[toc]
The two primary considerations that most home buyers have in mind when you start looking for a home are:
First – you want to find a home that perfectly meets your needs and desires, and
Second – you want to purchase this home for the lowest possible price.
These 3 Steps Will Help You Save Thousands When You Buy a Home
1. Make sure you know what you want . . . As simple as this sounds, many home buyers don’t have a firm idea in their heads before they go out searching for a home. In fact, when you go shopping for a place to live, there are actually two homes competing for your attention: the one that meets your needs, and the one that fulfills your desires. Obviously, your goal is to find one home that does both. But in the real world, this situation doesn’t always occur.
When you’re looking at homes, you’ll find that you fall in love with one or another home for entirely different reasons. Is it better to buy the 4 bedroom home with room for your family to grow, or the one with the big eat in kitchen that romances you with thoughts of big weekend family brunches? What’s more important: a big backyard, or proximity to your child’s school? Far too often people buy a home for the wrong reasons, and then regret their decision when the home doesn’t meet their needs.
2. Don’t shop with stars in your eyes: satisfy your needs first. If you’re lucky, you’ll find a home that does this and also fulfills your desires. The important thing is to understand the difference before you get caught up in the excitement of looking.
3 Get to know the market: by signing up for a Property Organizer account and receive listings by email as soon as they come onto the market. This also helps you focus on the criteria you need and see homes that match those criteria. The Search Homes page on this website has a Property Organizer that you can sign up for and receive email updates. There are Search Tips and MLS area maps to help you. I may also have already set up some saved searches for some areas.
All website IDX search pages have limitations and do not include every single field and option that I have access to in my realtor MLS system. If you find you cannot search criteria specific enough for what you are looking for, I can set you up directly on the MLS.
To help you develop your home buying strategy, use this form:
What do I absolutely NEED in my next home:
1. __________________________________________________________________________________
2. __________________________________________________________________________________
3. __________________________________________________________________________________
4. __________________________________________________________________________________
5. __________________________________________________________________________________
What would I absolutely LOVE in my next home:
1. __________________________________________________________________________________
2. __________________________________________________________________________________
3. __________________________________________________________________________________
4. __________________________________________________________________________________
5. __________________________________________________________________________________
Know the Psychology of How Sellers Set Their Asking Price
For you to understand how much to offer for a home you’re interested in, it’s important for you to know how sellers price their homes.
Here are 4 common strategies you’ll start to recognize when you begin to view homes:
1. Clearly Overpriced:
Every seller wants to realize the most amount of money they can for their home, and real estate agents know this. If more than one agent is competing for a listing, an easy way to win the battle is to over inflate the value of the home. This is done far too often, with many homes that are priced 10- 20% over their true market value.
This is not in in the seller’s best interest, because in most cases the market won’t be fooled. As a result, the home could languish on the market for months, buyers when they do make offers are coming in lower than market price because there are questions like “What’s wrong with it? Why is it still on the market?”
2. Somewhat Overpriced:
About 3/4 of the homes on the market are 5-10% overpriced. These homes are also usually on the market longer than they should be and longer than a correctly priced home would be.
There is usually one of two factors at play here: either the seller believes in their heart that their home is really worth this much despite what the market has indicated (after all, there’s a lot of emotion caught up in this issue), OR they have left some room for negotiating.
If you are viewing these properties and are interested in making an offer, I always suggest to go ahead and make an offer – sellers do not get serious about negotiating or realizing that they are not going to get more than market value until they receive an offer. Sometimes they don’t become more negotiable until the home has been on the market for awhile.
3. Priced Correctly at Market Value
Some sellers understand that real estate is part of the capitalistic system of supply and demand and will carefully and realistically price their homes based on a thorough analysis of other homes on the market. These competitively priced homes usually sell within a reasonable time frame and very close to the asking price. Buyers who are already in the market looking at homes and are pre-approved will look at the home and buy within the first few weeks of a listing.
4. Priced Below the Fair Market Value
Some sellers are motivated by a quick sale or have time constraints, like a new job. These homes attract multiple offers and sell fast – usually in a few days – at, or above, the asking price. Homes in this price range, a buyer needs to be view and make offers quickly.