your dreams we can submit an offer and start the process of securing your new home. You can get pre-qualified for a loan by going to the safe and secure mortgage application on the Personal Mortgage Brokers site. (Please note that the form is secure using the latest encryption technology, so no information can be pirated, and we assure you that your sensitive financial information will remain private at all times.)
But how do you go about finding that home when you have a full-time job or a family to take care of - or both!
As your financing and real estate consultant, we will sit down with you and determine what you and your family are looking for. We will research the parameters and provide you with a selection of suitable properties. This can be either emailed to you, faxed, or sent by land mail. This will help you start to understand what is on the home market and what you could get for your hard earned dollars. We will continue to send you information on other properties for sale and consult with you on a regular basis to get feedback which will help focus our research. We will also let you know of any open houses which may fit your parameters. If you would like to attend an open house or have found a couple of interesting prospects, we will set up an appointment for us to view the property. Perhaps you decide to 'drive-by' properties which are on your short list to see if it is worth investigating further.
All this is designed to help you use your time efficiently and to take the stress out of choosing the perfect home. By working together in this way we will be equipped to recognize and purchase the right property. With an organized house buying plan, you can minimize a great deal of the emotional impact. By determining your buying power, your wants and needs, and having an organized search plan, your chances of a stress-free experience are much better.
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FINDING THE RIGHT HOUSE: The House Search
- Once you decide to buy a home, prepare before you go on your home search. The information on this Web Site should be very familiar to you before you go looking for homes. It is very tempting to rush out and look at houses, but to do so without full preparation can be disastrous and expensive. If you review the checklist you will find that "house hunting" is about halfway down the list.
- Get your financial house in order first! We can't stress this enough -- it will save you an enormous amount of time, aggravation and heartache. If you are concerned about your credit, we can help.
- Determine what your budget will allow you to buy and stick to it. Many people over reach in this respect, and this can be hazardous in the long run.
- Get preapproved for a mortgage. This will not only give you an idea of how much a lender will approve, it will make your home buying process a great deal easier.
- Familiarize yourself with the different housing types available.
- Establish your minimum requirements as well as any desired additional features -- your needs and wants.
- Note any items that you do not want in a house.
- Determine the desired location based on jobs, community, accessibility, and amenities (schools, work, public transportation, etc.)
- Familiarize yourself with the mortgage process.
- Be aware of the Agency issue. Doing a house search before you have your own Agent may result in not have the buyers representation you want.
- Use all resources available in looking for homes: Friends, relatives, a good Real Estate Agent, advertisements.
- Don't just buy a home for the present. Make sure to account for the future.
- While looking, use our scorecard to compare properties. A home buying scorecard is great when it comes time for comparisons (and for reminding you of which home had which features!)
- Understand the home inspection process -- especially the personal inspection aspect, so that you can weed out unacceptable houses quickly
- Maintain perspective! You may find an acceptable house on the first day or the fifteenth. House hunting can take months, or minutes. Everything depends on the local market, the season, interest rates, etc. The important thing is to find the right home!
House Buying "Needs vs Wants"
Before you begin your house search, make a realistic shopping list to narrow your choices of properties. House hunting can be time consuming, especially if you have not determined in advance the parameters of your house search. Many home buyers make the mistake of misinterpreting a WANT as a NEED. As a result, they often dismiss homes that perfectly fit their needs in search for one that has their wants. You must be able to differentiate between what you need and what you want. Your budget must be the determining factor here, not a "wish list." Note, also, that in the examples below, many WANTS can be added to an existing home at a later date.
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Sample NEEDS |
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Sample WANTS |
| Enough square footage for comfortable living |
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Carpeting color, paint color, exterior color, roof color, etc. |
| Enough bedrooms to accommodate your family |
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Pool or Jacuzzi (unless for medical reasons) |
| Adequate number of bathrooms |
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Wood floors |
| Eat-in kitchen |
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Bay windows |
| Garage or basement for storage needs |
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Built-in entertainment center |
| Lot size to accommodate children's play area |
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Brass lighting fixtures |
| Adaptation for Handicapped |
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Skylights |
| Proximity to a specific school |
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A pretty view |
| All living areas on single floor for health reasons |
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Specific brand/types of appliances |
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Photo Copyright © 2005 Paul Silver Photography
View Featured Southeastern MA Homes For Sale Listings
Search the Multiple Listing Service For Cape Cod & Bristol County MA Homes For Sale
Finding The Right House
Buying As An Investment
Needs vs. Wants
Needs List Download (PDF)
Check List
Additional Information at About.Com
Buying As An investment: The New Home Finder & The New Home Owner
When purchasing a home -- especially if you are a first time home buyer --many people get caught up in the present that they totally overlook their future plans and outlook. Buying a home that fits your current needs and wants is the priority, but this should not overshadow awareness that future needs and wants may be different. These future concerns should be addressed whether you plan to stay in the home for a considerable length of time or if you have plans of selling the house within a shorter time frame.
There are two costs that need to be considered in the purchase of real estate. First is the initial price of the home. Second and just as important is the eventual resale value. Therefore ignoring the factors that affect resale, or your continued enjoyment of the home if you decide not to sell, is to be unaware of the real TOTAL cost of the home purchase.
There are a few important factors that play into the total cost of purchase that should be considered when comparing homes, including:
Size
Not adequately considering the size of the home can be one of the most expensive mistakes in your home purchasing process. If you buy a house that is too big or small for the neighborhood, you will either be paying for size that you cannot recoup (too big) or face a more difficult sale at resale time (too small). The middle ground is often the best ground, and in this case it is the best fitting house for the area that will bring the best return on investment.
Location
Location is usually the most important factor influencing the value of a home. When buying for the future it is necessary to consider how location will affect resale value. If development is moving in one direction in an area, it may pay to buy with that in mind rather than buying in the area that is currently in demand. Be aware that there is a limit to how far people will commute. To purchase outside of that limit can make a home much more difficult to sell. In a number of areas there has been movement BACK toward cities as more commuters get tired of long drives and traffic jams.
Style
Over years, home styles evolve and change. In many areas split level and split foyer (or split entry) homes were very popular for a time. Today, in these same areas, virtually no one is building that style of home. This lowers the resale value of homes of the older type. Staying with classic styles, depending on the area where the home is located, is generally the best tactic.
Trends
Have you ever walked into a home that has not been updated since the 1970s? Virtually any buyer of such a house will need to factor in the cost of remodeling and updating -- if they will consider the home at all. That will result in a lower sale price, thus costing the seller money.
This is a good lesson: avoid trendy style homes when purchasing today. It makes more sense, from a resale perspective, to stay as close as possible to the classics: white appliances, basic styled quality cabinetry and trim, pile carpet in nondescript colors (beige, gray and the like) will bring a better return than a home that is loaded with the latest styles but will look very dated when it is time to sell. Of course, these things can be changed when the decision to sell is made.
Buying a home is an experience with both financial AND emotional aspects. It is important not to neglect either one. Focusing solely on the financial side runs the risk of missing the most enjoyable parts of home ownership -- the emotional ones. Concentrating only on the emotional aspects, however, can cost a substantial amount of money in the long run. A new home finder must keep these things foremost in their mind. Remember, there are two costs associated with home ownership: The original price and the net cost when the resale value is factored in.
Take some time to develop your list of NEEDS and WANTS. You can print out scorecards and recap sheets here that you can use as you begin to evaluate the homes you see while house hunting. The goal is to emphasize finding the house that includes all of your needs and as many of your wants as is practical yet remains within your budget. Once you have a clear idea of what your house needs to have, actually looking for a home will be much easier!
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