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So my dilemma is, either look for perfect and miss out on a lot of stuff or be open-minded and have 50 choices and be overwhelmed. Do realtors guide you on this? I figure they're paid only on sales, so I am dubious they'd be thrilled if I said "OK, let's start looking at 50 homes!"
One you have owned a few homes, had painting, remodeling, etc., it becomes much easier to look at a home which is in need of updating and overlook those problems because you have learned to visualize what they would look like after those changes have been made.
If you have only rented you are use to things either being exactly the way you want, or you look for something else to rent. Because if you don't like the kitchen in an apartment or townhouse for rent, it isn't going to be changed.
You might want to study some before and after remodeling photos which likely would be online by the companies that provide that kind of service. Really studying them I think can cause you to start looking at the homes for what they could be instead of what they are.
Unless it is a new development done by a large company who had the good sense to hire designers, the vast majority of colors and decor selected by home owners is horrible.
Wait- are you shopping online for houses in a place far from where you currently live? Is that why you are worried about having to see twenty houses- because you have to choose in a weekend or something?
You talk about seeing home in affluent and less affluent areas, this tells me you aren't actually sure WHERE you want to live. Which seems like a problem, and is usually the issue when you are moving somewhere unfamiliar to you. In that case you need to contact a realtor local to the AFFLUENT section of the new city. They will be able to give you the lowdown not just on their affluent zones but also steer you to a better compromise/bargain neighborhood if needed. Once you talk to them you can shop online in the neighborhoods they recommend.
Take on only cosmetic issues, no serious fixer upper despite what a bargain it may appear to be. You can paint walls and cabinets, have carpet removed or installed, remove wallpaper, redo floors. That is it.
Just to reset the table because people are trying to be very helpful (thank you all), but I think missing my question:
I am able to make a long list of things I want in a house. But if I do, then I only have 2 homes to look at. Doing that would be silly -- I am well aware of that. Because I'd be losing out on great deals on homes that are maybe only slightly off (like, maybe it's five minutes further away from work but $50K less). But if I only go for what I need, then I have dozens upon dozens of homes. Even if I try for the middle ground, I have around 20 homes to look at. Is that too much? Would a realtor lose their patience with me? Or am I "doing it right"?
You're like a kid in a candy shoppe -- so many choices, so little time . . . :-) That's a problem with first-time home buyers, who don't have a clear vision of exactly what they need. To be fair, most people think they have a clear vision, but often get distracted by an incredible master bath, the pool area, or a kick-a$$ media room or a must-have view. As a buyer's agent, I do a lot of re-focusing to keep people on task. :-)
You need to approach it strategically.
First, get pre-qualified by a mortgage lender and see exactly how much you can afford. Forget those on-line calculators -- you need a human being who can look at your credit, income, and knows the area in terms of taxes, HOA fees, etc.. Get a good handle on what you qualify for, and determine what your budget is for a house (keep in mind that it isn't necessarily "the most you can buy." :-)
Then, see the 2-3 homes that have EVERYTHING you want. It's not silly to do that for your first foray. Any of those seem like a good fit? Visiting those homes will give you an idea of what's available in your price range, and walking around them will give you a feel for the house, the neighborhood and if it feels right. You may decide that you don't want to deal with lawn maintenance, which would narrow your choices. Or you really want a large master bath. Or it's important to you to have an open living area for easier entertaining. That kind of stuff.
If none of those work, then you broaden your search a bit. I would recommend not seeing more than 5-7 homes a trip. It's too easy to get confused. As you visit them, rank them. Home 1 is good, but home 2 is better. Home 2 is better than Home 3. Home 4 is better than home 2. By the end of the day, you have a ranked list of the homes in your price range that you prefer -- so you keep the top of the list, and the others drop off.
