- Before you start looking, decide how much you can afford to spend. If you aren’t sure, get advice from your financial institution or your real estate agent.
- Set up a loan to pay for your home even before you start to look. This is called a pre-approved mortgage.
- Remember that interest rates go up and down. You can’t always predict what’s going to happen in the short term.
- Familiarize yourself with some neighborhoods before you start looking at homes. This includes going there after dark, eating in nearby restaurants, driving the commute, and researching school options. After all, you are going to have to live there!
Realty Marketing Solutions can get you set up to be auto-notified of potential properties before you do all of these steps, but you will be prepared to make an offer on the perfect property once you’ve tackled these four items. There is no worse feeling than writing an offer unprepared and missing out because you didn’t have your lender ready or you needed more time to get your ducks in a row than the sellers were willing to give. A prepared buyer often saves money on the purchase price because the rest of their offer is so well put together! RMS can help you be ready – we have years and years of experience doing just that!