Are you looking to buy your first home in the next year or so? If so, you might be in luck as the nation experiences another seller’s market due to low interest rates and increasing demand from buyers looking to purchase homes before prices rise any further.
However, if you want to get an edge over other homebuyers, here are five tips for buying a home in a sellers market.
1) Don’t get intimidated
An important step to buying a home is arming yourself with as much information as possible. Talk to your real estate agent about what you’re looking for, which neighborhoods are best and how to get ahead of other buyers.
They can provide you with advice on how to make sure you get your dream home! You should also research online about factors that affect where homes are priced—the size of your down payment, interest rates and local economic conditions, like job growth.
And if you think getting pre-approved from a lender will make it easier when it comes time to close on your new house, follow through on that step ASAP; once lenders review your application, they’ll be able to say whether or not they think you can buy a house now.
2) Build good relationships with people you meet (realtors, potential neighbors, etc.)
Your real estate agent might be just as valuable as your lawyer and your Realtor® can play an important role throughout the entire buying process. Remember that buying a home is about more than money, it’s about relationships.
A strong relationship with your Realtor® will only help you when you need someone to talk to when things don’t go perfectly. Similarly, it’s never too early to start building relationships with people you think may one day become neighbors—ask around about who is moving into new homes or who recently moved out of an old one.
3) Know what you want and need
If you’re serious about living in an area, it’s best to have your ducks (financial situation, family considerations, etc.) in a row before you start looking.
This way, when you finally begin your search, you can focus on finding homes that fit what you’re looking for—without feeling pressured to make an offer on every house that hits your radar. If a real estate agent isn’t able to effectively assess what makes sense for you and your family, ask if she or he will be honest with their thoughts about each property.
In most cases they’ll tell you whether or not it’s worth putting an offer down and may even warn against making one if it doesn’t seem like a good deal.
4) Create a great credit history/score
Buying a house is difficult, even under normal circumstances. In fact, research from Fannie Mae says that buyers with credit scores above 760 are four times more likely to get a loan than those with lower scores.
If you’re trying to buy property now, in a seller’s market, it can be all but impossible if your credit history isn’t excellent or at least very good. Make sure you have great credit by reading our guide on how to get a mortgage while improving your credit score and paying down debt; you might also want to consider applying for new cards as soon as possible (but keep track of your spending!).
5) Have enough money saved up for closing costs and any urgent repairs that may come up
When you purchase a home, most lenders require you to put up 20% of your home’s value (with some lenders requiring more) in case something unexpected happens with inspections, appraisals or other closing costs.
If you don’t have enough saved up and take out a loan instead, what was supposed to be walking-around money can quickly add up to big bucks. Plus, if something goes wrong with an inspection or appraisal and it takes longer than expected to close on your property, you could end up having to pay rent on two places—making it that much harder to save toward your down payment.
Make sure you’ve set aside enough funds so you don’t get stuck between a rock and hard place if problems arise during closing.
6) Get in touch with the right agent who can guide you through the home buying process!
Let’s connect today and make the best plan for you and your real estate needs. Fill out the form below and get my Ultimate Buyer’s Guide!