Once you have your mortgage pre approval in hand and know what you are looking for and where, it’s time to actively start the real house hunt. What this step looks like, exactly, will vary person to person and situation to situation.
You may be under pressure to find a place quickly due to a pending sale of your current home, an expiring lease, relocation or such. In these cases, you will likely want to hit the pavement hard and steadily to find your new home fast. Or you may have the time and convenience of taking a more casual approach to your hunt.
You may find many properties that peak your interest/curiosity, or, especially during low inventory periods, you may find very few. You may want to set aside a morning or afternoon to see several houses in one outing, or you may just want to see one at a time as they come to market.
Regardless of which approach you to take, I’m happy to respectfully accommodate accordingly.
When a property that looks promising comes to market, I encourage my buyers to send me the address (and fast). If it’s a great property, priced right, it can go under contract very quickly so it’s important to get in to see new listings right away.
As your hunt begins, you will most likely find yourself super gung-ho and excited. As you should be. But as time passes and you view more and more houses without finding the right one, it’s common to become discouraged. Don’t be! I see it time and time again…the right home will come along at the right time. And when you find the one, you will feel something inside that says, “this is it”. That may come in the first day of the hunt after seeing just a couple, or it may come a ways down the road after several outings and many houses. But if you persist, you will finally find it.
Another thing I see (or more precisely, hear) often, are apologies from buyers….for requesting me show them a house they know is all wrong as soon as we open the front door….for viewing a number of houses without finding their match…for asking questions they think they think my be silly or excessive…for any number of things that they should not be sorry for. I’m not working to sell you a house, I’m by your side in this hunt to guide and educate you through the process and to help you find your home…regardless of how long that takes. This is one of the largest purchases of your life. There may be things that you finally need to compromise on, but I don’t want you to “settle”. There is a difference.
I tell my buyers that every house we see is a data point. Whether it’s a good or bad house, it’s a data point in your mind of what is available out there and what you get for the money. The more data points you have, the more confident you can be in hearing that voice inside you saying “this is the one” when you find it.
The hunt can be a roller coaster of emotions, but know that I will be there by your side as your teammate and your friend to help and encourage you through the ups and downs.
Suggested reading:
Fall in Love, Don’t Settle In Your House Hunt
