The Best of Times, Worst of Times - Are You Ready To Buy A Home?

Are you ready to buy a home? In the best of times or in the worst of times, we find ourselves faced with movement. This movement pushes us up or down, be it nature or economics, we feel ourselves constantly attempting to steady the ship.  

Let’s throw in plans to settle down and buy a home.  

Now with unknown circumstances happening around us, we decide to steer the ship into unknown waters. That’s when you need to remember to breathe, take baby steps, and find a partner (realtor) to be that beacon of hope. 

Realtors equal hope? I think so. Consider how many houses you’ve bought or sold… Zero? One? Five?  From your first time buying a house to your 25th time, it is always a new adventure - each effort with some new roadblock that can seem like a dead end. But with a partner/realtor that you trust, and that trusts you, you will find your way to the house that speaks to you. Roadblocks be damned. 

WHERE TO START

First-time buyers often ask me, “where do I start? How do I know what’s best for me?” I can tell you since I was young, walking down the street with my mom, we used to talk about what houses we liked the best - my contenders typically hinged on which ones had the best tree houses or gardens. 

I believe most people have similar stories. Whether you’re driving to dinner with your partner looking at porches as you pass or winding down neighborhood streets for an afternoon bike ride, you have started looking. You do know what you like, what you don’t like, and how important that tree house is to you.  

We tend to get caught in trying to tackle all the steps, instead of taking small steps to get to our goal. When you find the right partner, they will be able to really listen and hear what you like/want in a home. 

Sometimes I start by asking my clients where they grew up and what they liked about it.  I find we are usually attracted to those types of homes. For instance, I grew up in a brick house, and I love brick houses! This is the most fun part about buying a home.  What you want, where you want to live, and what you want it to look like.  

A good realtor will be able to show you options that you might have discovered, or thought about as places to live, but when you go see homes in those neighborhoods, you may just fall in love.

RISK & REWARD

Don’t get me wrong, there are some parts that are not as glamorous about buying a home. Assessing your economic situation tends to make the top tier here. I recommend taking this step to do some soul searching. What do you want from life?  Do you want to own a home, but also travel every year?  Do you want to plant a garden?  Grow your family into the home?  Buy the most expensive home on the street, or get the least expensive to save some money?  

Figuring out your risk/reward is the most important foundation when getting serious about home buying. I tell my clients, often, “Can you see yourself living here?”  If the answer is “yes”, my next question is “what is it worth to you?”.  Not the number that is the asking price, but what is the top dollar you would spend on this home.  

It is NOT for your real estate agent to set that price - that is your decision. I finish this process by saying to my clients, “When you buy this home, will you think how much happiness I/realtor brought into your life, or will you sing curses my way every time you walk in your new home”.  This goes back to having someone you trust, partnering with you, that is not family, asking the hard questions, so you as the buyer, find the right home.

After you figure out your own economic/financial situation, and you're comfortable with what you want in a home, the dream becomes more of a reality. Now it  is time to find more partners.  Finding the right realtor, is just the start - albeit a strong one.  

INTERVIEW PARTNERS

My recommendation to everyone is to interview some realtors. We work for you and you should have the best service and experience for YOU. Once you find that person, you should start looking for your mortgage partner. The realtor you choose will be able to help with this, but I recommend interviewing these folks too. 

The mortgage process is a critical part of  buying a home. It is a separate relationship from your realtor, but it should work the same. Will they be your point of contact, can you reach them via telephone or text or email, and will they respond in an appropriate time frame?

In my experience, when you, as the buyer, are informed about the house buying process, are aware about your economic/financial situation, and have found the realtor/mortgage dream team of your choosing then you are ready to buy a home. 

Not only are you ready, but I am confident the process will result in you finding the right home - your home - regardless of whether we are in the best or worst of times.

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Interested in learning more about my approach to Charleston real estate? Let’s chat!