#15 Beginning Your Home Search




Let’s set aside all the technical issues and procedures and talk a bit about the very personal side of beginning your home search!   There’s an exciting and fun side of the search that should be enjoyed – because all the professionals, who play their parts in making your dream happen, are excited for you, too.

It’s one thing to drive around, look at model homes, visit open house events and share your dreams and intentions with friends and family  -- before you can actually buy!    It’s quite a different adventure when you and your Realtor start out -- with your Pre-Approval in hand -- searching for an actual home!   The time has finally arrived to take those dreams and all their details and look for the right fit.

Your Realtor will keep your financial parameters in mind and begin matching possibilities to dollars!  Be ready for pleasant surprises!   Sometimes, all those dreams can come true – but might not be in the exact configurations you’d had in mind.   It’s in the expertise of your Residential Realtor to examine the inventory of available homes, line up the relevant ones and, in the mix, make comparisons to what you want – including “comparable” possibilities.

If you have a family, this is also the time to bring them into the fun of the search and the excitement of viewing possibilities.   Up until now it was mostly about all of the preparatory documentation and the very detailed work with your Mortgage Loan Officer, to get you qualified.  There was probably some stress, some anxiety and the pressure of getting it in order and getting it right!    Now you can catch your breath and enter the fun part!

Of course, there is a different kind of stress ahead!  You may see a home that you really like – but it may have contingencies that move it out of financial reach.   You may find one that seems just right, but there is another prospective buyer with an offer in ahead of you, and you have to do the waiting game!   (It’s always possible their deal may not be successful.) At these junctures, your Realtor is your advocate!   He or she will keep an eye on those good prospects, watch how existing offers proceed and see how they play out – or don’t!

At this stage of your home search, it is important to commit to some critical scheduling disciplines.  Discuss your (and your family’s) availability.   By coordinating your time with your Residential Realtor, and setting up dependable  “available blocks” of time when you can view homes, your Realtor can efficiently schedule viewings with a minimum of back-and-forth communication.

Understanding the “rhythms” of this stage of your home search
helps you (or you and your family) to stay positive,
relaxed and as stress free as possible.    Your Realtor knows how the process works and will help you in being patient when it seems like things are bogged down.   The most important thing is that you and your Realtor find the right home – and that takes the time it takes!

Equally important is the factor of flexibility.  That dream home may not turn up exactly as you had envisioned.   Being flexible as you review the possibilities may bring pleasant surprises you didn’t anticipate!   Keeping an open mind will help – a lot!   Your Residential Realtor has experience that has shown that often a client will see a house that has differences from what they had in mind – but that just “clicks” anyway!  

Beginning your search is exciting!   Viewing possibilities knowing you have solid qualification in hand – your Pre Approval document – you can now actually picture yourself in that home of your own!

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