It’s like this: You are out there, looking at a certain city and every home in that city that fits your price range. And nothing really looks good. You’ve looked at 50 or more homes, written an offer on one or two, and the offers were not accepted because you were in competitive bidding. Someone else got the home.
Does this really happen? Yes, it does. I had a couple come to our First Time Home Buyer Class just a week ago…a nice young couple. They explained that they had been looking at homes for two months. They had looked at 70 homes in the cities they liked and written two offers. The offers hadn’t been accepted and they were still looking.
Problem Number One: Your budget doesn’t match the housing costs in the city you really like. The Twin Cities, a 13 county area, includes more than 100 cities. Each city has its own unique housing market. In some cities, houses are a little less expensive and in other cities, they cost more. If your budget is limited, ask your Realtor to advise you as to the cities that are most likely to have affordable housing. You may have to change your search area to find affordable options.
Problem Number Two: There is a lot of competition for the lower priced homes. There are investors who want to buy these homes as rental properties. There are folks like you with tight budgets that want to keep their housing costs lower. If you have a limited budget, make sure you and your Realtor get out to the home within one day of it going on the market. The only way to find a nice home is to be the first one there. This is a little more work for you, but assures that you will see some nice homes, not just the homes that have been on the market for 3 months and rejected by all the other buyers.
Problem Number Three: You are not clear on what you need and want. You drift from home to home waiting for the right “feeling” to occur. Instead, take some time to sit down and write down three things your new home HAS TO HAVE. Don’t waste your time looking at homes that don’t have these three things. Now those three things can change over time, as you shop and become educated on your options. But be very clear on what is important.
Have some hope. There’s a home out there for you that’s just perfect.
For more detailed information, come to our FREE NO OBLIGATION FIRST TIME HOMEBUYER class or wait for future blogs. “Simple answers to home ownership questions”.