In reality, there are only
five things you need to know and do to make
your home buying experience as simple as possible.
Get pre-approved for your loan.
If possible, get “pre-approved” for a loan
in the amount you’re willing to borrow.
With this pre-approval, you’re in a stronger
position to buy a home when you’re ready
– rather than finding your dream home,
only to lose it to another buyer because
you were waiting on the approval.
Find a great real estate consultant.
Once you’ve decided to buy a home, find
a great real estate consultant. What you’re
looking for is a Buyer’s Agent.
This means that the consultant represents
YOU as the buyer, rather than the person
selling the home.
They will have YOUR best interests at heart.
Really good consultants know their markets,
and will help you find the best match for
your needs and wants.
They can also recommend mortgage brokers
with whom they’ve worked in the past.
Look before you leap.
Drive around the
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neighborhood at different
times of day. Get out and walk
around and chat with neighbors. Some people
like friendly neighbors, others think of them
as nosy.
Drive to the local grocery store, laundry,
anywhere that you frequent.
Visit nearby schools and see for yourself
how the kids behave and how the grounds
look. The point is to see if this is really
the type of neighborhood you want to live
in BEFORE you make an offer.
Be prepared.
Make sure your contract has reasonable contingencies
included to protect you as a buyer. Reasonable
can be things like approval by a home inspector,
and title clearance.
For the long-term investment, make sure
that you buy homeowner’s insurance, and
upgrade it as the value of your new home
and its contents increase.
Be reasonable.
No home will be without flaws. Many times
it’s these flaws that lend character to
older homes, but nonetheless, it will take
SOME work to personalize any home.
Preparing yourself with these five simple
things – loan pre-approval, a great broker,
getting to know the neighborhood, protecting
yourself, and being reasonable – will help
make the home buying process easier for
you and your family.
Jennie Shook, REALTOR®
Broker
WeLocate Real Estate
3050 Navajo Dr.
Prescott Valley, AZ 86314
(928) 458-9453 |