So, you’re ready to buy a home; congratulations! However, you probably have a few questions going forward. Purchasing a property is a process with many important stages. First, you will need to work out your finances. Then, think about where and what kind of property you want to buy. This is where a great real estate website comes in handy. Look out for sites that use Showcase IDX’s smart property search features.
Once you have found a property you like, you need to know how to negotiate:
- Remember to stay within your budget!
- This is the time to request a home inspection, and once you close the deal, get homeowner’s insurance to protect yourself.
- You will pack and move in.
Let’s explore these stages in more depth.
Work Out Your Finances
The first stage of buying a property is working out your financial position. Next, you need to sit down and carefully evaluate how much money you have saved that can be assigned to this purchase. This will help you to determine how much you can borrow from a mortgage lender. Once you have discussed your financial position with a mortgage company and been approved for a mortgage, you will know roughly what your budget is.
When you create a budget for property purchases, it is essential that you bear in mind the hidden costs of buying a home, such as taxes, legal fees, moving costs, and realtor fees. You should never include every last penny you own in your home-buying budget. Instead, ensure you still have some savings set aside for unforeseen costs in your personal or business life. Retaining a financial cushion is the most responsible thing you can do while preparing to make a huge investment.
Think About Where You Want To Buy
When you have a good idea of your budget, you can start thinking about the property. The first consideration is the location of your dream home. In which country or state would you like to make a home? Next, consider the lifestyle, language, weather, work opportunities, culture, and personal dreams. The sky’s the limit when choosing a location for your home, as great real estate agents are positioned all over the globe to help you secure your ideal property.
eXp Realty operates in 24 markets worldwide, with more than 86,000 agents in total. So, search online today to see which location speaks to you. If your dream is warm weather, access to an excellent business district, and a luxurious lifestyle, eXp realty in Dubai might be the direction for you. It is a small world in this modern, high-tech environment, so don’t let distance put you off from exploring your dream city.
Consider The Type Of Property
Once you have picked a location and set your budget, you can consider the type of property you want. The location you have landed on will inform the kind of property you are looking for. For instance, you will likely be looking for an apartment in Dubai. Meanwhile, if you have chosen a rural US countryside location, a farm or bungalow might suit your taste and be more available.
You must consider the number of bedrooms and bathrooms you would like, the floor space, the land size, and any other factors that will make or break the property for you. Expert realtors at eXp can help you to find a property that can offer your family the best future possible. eXp boasts the highest-rated home search in America, which you can filter by state, city, or zip code. Professional real estate agents at eXp will guide you through US communities and help match you with a home you and your family can love for years.
Use A Great Real Estate Website
When searching for your ideal home, you must use a top-quality real estate website that offers exclusive listings, high-tech search features, and protection for your personal data. These features, such as AI-powered tools that help buyers find the most suitable homes and mortgages, make a great real estate website. Make sure you do your research and use a website you can trust to be reliable, efficient, thorough, and secure.
Many big property sales websites, like Zillow, Redfin, and Trulia, generate much of their revenue from collecting and selling user data to marketers. You should avoid using these sites to avoid being hounded by property sale emails. You want to use a site with your best interests at heart rather than a real estate website that uses your personal information for profit.
Use All Of The Available Resources
One of the most significant resources available to real estate websites is Showcase IDX, the leading IDX plugin for real estate agents’ WordPress websites. This plugin has many fantastic benefits for home buyers and sellers. So, everyone’s a winner.
For instance, with Showcase IDX’s Friends and Family Search feature, you can search for your dream home and collaborate with others in the search. Your family or friends can send you properties, comment on your saved properties and share thoughts on various features of different homes. You need to add collaborators to your home search party and wait for their reactions and comments to come in. This can make you feel much more supported through the search process.
Moreover, Showcase IDX has a fully-integrated map search feature that can seamlessly combine map-based searches with its knowledge of multiple search listing (MLS) features without getting overwhelmed. You can search properties with exact specifications and access a massive catalog of listings nationwide.
Never Exceed Your Budget
With the help of the best real estate websites, high-tech search features, and professional realtors who can guide you to securing your dream property, you will find a home you love. This is when you must scrub up on your negotiation skills and make an offer.
