Shopping for a Home
Once you have completed the preliminary tasks - assessing your resources, pre-qualifying for a loan, defining your needs and wants - you can begin the search for your new home.
STRATEGY #1: Adjust your search to the price range, environment and needs you have established - don't look at houses with two bedrooms if you know you need at least three.
STRATEGY #2: Shop when others aren't. Across the country, April and May show the most demand for houses. Sellers may not feel pressured to make a deal because there are so many people looking. The best times to look are during late summer and from Thanksgiving through the winter. Learn the local pattern before beginning your search.
STRATEGY #3: Ask friends, family and neighbors who live around your ideal neighborhoods to let you know if a house will be coming on the market soon.
STRATEGY #4: Go around neighborhoods and write down addresses of houses you like. Find out their name and phone number by looking at public land records, call them and ask if they are contemplating putting their house on the market. You never know where this might lead; you might plant the it's-time-to-sell-your-house seed in someone's head.
STRATEGY #5: Always bring a notepad and tape measure with you. Pretend you are an investigator and gather as much information as you can about the house. Find out square footage of the lot and house, room sizes, number of baths and bedrooms, property taxes, average monthly utility bills and the ages of the appliances and mechanical systems. You might want to jot the floor plans down so you can envision the house later.
STRATEGY #6: Get as much information as you can about the sellers. Ask them why they are selling, how long have they have lived there, are they scheduled to settle on a new house, etc. Finding out all you can strengthens your negotiating power, should you decide to make an offer.
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