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home buying

HOME DESIGN, REAL ESTATE

A Guide to Finding Your Dream Home

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Looking for your dream home is an exciting time, but it can also be stressful. After all, buying a house isn’t a decision that should be taken lightly because it’s an incredibly big commitment. And if you’re trying to find the perfect house for you and your family, it’s even harder since you will have such high standards. 

That being said, when you do get your dream home, it will be so worth it. So, what steps do you take to find your dream home? If that’s what you’re asking yourself, you’ve come to the right place. 

Find the right area

You can find the perfect house on paper, but if it’s in an area you don’t like, it won’t be the right fit for you. Have a look at safe neighborhoods close to you to get an idea of where to start looking. You also need to find a neighborhood that matches your lifestyle; some neighborhoods are geared towards families, whereas others may be best suited to young, single professionals. 

Once you’ve found the right area, you will be able to narrow down your search. You can search homes in St. Albert to see if there’s anything that catches your eye. 

Make a list of your dream home needs

There are plenty of houses on the market, with more coming up for sale each day. It’s easy to get overwhelmed or to somehow miss your dream house in the sea of other houses. That’s why you should start your search by making a list of things your dream house simply must have.

This means that you can easily eliminate many houses and only focus on the ones that will work for you. While many of these needs can be added after you buy a house, one thing you should look for is a structurally sound house. You can click here to learn about how to tell if a house has structural damage. 

Get an estate agent

Where possible, it’s always worth it to work with professionals who know what they are doing. House hunting is no different. 

By working with an estate agent, you may get the opportunity to view houses before they are even officially on the market, and many estate agents have contacts that can help the sale go through faster. Estate agents will also be able to specifically find houses that meet your needs, which means you won’t need to waste your time; they’ll do the hard work for you. 

Estate agents sometimes have a bad reputation, but a good estate agent can be just what you need to find your dream home.

Set up a budget

Of course, every big expense has a limit to how much you can spend. You may find the perfect home, only to realize that it’s out of your budget. Rather set up a budget upfront, and don’t even look at houses that don’t fit it – you’ll only get your hopes up. 

When you buy a house, you need to be sure that you can afford to pay for the house as well as any other expenses you may have. Set up a household budget to estimate how much you spend each month on various things, and then how much you have left to spend on a house. 

Look at the potential 

When you’re looking for your dream house, you probably have a specific image in mind. Unfortunately, you will rarely find a home that matches this image. 

If you keep waiting for that to happen, you will likely never find a home that meets your expectations. So, instead of looking at only the house, look at its potential. For example, don’t look at a small room and see only a small room. See what it could become. A nursery? Or perhaps even a home office? Once you start to look at how you can turn a house into your dream home, it becomes a lot easier. 

In conclusion

While searching for your dream house can be stressful, and at times you may feel hopeless, this doesn’t need to be the case. There are plenty of things you can do to find the perfect home for you and your family.

Of course, you will need to be patient, so don’t give up if you don’t immediately find your dream home! The most important things are to know what you want and to have a plan of action so that you can achieve it. Start planning for your dream house well in advance to make things go smoother.

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REAL ESTATE

5 Ways to Find the Ideal First Home

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Buying your first home is a daunting, and often confusing task. There is so much to know and for the inexperienced, it can seem like navigating a treacherous minefield. But fear not, we are putting together this concise guide on what to do and what to look out for. Here are our five ways to find the ideal first home.

Needs for your First Home

The first thing to know is what do you need from a home? If you have four kids and a dog, then your requirements are going to be different than if you are just a single person. Do you drive? The answer to this question may influence your choice. Does the property have adequate parking if you do? If not, what is the public transport provision like? You should be able to search for properties with minimum square footage and a number of rooms.

Location

Are you tied down to a particular area? Reasons for this may be that you have caring commitments for family, perhaps an elderly parent? You may want to be mindful of how far your commute to work is. Even if most of us are working from home these days, this trend may not last. If you are looking for homes for sale in Utah then make sure you are strict with your distances and not to leave yourself with too far of a regular trip.

Amenities

There are a lot of new housing developments popping up around the country, which is great, but the downside of this is that often the distance from local amenities can be considerable. It might not be an apparent issue, but if you wind up with a twenty-minute drive each way to get groceries it will become tiresome very quickly. It’s as easy as looking up Google maps and typing in the types of amenities you are interested in and then get directions.

Type of Property

We’ve talked about what size of the property we might be looking for, but this tells us nothing of property type. A detached house would be many people’s preferred choice, you get the most space, the fact that you are not attached to a neighbor and won’t get noise harassment or need to install soundproofing. You also have the advantage of a yard with a house; however, this does bring a degree of maintenance with it. If you go for an apartment then you will inevitably have the smaller square footage, but the cost will be lower, and the property will be easier to keep.

