Springtime House Shopping: How to Stay Ahead

How to prepare for the busy market this spring

March 2nd, 2016– Danielle Edwards is a Charlotte, NC Realtor with RE/MAX Executive, the number one RE/MAX in the Carolinas. Staying informed on how to handle springtime house shopping paired with working with your RE\MAX Executive agent will help you achieve an awesome home buying experience this Spring! Spring and summer are approaching quickly, and the temperature isn’t the only thing that’s warming up. As the days grow longer and the temperatures become more desirable, you’ll find that more homebuyers are on the prowl.  Keep reading for some helpful tips on how to survive springtime house shopping in 2016:

Get Pre-approved: When you make an offer, you’ll want to outshine the rest of the clients who are out springtime house shopping as well. One way to do this is to go ahead and get pre-approved by a lender. When a seller sees that you’re trustworthy and a step ahead, they’ll feel more confident about accepting your offer. You’ll want to include your lender’s pre-approval letter in your offer.

Know what you want: You’ll want to act fast when you’re interested in a home this spring. The high competition may mean that a great opportunity could slip out from under you. In the wintertime, you may be able to find a place you love and let it sink in for a week or so before making an offer. But in the hot Spring market you’ll want to jump on it a bit faster. Of course, a decision as big as buying a home should be carefully thought out, so do your research ahead of time and know what makes a perfect home in your eyes so when the right one comes along, you can grab it.

Get organized: Finding a home is sometimes the easiest part. You’ll also need to provide many time-sensitive documents to your lender in order to close. Before you really dive in to your home search, go ahead and compile as many of these documents as possible. Make sure you can get your hands on tax returns, W2’s, bank statements, etc. Understand that opening a credit card or making a big purchase could slow down your loan approval or prevent it all together. Things move quickly when the market is busy, make your springtime house shopping experience smooth and easy by staying organized.

Learn to Compromise: If a seller accepts an offer on the home of your dreams, that’s great! But it may not happen, and that’s okay. Decide on exactly what you absolutely need to have in a home and the rest can wait. Maybe you won’t consider a home that doesn’t have a pool or a large master bathroom. But are those things more important to you than making sure your children are in a solid school district or that you have a short commute to work? If you can’t have it all, make a list of the things you need in a home and make another list of the things you want in a home. Just make sure to keep them separate, and consider needs first.

Attention to Detail: A lot things go wrong in the winter. A snow storm can cause the roof to leak, your furnace could break, pipes can freeze, etc. Touring a home for the first time in the Winter, it may be easier to find things that can end up costing you money in the future. If you are house shopping in the spring,  you’ll have to be a little more cautious. Search for damp areas on walls or a damp smell in cabinets, turn on taps to check water pressure. Open windows to see if the frames are rusted or warped. Check out our checklist of additional warning signs here. Finding a questionable issue in a home yourself before moving forward will save you a lot of time, energy, and—quite possibly, money.

The bottom line is that you’re bound to face more competition while springtime house shopping as the market gets busy again. By ensuring that you stand out from the crowd by staying a step ahead of that competition, you are creating a much smoother homebuying process for yourself. Best of luck, and happy homebuying!

Contact Realtor Danielle Edwards for your real estate needs in Charlotte, NC region.

704-604-2999

www.soldondanielle.com

email: drivendanielle@gmail.com

Follow me on Facebook/soldondanielle

Written in Collaboration with Shannon Hefferon