Steve Volkers, Steve Volkers Group
Is this a time in your life where you’re looking to buy your first home, move up or maybe even downsize? When life changes take place, housing is one of the biggest decisions to make. If part of your goals and dreams for the New Year is to make a housing change, here are 4 items to take into consideration to get you set on a path to making an informed and successful home-buying decision.
1. Preparing – How are we paying for this?
Yes, this is the first step. If you have heard the statement “Show me the money!” this is so true in the purchasing a home in 2018. Not only determining how much can you afford but how much are you able to put down, and getting pre-approved through a lending institution. With the competitiveness of the housing market, your lending institution and the amount of money you put down can often determine whether or not your offer is accepted over another offer.
We highly suggest connecting with your Realtor to get a referral to a lender that is highly regarded in the area, and will help push your offer forward.
2. The Search
Now you know your budget and you’re excited to get the search going! Realtor.com, Zillow, Trulia and many other websites are out there ready to show you the latest listings. This can be a good starting place, but proceed with caution as these large national websites more often than not provide information that is dated or inaccurate. If you have questions about or would like to tour a specific home you should call your trusted Realtor. If you are not ready to see properties or connect with a Realtor quite yet, your best resource is using GRAR.com for the most up to date search results and database.
3. Let’s go take a look!
There are a number of way to take a look. Open houses are still very popular, but keep in mind that a significant number of homes have been selling within days, and even hours, of being listed in this competitive seller’s market. We suggest connecting with a Realtor at this point in the conversation that has the ability to get you into homes right away, as soon as they hit the market, and come prepared to write an offer.
4. Make me an offer
Oh man! You found THE HOUSE! And you’re ready to make an offer. 2018 is set to be another huge seller’s market. For example, if no new homes were listed this year after today, we would be completely out of homes to sell in less than 2 months, given the number of buyers currently actively searching for homes in Kent County.
In 2017 we were occasionally up against homes with 20 plus offers on them. However, don’t be discouraged and stop before you start. We can find you the right house, but it may mean you have to be a little more flexible to different options out there.
Items to consider:
- Being open to searching a little outside of the area you want
- Be willing to do improvements to the home over time to make it what you want
- Lower the bathroom or bedroom count to see if there is a home you missed
- When making an offer, take time to work with your agent to talk through all the different items in the negotiations.
Some the key items to determine are:
- Possession timeline
- Surveys
- Inspection
- Earnest deposit amount
- Lender
Your Realtor may suggest different negotiation tactics which sound out of the box, but to get the home in 2018 it’s good to take into account every possible advantage point in your offer. We hope that this gets you started on the right track for purchasing a home in Kent Count in 2018!
