7 Things you need to know before you purchase your next home

1. Be very specific on which homes you view

The more you view, the harder the purchase is. Commit to only seeing the homes that specifically meet your criteria. The “what if I don’t see everything” disease will breed unneeded stress on the process.

2. Work with one agent

When you inquire with multiple agents, you’ll find yourself doing all the heavy lifting. When you work with the right agent based on your needs, you get to sit back and enjoy the process.

3. Only get homes from the source of truth

It can be tempting to scour realtor and zillow.com but the most accurate data is in your local MLS. Make sure your agent gets you direct access so that when you see a home for sale, you know it is actually available.

4. When in doubt, write the offer

Too many times, we see clients not write offers because of what they assume the seller will entertain. This is a failed strategy. If there is a property you like at a price you’ll pay, no matter what the list price is, ALWAYS write the offer. You may be surprised at some of the outcomes.

5. Deal with financing up front

There is nothing worse than losing your dream home to financial requirements. It is 100% avoidable and will remove 90% of the stress of buying a home. The actual process of viewing homes and negotiating terms, is the fun part. Most of the headaches come with financing. Dealing with that upfront will pave the path to success.

6. Negotiate what matters

When you negotiate just to negotiate, someone has to lose. You never know when you may need the other side to concede to a condition that comes up later. Negotiating just to negotiate will weaken your position when it may matter most.

7. Flexibility in terms will bring you more success

Different homeowners are motivated by different factors in the closing. Some may be all about the money. Some may value speed of closing over the money. Some may want to waive the appraisal or sell as is. Knowing this ahead of time will increase the odds of getting your offer accepted paving the path to a smooth closing.