Buying a home can send you on a rollercoaster of emotions, but it doesn’t have to be a negative process. Today, we have five tips for a stress-free home buying experience.
First, don’t cycle through agents. In the state of Oklahoma, buyers don’t pay their agent. Not only that, but every agent has access to all the same listings in the MLS and the area you’re looking at in the OKC metro. With that in mind, if you’re going to work with an agent for free, you might as well pick a good one—someone you can trust to help navigate through the process.
Since buying a home is going to be the largest purchase most people will make in their lifetime, you’ll want to find someone with experience and knowledge of the market. You want someone you can trust to look over your shoulder and make sure you’re really protected when you go into negotiations, as well as someone who can make the experience enjoyable.
Second, don’t buy a lemon. A frequent concern our clients have is about knowing whether or not the house is going to fall apart when they buy it. The best way to answer any questions about the condition of the property is to hire a professional home inspector. They will help you identify any high-ticket items that will cost you a lot of money to repair and let you know if you need to have them fixed—before you buy the home.
Third, solve the financing mystery. Without knowing how much it costs to purchase a home, the home buying experience can be very stressful. But here is some great news, you can know exactly what it costs to purchase a home and finding out isn’t even complicated. It’s simple. Visit with a credible, trustworthy, and knowledgeable lender. One who will bring all of the numbers into sharp focus.
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If you’re going to work with an agent for free, you might as well pick a good one.
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Fourth, don’t guess when it comes to making an offer. There is no reason to guess on how much you should offer for any given home. When making an offer you should consider other homes in the immediate surrounding area that sold within the last year and are of similar age, size, and condition. There is always data to instruct you on how much to pay for a home with no guess work needed.
Finally, use honest home search websites. When it comes to these types of sites, not all are created equal. Many of even the most popular ones don’t always give accurate reflections of what is available in our market; they can be slow to update, which can be frustrating if you’re serious about finding a home.
The best home search site that we know of is our own website, www.MavenHomeSearch.com. It updates throughout the day. Everything that is displayed as for sale is actually for sale. It pulls data from the same place that we do as a Realtors.
When it comes time for you to start the home buying process, remember these five tips to make your experience painless and enjoyable.
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