The Home Searching Process and Top 10 Mistakes Buyers Make by Realtor Loreal Greathouse

Now that you’ve been preapproved and found a great Realtor, it’s time to start shopping for a home! Of course in this day and age it’s not surprising to hear that over 90% of home buyers start their search online. With so many real estate websites it’s easy to stay up late at night searching for your dream home. Be aware though, many of those sites take 24-48 hours or longer to update the status of the home. The best place to find up to date listings is through your Realtor. Ask your Realtor to set you up on a daily automated email, so any new listings come right to you the day they are posted.

You will hear your agent talk about the MLS (Multiple Listing Service). This is where all of the homes for sale will be listed. This is a Realtor’s Holy Grail for listings. If you find a home during your late night searches, just jot down the MLS # and email your agent in the morning to check and see if it’s still active.

So, you’ve made a list a mile long of all the houses you want to see and you send them to your Realtor. Many buyers don’t realize that a majority of the showings need to be pre scheduled. If you’re lucky you find a few that are vacant and can be seen on short notice, but most likely you have some that need to be scheduled. Also, if you’ve found an awesome Realtor chances are he/she has other customers and a busy schedule as well.

I always ask my buyers to pick their top 5-7 listings to look at in one day. Any more than that and it seems like you’ve got wedding dress syndrome where they all start to look the same. It can become overwhelming if you try to do too much in one day.

So, how many houses do most people look at before they find one they like? That is a loaded question with no real answer because every buyer is different. I’ve had buyers find the perfect house on the first day of looking and other buyers who took three months to find the right home. It just depends on current inventory and what your needs are. A word of advice to buyers, save yourself some time and aggravation and drive by the homes before you schedule to see them with your Realtor. I can’t tell you how much time I’ve wasted with buyers who liked the house online but not the neighborhood. Do a little recon work ahead of time to weed out the wrong neighborhoods and your Realtor will be grateful!

Here are some tips to keep in mind when shopping for a house:
1. Don’t open new credit cards or spend any big amounts of money. No buying new furniture or new cars when you are shopping for house!
2. Don’t look at homes you can’t afford. This will only depress you and make everything else you look at seem subpar.
3. Take a careful look at the neighborhood. Are the lawns kept up? Do the neighbors show pride in their homes? Do you see a lot of “For Rent or For Sale” signs? Do you see a lot of abandoned homes?
4. Drive by the neighborhoods at different times of day. Wondering if there are lots of kids? Drive by when school usually gets out. Wondering if the neighborhood is safe? Drive by at night. Wondering if the neighbors are friendly? Drive by on a Saturday afternoon and see if people are outside.
5. Don’t overestimate your handyman skills! If you know you can renovate a whole house on your own then hunt out the fixer-uppers, but if you know you can’t fix a burnt out light bulb, then don’t attempt to do your own episode of HGTV”s “Fixer-Upper” or your home may turn into an episode of “Renovation Nightmares!”
6. Don’t drag your feet. If you find a house that meets all of your wants and needs, make an offer. If you wait too long you risk a multiple offer situation and the price being driven up.

For more information on the home buying process or for any of your real estate needs, give Loreal Greathouse a call at (904) 940-5000 or email her at lgreathouse@davidsonrealtyinc.com.