Buying a home is very exciting, and even more so if we are a “first time home buyer“. Now, it is true that we are filled with a lot of emotion to find the house of our dreams, but it is also true that we will experience moments of stress during the process of buying our house.
Selling houses is not easy, neither is renting houses, but when we talk about buying there are many aspects that frighten us. When we think about buying a house we are exposing our savings, we create bank commitments in case of buying with mortgages, we worry about many aspects that make this a more complex process than selling or renting. Here are 10 tips to keep in mind when deciding to make your real estate investment:
- Select a real estate agent. You are not required to have a real estate agent to buy a home in Orlando or anywhere in the United States. You can visit Orlando communities or any city and see if there are “open houses”, see houses for sale websites and do the whole process on your own. Now when you work with a Realtor in Orlando you are saving time and money. Working with a Realtor means being next to someone who will advise you throughout the process, who will send you listings of houses in the areas and with the characteristics you want, who will fill out all those complex documents that are necessary for the purchase of a house, and all this AT NO COST, since the Realtor’s commission is paid by the person who sells the house.
- Find a lender to do a study and have knowledge of how much they can lend you to buy your home.
- Determine what your budget is to buy a house. Just because you’ve been approved for a loan amount doesn’t mean you should buy a home for that amount. It is important that you analyze the income of your home, that you take account of all your fixed expenses, and then look at when you could pay in the monthly mortgage without your quality of life being affected. Make sure that your monthly housing costs (including taxes, insurance, HOA, etc.) do not exceed 25% of your monthly income.
- Do not visit houses until you are clear on your budget. You can imagine how you will feel if you visit a house and after you fall in love with it you realize that it is above your budget and that you will not have how to pay for it. Define a maximum amount and ask your Realtor to show you houses within that budget.
- Attend open houses. Attend as many open houses as possible in the area you are interested in buying. Even if you do not find the house that suits your needs, you will know many aspects related to the area and they will be of great help to you in making your decision.
- Get ready to make a quick decision. If the house meets your budget requirements and also fits everything you want, do not hesitate to send an offer as soon as possible, do not risk losing that opportunity and let someone else get ahead of you.
- Make a competitive offer and limit contingencies. The seller will receive several offers, and does not always choose the highest, but takes into account the number and type of contingencies in the offer. For example, if you make an offer for a certain amount, but one of the contingencies is that you must sell your house first to buy that one, while someone else makes an offer a little less than yours, the seller may be more inclined to the other, since although it represents a little less money, it will not have to wait for you to sell your house to buy it.
- Location, location, location. When you buy a house, you want it to increase in value over time. The houses located in areas with good schools, good roads, supermarkets and shopping centers nearby are more desirable and if you want to sell in the future, you can do it faster and obtain greater profitability.
- Be aware of improvements. No house is perfect, however new it is you will always make modifications. Calculate how much the house remodeling will cost you, always keeping in mind that these changes should increase the value of the property if you want to sell the house at some point.
- Think long term. Buying a home is a long-term investment, so think about keeping the home for 5 years or more. During this time your house will have acquired value and you will obtain greater profitability when selling it.
If you are determined to take that big step and make your home dream come true, here is a guide with the steps to keep in mind throughout the home buying process:
- Ready to buy?
- Looking for the home of your dreams
- Buying the home of your dreams
- Moving to the home of your dreams
If at any time you have any questions or need a Realtor to advise you to buy a house in Orlando, do not hesitate to contact us, we will be happy to help you make your dream come true.