The negotiation process can be exciting but also a little stressful and high-energy. Both you and the seller want to wind up with a satisfying deal. In the thrill of it all, especially once you are emotionally attached to a property, it can be tempting to exceed your budget to ensure you land the deal. However, this is never a good idea.
You carefully worked out your finances at the beginning of this process so that you could comfortably buy a home, pay all the associated additional costs and meet the mortgage payments. Exceeding your budget now could cause you significant financial strains down the line. It can be hard to walk away from a deal if the price does not come down into your acceptable range, but going over budget is not sensible or recommended.
Know How To Negotiate
Instead, you need to be a strong negotiator. You can use the help of a professional, expert realtor to fight your corner. They have the vocabulary, knowledge, and experience to help you get a better deal. Ensure you and your realtor have the latest information about the local housing market and average house prices so you can go into the negotiation strong with the right information. This can be used to leverage the conversation in your favor.
When you make an offer, you should expect an initial knockback. This is a negotiation, after all, so the first offer is just a kicking-off point. Start low and work up to the ideal price. That said, do not start so low that you are not taken seriously. Your real estate agent will be able to guide you with this initial offer and the following haggling.
If you are a first-time buyer or financially solvent and therefore not dependent on selling your current property to buy this new one, you should mention this in the negotiation. This will make you a more appealing and lower-risk candidate to sellers, as there are no conditions on your ability to make the payment.
Request A Home Inspection
Before you close the deal and purchase your new home, requesting a home inspection report is wise. This will highlight any structural issues, including the foundation, roof, facade, and interior of the house, as well as problems with plumbing, electrics, heating systems, attic, and basement. If the report highlights any defects, you can negotiate the price down or request that issues be resolved before you proceed.
Protect yourself from expensive repairs and unforeseen costs soon after moving into your new home with a home inspection report. This will also reduce your risk of overpaying for your property. Home inspections usually cost a few hundred dollars; if you compare this with the cost of a new roof or repairs to cracks in the foundations, it is a no-brainer. Another great way to protect yourself financially is to get home insurance.
Get Homeowners Insurance
Once you have secured your home and even before you move in, purchasing homeowners insurance is a great idea. This will protect you from financial losses due to structural damage or theft of property in your home. Homeowner’s insurance covers disasters like floods, electrical fires, severe weather events, and robberies. Structural damage due to an unforeseen disaster can be very costly, so protect yourself financially and protect your new home with insurance.
Homeowners insurance is different from a home warranty, as it protects the property’s structure and your home possessions from disasters. Meanwhile, a home warranty covers financial losses due to the breakdown or wear and tear of home appliances and systems. Your home warranty will subsidize the costs of repairs and replacements for systems like heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) and goods like the refrigerator and washing machine. It’s a great idea to get both homeowners insurance and a home warranty.
Pack Efficiently And Move House
Now that it is time to move into your new home, you can start thinking about what you want to bring. This is an excellent opportunity to sort through your belongings and let go of some of the worn-out or neglected clothes, accessories, and furniture that you no longer have a use for. Anything in decent condition can be donated or given to friends and family. The rest can be recycled or binned.
Let this be a new start for you and your family. Refrain from overwhelming yourself with boxes full of junk or unnecessary items that will not bring joy to your new home. Of course, some things will have a lot of nostalgic significance, and they can be kept. But anything that is not essential could be left behind. This will make packing much easier and ensure your new home feels fresh and rejuvenated.
That said, you can use a professional moving company to make the packing and moving process even more seamless and stress-free. They will pack your items for you, keep valuables safe in transit and deal with all the heavy lifting. After that, you have to give clear instructions and make your own way to the new home.
As you can see, buying a home involves many stages and considerations. Hopefully, this comprehensive guide has given you an idea of what to expect. From working out your finances and deciding where you want to live to choosing what type of property you want and using a great real estate website, there is a lot to remember. Also, remember that Showcase IDX has world-class property search features to make this process easier for buyers.
Then, you need to stay within your budget, negotiate well and request a home inspection before you close the deal. Once you have secured your home, you should get homeowner’s insurance as soon as possible. Then, you’ll be all set to move in!