Being a home buyer, you’ve been through decision-making and loan pre-qualification processes. You know the type of home you can afford and what you need in your home and have selected an agent to help you to locate it. Now, you are about to start the most exciting and entertaining part of your home searching process – viewing your future homes. Before you jump on the ride, you had better to get ready how you would go about it. If you don’t prepare it well, it may turn out to be a disaster filled with disappointment and exhaustion.
Your agent might already have emailed or faxed you property listings that suit your criteria of buying a home. However, you may also need to explore properties on the web. While you may see the properties that your agent already emailed to you, you will also see what any other properties available in the local area. Then you choose the properties that you like to check out and talk to your agent for showing schedule.
Some inexperienced first time home buyers may think viewing properties is the same as seeing movie. All they take with them are their car key and some cash. While it is perfectly okay, there is a better way for you to do it. Therefore, you will save time and energy, and be more effective in finding for a right home.
Here are some tips for you when you are viewing your future properties. First of all, bring the items below with you:
- Pen
- Flashlight
- Clipboard
- Digital camera
- Home features comparison chart
- Notepad
- Measurement tape
Don’t visit more than six properties a day. Otherwise, rather than a fun thing to do, viewing properties becomes confusing. While you are being at a property, take lots of photos to help recalling your memory later. However, merely taking photos without organizing it can do no good to you.
For each property, start with taking photos of the street number, the front view and the front entrance. Then, take at least 1 photo of the kitchen, living room, family room, each bedroom, bathroom, hallway and stairway. You should also take photos of any features, such as granite counter, hardwood floor, vault ceiling and walk-in closet, etc. After viewing the inside of the home, you can start taking photos of the backyard and the rear view of the property.
Now, you probably think you finished. Not yet! You also should take photos of any defects and damages that may affect your desirability of the property. Pay attention to the areas under the kitchen sink, around toilet bowl and bath tub, gutter and garage walls, etc. Those areas are easy to get damages from the water. Taking photos of defects and damages is very important if you are buying foreclosed houses as there will be very limited property disclosures from the seller.
When you leave the property, you might also need to take photos of the street and the neighborhood. Don’t overlook, you are not merely purchasing the property, and you are also buying the neighborhood. Make sure you like the living environment and feel safe walking around the area.
When you visit the next property, you take photos in the same sequence. Therefore, when you download and review the photos on Sunday morning at your kitchen table, you know all the photos belong to a same property after a street number.
At this moment you probably say a photo worth a thousand words why I have to bring the notepad, features comparison chart and pen. The notepad is for recording the impression you would have on the property that photo cannot tell. The features comparison chart is for recording the features and conditions of the six properties in a table format that is easy to reference and compliments to the photos. It can help you focus to make a right decision.
Some properties might not have bright lighting, especially at the basement and storage areas or vacant properties. It is always useful to have a flashlight handy. Lastly, you might have a favorite large dining table and want to make sure your new home has enough space for it. It would be a disappointment to find out you could only keep your dining table in the garage when you move in your new home. Obviously, that is what the measurement tape is used for. Therefore, measure everything that might affect your moving plan.
It is also important to talk about that if you are a first time home buyer obtaining down payment assistance programs, you should also pay attention to any conversion without permits on the property. In most cases, down payment assistance would not be granted on those houses with non-permitted addition.
Always be prepared, organized and focused when viewing your future properties will save you a lot of time, energy and frustration, and ensure it a truly enjoyable home buying process.
For more information on First Time Home Buyer, Down Payment Assistance Program and Buying Foreclosed Houses, please visit us at RealEstateNotebook.net