Tips and Tricks for the Home Shopping Process
Going through the home shopping process is difficult enough as it is…but what if I told you that I had some tips and tricks for you? As a first-time homeowner myself, I felt like I was learning from the foundation to the roof (pun intended) about all things home buying. Along our house shopping/buying journey, I learned a few things that I want to share with you all today.
For my international readers: Please keep in mind this is in relation to home shopping/buying journey is in the United States.
Take advantage of free, first-time homebuyer education
Have you ever heard of Fannie Mae? No? I never have either until my lender required us to complete this homebuyer’s education course. It is completely free, and packed full of useful information that I truly did not know before. You can access Freddie Mac here, or just google “free homeowner education” on Google, and you will find Freddie Mac in the results. I highly recommend you take advantage of free, first-time homebuyer education available to you immediately. Plus, you get a certificate at the end!
Use the RedFin app, for accurate home market pricing
Did you know that RedFin owns Trulia? I did not either, until my realtor advised me of so. There are so many homebuying apps/website “on the market”, such as Trulia, RedFin and Zillow. Most people use the pricing shown in a respective neighborhood, from RedFin, in order to price their homes for the market. Also, you are viewing the MLS listing price on these homebuying apps. Rocket Mortgage explained it best when answering the question “What is a Multiple Listing Service?”
Multiple listing services (MLS databases) are created and maintained by cooperating real estate professionals to share information about properties on the market. This data usually includes details such as the listing price, bedrooms, bathrooms, square footage and other similar data points relevant to potential buyers.
Though often referred to as “the MLS,” which sounds like a single entity, the multiple listing service is actually a network of local databases for areas around the country. No single, overarching MLS exists.
So, it is safe to say that you can trust MLS pricing as a good gauge for the homes you are interested in buying. I truly only used the RedFin app during our homebuying journey.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions in buyer-beware states
Did you know that there was such a thing as a “buyer-beware state”? It didn’t make sense to me at first, but as we were looking for homes in North Carolina, my husband and I found out that North Carolina is a buyer-beware state. Essentially, this means that the buyer must take responsibility for what they are & aren’t aware of, when it comes to the integrity of the home.
According to Knox Law Center…
In North Carolina, sellers of residential real estate must complete a residential real estate disclosure statement which outlines the level of knowledge of the existing homeowner on major structural and mechanical systems within the home. The homeowners must disclose what they know about the age of the roof, any major repairs to the structure and/or furnace, heating and air system, hot water heater, etc. The problem with this disclosure statement is that it puts no duty on the existing homeowner to make any investigation of the status of these systems. Thus, it is impossible to rely on the representations in this document, particularly if the home has not been owned for a lengthy period of time by the existing owner.
To sum this all up…if you are aware about the issue at hand (for example: termite damage) then it is up to you to act on it. If you do not know about any issues on hand (such as structural issues), a home inspection might get you the answer you are looking for.
Set calendar reminders for house showings, payments due, etc.
When it comes to the home shopping process, it can be hard to keep up with all the house showings you have to attend to, different payments due, etc. I highly recommend you setting calendar reminders, or some sort of digital reminder, to alert you when one of these moments is coming up. You do not want something in your house buying process to be delayed, just because you did not submit a document on time. Whether you are someone who is more digital-based or more pen-and-paper based, having some sort of “object permanence” with the upcoming event will cement it more in your brain.
You can shop for realtors, the same way you can shop for houses
Let me just start off by saying you do not necessarily need to use the same realtor your parent’s used, or your uncle used. You want to find a realtor that speaks your same language, knows what you are looking for, and will advocate for you along the home shopping process. We did not stick with our first home realtor, and I am so glad we did not. If we did not choose the realtor that helped us find our current home, I don’t think we would be as happy as we are today.
Realtors have different areas of expertise they offer, as well as different areas of the state they specialize in. For example, our first realtor only showed us properties around Charlotte suburbs. Whereas our second realtor was flexible with us, to let us view any property we wanted in any city. It is so important to find a realtor that is reliable, flexible and understanding of your financial situation.
Thank you for tuning in to another blog post in my series of “First-Time Homeowner”!
Tune in next week for specific things to look out for when home shopping.
