Let’s get straight to it, buying a house is no easy task. Even if you’ve bought several houses over the years, it never gets any easier. Each and every house offers so many different quirks, no house is ever the same. Plus, with the housing market constantly fluctuating, what you can get for your money also varies too, only adding more stress to the process. However, house-hunting doesn’t have to be tough, with a few helpful tips, the whole process can be enjoyable. After all, you want your new home to be filled with love and happiness, you don’t want a stressful buying process to taint it. So, what can you do to make buying a house a lot easier? Well, here are a few steps you can follow.
Find a great realtor
You may think that you only need a good realtor when you’re selling your home, but that’s not the case. It’s important to find a good realtor whether you’re buying or selling. One easy way to find a realtor is to do a quick search on the internet. For example, if you are searching in the West Knoxville area, you’d type “West Knoxville real estate” to find the right real estate agent for you.
A realtor can show you multiple properties and offer your home to numerous buyers. As they’re well experienced in selling and buying homes, they know how to handle almost any situation. A realtor can protect your time. They can steer you away from any properties that don’t fit the bill, they can discourage any time wasters you may connect with, and they can save you time by writing up any contacts you may need. A realtor is great if you also need to make any negotiations. When buying or selling, the house asking price can often have some wiggle room, meaning various offers can be put in. Some of these offers are reasonable and may just be slightly under the asking price or sometimes even somewhat over if there’s a bidding war. Still, a realtor can ensure that the property is sold for the best price possible. Plus, a realtor can manage anyone who is putting in lowball offers and wasting time. Any move can be challenging, but with a realtor by your side, it’ll be far more straightforward than without.
Do your research
This may be a given but try to do as much research as possible when buying or selling your home. If you’re selling, think of ways to improve your property’s value. Whether it’s small renovations and enhancing curb appeal or more extensive renovations such as opting for energy-efficient windows, these changes can drastically improve any home’s value and catch potential buyers’ eye. However, not every renovation will enhance a home’s value, so it’s essential to research what will and won’t. Energy-efficient windows will always boost a home’s value, but a cinema room or loft conversion may not. If you’re buying a home, research the areas you would like to live in. Look at the average value of desired homes and if any planning applications are being processed involving the desired location. You may want to consider other things, such as nearby schools, the distance between neighborhoods and hospitals, etc. Doing your research will show you precisely what you like and don’t like before you even head to any house viewings. Although it seems like a mammoth task at first, this will save you plenty of time in the long run.
Know your finances
It’s very likely that you’ll be taking out some kind of loan when moving to a new house. Whether it’s a mortgage loan or a smaller loan for renovations, it’s very common to borrow money. It’s important to submit any applications you need before looking for a new home so that you know exactly what you can afford. There’s nothing worse than finding the perfect home and discovering that it’s not in your budget. To avoid this heartbreak, make sure you know exactly what you can afford. Mortgage advisors are great when it comes to organizing finances, but any financial advisor would be a great help.
The main point to take away from this is that a realtor would make this whole process a lot easier, so if you don’t have one already, do so. It’ll be worth it!
According to them, the three most critical factors to consider when purchasing a home are location, location, location.