How to Narrow Down on First Single Family Home Purchase
Are you ready to buy your first single-family home, but feel overwhelmed by all of the different options out there on the real estate market? If so, these tips will help you narrow down the kind of single-family home that you want.
1. Narrow Down a Style
Sometimes it helps to eliminate some of the styles of homes out there so that you can tell your realtor not to show you any more homes like it. For example, three of the most common styles of homes are ranches, colonials, and split-level homes. After touring many open houses, you may discover that you really like the colonial and ranch style homes, and really do not care for split-level homes. Letting your agent know this will save you time by not taking you to tour any more split-level homes. You can then further narrow your choice down to the style you want after seeing your fair share of ranches and colonials.
2. Narrow Down a Location
It will also help to let your realtor know what area you are looking for a home. Two great ways to do this is by looking at the local school districts or your commute. You may have a goal to live within so many miles of where you work so that your commute is not too long, which will prevent your realtor from showing you homes that are too far away. If you have children, you may be looking into specific school districts so that you know your child can attend a good school. These will help your agent get some specifics about where the home should be located in the end.
3. Narrow Down a Price Range
Another big factor that will limit the type of home that you can purchase is your price range. It's a good idea to get a mortgage pre-approval from a local lender so that you know how much money they would be willing to lend you for a home mortgage. While this should not be the upper limit of your price range, it can definitely help let you know what would not even be possible to afford. You can pass this information along to your real estate agent to better guide their search by looking within an acceptable price range.
Looking for more ways that you can help narrow down your options? Speak with your real estate agent to learn more tips.