Real Estate Investing:Home Buying 101: Step 8: Shop for your House

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This is the eighth post in a series of twelve on buying a home, now updated for 2009.

You’ve prepared yourself by putting your finances in order, shopping for a loan, obtaining pre-approval for a mortgage amount you can afford and hiring a buyer’s agent.  Now, you’re ready to find the house of your dreams - or at least the house that fits your wants and needs right now.

House=Life

Buying a house is an expression of your personality and lifestyle.  If you are a private person who doesn’t like nosy neighbors or noise, then condo living isn’t for you.  Or, if you have small children, then you probably don’t want to be in a secluded area where there are no other children for miles.

I begin the search for the perfect property with clients by asking them a lot of personal questions such as:

–What do you do for a living?

–How long do you anticipate living in this house? Or, what is your five-year plan for yourself?  Marriage, children, new job, etc?

–How many family members will be in the home? And what are their ages?

–What are your hobbies? Traveling, boating, pets, etc?

–Do you entertain or plan to have overnight guests?

–Do you consider yourself handy around the house?

–How long do you want your commute to be?

Then, I ask questions about what towns or area buyers are looking for and things they like and dislike about homes they’ve seen.  I may ask buyers to describe the house they see themselves living in.  Lastly, I’ll ask clients for the details - number of bedrooms, baths, size, style, location and amenities.

Then, it’s a process of matching needs to what is available on the market - both through the multiple listing service and for sale by owner properties.  An agent will suggest properties but many people like to look online for themselves and will ask to see certain properties.  But be aware that your agent has access to the most up-to-date listings - Realtor.com and other advertising and lead generation sites may have houses advertised that are no longer on the market.

Buying a house will likely involve compromises.

Even people looking at million dollar homes need to make compromises. You may need to trade a larger back yard for a larger house. Or, you may need to compromise on condition to get the price and neighborhood.

Don’t Rush It But Don’t Look At Houses Forever

Allow plenty of time to find a house.  It typically takes between 30 -45 days to complete inspections, get loan commitment and close on a property - that’s after you already found the house and have an accepted offer. If you need to move in June, don’t wait until May to begin your search.

On the flip side, don’t drag your search out for months and months, unless you’re looking for something really unique or hard to find.  Just like properties can become shopworn, buyers can become overwhelmed by the number of houses they’ve seen.  If you’ve seen a lot of houses and you can’t find anything you like, then it’s time to go back to the drawing board and really analyze what it is you’re looking for.

How many houses is too many?  Or, how long is too long? It depends on what you’re looking for but I think that in most cases, if you’ve seen 30 houses and haven’t written an offer yet, you’re either not looking in the right places, have unrealistic expectations or just aren’t ready to buy yet.

Here are a few other tips to help you make a good decision:

–Bring a spouse, family member, or friend.

–Make sure the house fits into your budget.

–Ask about utility and maintenance costs.

–Think of commuting time and costs.

–Compare what you’d like to have against what you really need.

–Consider your monthly budget - can you afford the renovations and maintenance that you’ll need to do?

–Compare what you’d like to have against what you really need.

–Don’t make a “spur-of-the-moment” decision.

–Ask your agent for help.  Your agent may be willing to preview properties for you to save you time.

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