This is also complicated by the current market. There is a bit of a slow down in some areas (although other areas are still getting multiple offers the first day). If you are in a hot market and see a house that checks all your boxes, try not to postpone a decision very long before making an offer. Talk to an agent in your area about your options, but around here, during the due diligence phase that starts as soon as the contract is in effect, you can basically walk away from a contract for no reason at all. So make an offer, get your foot in the door, and buy yourself some time. I've had clients who had to "think it over" for several days, only to discover that the house that they had ended up talking themselves into and getting excited about went under contract with someone else. One couple did this five times before they finally learned that a) they were not looking in a part of down that tolerated low-ball offers, and b) if you find a good house, don't dilly-dally, because with the lack of supply (around here), you can almost bet that someone else is going to think it's a mighty fine house, too, and beat you to it.
A good buyer's agent will sit down and have a buyer's consultation with you, and be able to make recommendations based on price trends (neighborhood sales going up or down?), possible new commercial construction close by, zoning issues, school issues (may not affect you personally, but having a neighborhood rezoned to a less popular school can adversely affect your value), and their overall knowledge of the neighborhood.
As long as you are purposeful in your house hunt, your agent will stick with you. When you become a tire-kicker and just want to go out and look at random houses because you can't think of anything better to do that day, you will find that your agent will have less and less time for you as other clients begin to demand their attention.
There is no perfect house. EVERY HOUSE is a compromise, so you need to develop clarity on what are your must-haves and what are your "nice to haves". Making those first steps into looking at homes can be scary for some buyers--it's a big step.
The thing that's most important is the neighbor, location and good school systems. Those things are what keeps property values up. As for the home itself, ideally it should have at least 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. It can be 1.5 baths, but having two bathrooms is important. The price jumps up if there is a 4th bedroom, but there is no reason to get a 4 bedroom home unless you really need it.
Depending on the climate a pool can be a huge negative. People with small children are fearful of pools, and they have good reason to be. Pools also take up property space and depending on the climate they can have very limited use. Here in the New York City area, having an outdoor pool is kind of a waste, because there are only a few weeks out of the year where the weather is right for them. Then there is cost to take care of them, get them ready for the winter, get them ready for the summer, etc. Now if you were getting a home in a place like South Florida, a pool would be a plus because it can be enjoyed for many months out of the year.
You need to narrow down things which are important to you. Some people retiring are only looking for a 2 bedroom place. When I see a home for sale with a hot tub, to me that's a negative because it is an additional cost to get rid of it. But if that's important to you, it needs to be on your wish list.
Agreed. That's why I suggest you don't buy just thinking about future resale value. When I was looking for homes, my realtor harped endlessly about how this home and that home was in a good school district, a fact completely irrelevant to me. What do YOU want, OP? You will be living in it, not anonymous future buyers, and you have no idea what they will want because RE trends change all the time anyway. Some big factors which might help you narrow down your options are attached vs. detached garage, kitchen size/layout, one or two stories, price range, open vs. closed floor plan (an open floor plan can surprisingly end up being a big drawback,) and HOA fees.
Location: In a rural place where people can't bother me ;)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by njquestions
I've moved around quite a lot in my life and have always lived in apartments. I guess I could continue to do that, but I'm genuinely interested in buying a house. Since I've never done that before, I feel like I'm in over my head in everything, including even the mechanics of buying (like getting a mortgage, LOL).
But before I even get to that point, I'm trying to figure out how to even find a house. I go on real estate websites and the number of homes available are overwhelming. Of course, location and price are the obvious points to narrow down homes. I try to limit location to: 1) accessibility to my job and 2) good schools/safe neighborhoods. Price is price.
But even with that, often there are dozens and dozens of homes. Other things that are important to me don't really narrow down things, often. For example, I'm thinking 2-3 BR, at least 2 baths, and no pool. Garage is a plus. That eliminates almost nothing.
So beyond that, what do you guys look for to narrow down choices? I always see those shows on HGTV where people have to choose between 3 houses (yes, I know that it's staged), and even that is difficult sometimes. If I had like 30 choices, my head would be spinning. Also, I doubt a realtor would want to show me 30 homes.
Any help with this? Part of me prefers newer homes, since I guess to me they are, well, newer. But a lot of old homes have a lot of character and charm. But I don't know if it's smart to take an old home that may have a lot of maintenance issues down the road.
Ok so first before you even begin to look for a home, you need to get a pre approval letter from a lender. This is a document stating that the lender has ran your credit and looked at your debt to income ratio and has given a rough estimate on what you can afford to buy based on your unique financial situation.
Once you have a pre approval letter, you can begin looking for a home. I wouldn't look at the highest price range your pre approved for though, look 30-50k lower to start with. Realtor.com is a great way to get an idea of whats out there. You can search by zip code and expand the filters to suit your needs.
Buying a home isn't like buying a car or having a credit card. Its not a consumer loan, its a home loan. I'm not educated enough to explain past that, maybe someone else can chime in. Hopefully, you've got really good credit and sufficient income to support a mortgage and a good interest rate.
Bring a notebook and camera with you to make notes so you don't get confused. Share with your realtor what you do and don't like with each house and your concerns so they can steer you towards more acceptable places. Drive by neighborhoods at different times of day. A realtor can do a lot for you if you find the right one, someone who is knowledgeable and has your best interests at heart. Ask for a buyer's agent as opposed to a seller's agent. If the realtor isn't working for you find another.
Look in the basement and inspect the walls and floors there, look at the electric box, look at the furnace, look at the roof and gutters. If you have a friend or relative who is a contractor or a handyman or an experienced buyer see if they can go with you even if you have to pay them a couple of dollars. Not so much because you want to redo anything but because they can point out major problems you might not see. A good realtor should be able to comment about these things as well. A home inspection will show these later on in the process but why get mentally invested first. I wouldn't recommend buying a place that needs extensive work. There will be continuing minor costs in maintenance in any house and even some larger unexpected ones like tree roots breaking up pipes. I also wouldn't recommend going whole hog with your budget for the same reason.
Like some others have said already. Talk to lender first to see how much house you can afford to buy. Then find a location/area that you want to live. And list out the most important "must have" in your home. (example...big or small kitchen, # bedrooms and baths, one or two story, big or small yard, etc) That is how I got started.
For example...When I was looking for home. I knew I wanted 4br with a 3 car garage in XYZ area. Even if I LOVED the house and it had a 2 car garage...I passed on it because I knew I would be disappointed down the road. So that helped me narrow down my choices. I also didn't want a house at T-intersection. Also keep in mind, there is no perfect home. You have to decide for yourself what is most important to you. And only YOU can make that decision. No agent/realtor can make that decision for you. good luck!
So beyond that, what do you guys look for to narrow down choices? I always see those shows on HGTV where people have to choose between 3 houses (yes, I know that it's staged), and even that is difficult sometimes. If I had like 30 choices, my head would be spinning. Also, I doubt a realtor would want to show me 30 homes.
The first time we bought a house, we looked at ~70 homes before finding the one we both agreed on.
The second time we bought a house, we looked at 10 homes before finding the one we both agreed on.
First time homebuying is HARD because you don't truly know what you want until you get out there and see what's available.
If you have the money saved up, and are truly prepared, just call a realtor and tell them your basics (location preference, price range, # of beds/baths, #of garage bays, age of home) and let him/her begin showing you homes.
As you see some, you'll be able to narrow down the particulars of what you want (basement or crawlspace, eat-in kitchen or galley, on a hill or flat lot, front of neighborhood or back of neighborhood (if you are looking in pre-planned subdivisions), cul-de-sac or thoroughfare, Colonial or Cape Cod). Share that information with your realtor after a few homes so they can re-target their hunt for your home.
But yes, be prepared to look at a LOT of homes before you find "the one." But it could also be that you look at only five and find the right house for you. You won't know until you begin to actually go out and look at them!
And make sure you work with a realtor you trust and like.
Location: Stuck on the East Coast, hoping to head West
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SalamanderSmile
Take on only cosmetic issues, no serious fixer upper despite what a bargain it may appear to be. You can paint walls and cabinets, have carpet removed or installed, remove wallpaper, redo floors. That is it.
I completely agree with this. I think it would be incredibly stressful for a first-time homeowner to buy a house that needs anything other than some minor cosmetic fixes.
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