Work Needing Done

One aspect of buying a property that is crucial is to be aware of the condition of a property before making an offer. There is nothing inherently wrong with taking on a property that requires fixing up, but you should be going into the situation fully aware so that you do not end up overpaying. You can then factor in the cost of anything needing doing, from installing an air conditioning unit to fully rewiring the entire property.

SHOP HOME DECOR + HOME UPDATES…

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Guest Bloggers

Open House Tips For First-Time Buyers

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While open houses seem pretty casual, savvy buyers know that checking out a home isn’t just about aesthetics or a quick view. In today’s hot market, you might not get another look before making an offer. If you’re seriously interested in a home, get a feel for the things you can’t change: the neighborhood & ongoing home maintenance needs. You should also get critical details such as when offers are due.

If you aren’t totally sure about how the open-house process works, you aren’t alone. Sometimes home buyers visit an open house to window shop instead of taking full advantage of the opportunity to get important details about the home. When you visit an open house, you should have several questions prepared for the seller’s agent and you should have already conducted some research, too. You want to leave this process feeling that you have enough information to make a well-informed decision.

Here’s what you need to know about the open-house process:

Open house etiquette

It may not be a fashion show, but it’s important to leave a good impression on the listing agent. Bringing your business casual A-game will help you look like a serious buyer. Don’t rush – make sure you get a chance to visit each room and get a feel for the look and smell of the place. Be courteous to the agent and don’t be afraid to ask questions.

What to look for at an Open House

If allowed, you should take pictures of the inside and outside of the house. On the interior of the home, you should be looking for uneven floors, water stains, signs of cracks in the ceilings or walls, and mold. On the exterior, you’ll want to see if there’s any damage to outer walls, or if the roof has any tiles missing. If you can easily spot damage to the home, then it might not be worth your time. it’s important to consider that there may be repairs you’ll need to factor into your budget if you decide to make an offer on the home.

How to take the pulse of the competition

Are other prospective home buyers at the open house? How serious do they seem about the process? Are they asking questions? Do they have a checklist? Be on the lookout when you enter the home. These are potential home buyers who might also make an offer on the property.

Make sure you are memorable

You want to try and ensure that the agent remembers you. Building a good relationship with the agent can be key if you decide to make an offer on the home. Tell a short story about yourself, or ask the agent about their family or how they got started in the real estate business. Make a genuine effort to get to know them in the short period of time you spend at the home. Agents are people too, and people remember those who make an effort.

Know which questions to ask

By now, you know that an open house isn’t just a casual gathering of interested buyers, sellers and real estate agents. It is a major opportunity for you to feel out the home while also getting critical information.

You are probably still wondering what to ask at an open house. You should have several questions prepared, as the open house might be the only chance you get to ask them. If the home is a hot commodity, then other potential buyers might be looking to put in an offer soon. You want to get as much information as possible during the open house so that you can make an informed decision on whether or not you want to go forward with an offer of your own.

Here is a helpful checklist of questions to get answered on your open house tour:

  1. How many offers have been made?

You should always ask the real estate agent if any offers have already been made. If there are multiple offers on the home, it could indicate that the property might sell quickly. If there aren’t any offers yet, then the opposite might be true. Real estate agents hope that multiple offers will push up the sales price of the home. Keep your budget in mind — even if you love the home, you don’t want to get into a bidding war with other prospective buyers if the result is an unaffordable price.

  1. Why are the sellers moving?

The sellers could be moving because one of the owners got a new job across the country. Or they could be moving because the home’s maintenance is unaffordable and the repairs are getting more burdensome. Always make sure to ask the real estate agent why the sellers are moving. If they give a strange or off-putting reason, take note. The last thing you want to do is move into a house the owners sold because of bad neighbors, rising crime or failing schools.

  1. How long has the property been on the market? Why?

Learning how long a property has been on the market will allow you to make a knowledgeable offer. Make sure to ask the agent, but also verify their claim with a listing service. It could have been on the market for a while because a previous buyer’s financing didn’t come through. Or maybe the property just went on the market this month and there are plenty of suitors. The context will provide you with useful information that gives you a better idea of how fast you’ll need to take action and how competitive the offer process might be.

  1. When was the house built? Has it ever gotten any updates?

You want to make sure that you know when the home was built and if there have been any updates or renovations. Check on key features of the home, such as the roof, piping or electrical wiring. If you are purchasing an older home and there have been no recent updates of these features, you should be wary — you might have to make those repairs at significant cost in the near future.

  1. What are the costs of utilities?

Too often, utilities are an afterthought in the home-buying process. But this is a property you are thinking about living in, and that means you’ll need lights, running water, heat, air conditioning and working sewer pipes. Ask the agent if he or she knows a ballpark of what utilities cost. You don’t want to get further into the process just to find out that the utilities on the property will have a significantly adverse effect on your budget.

  1. How eager is the seller to sell the property? Is it an urgent sale or can it happen at any time?

Just as it is important to know why the seller is moving, it is also important to know how eager they are to sell and what their timeline looks like. If the seller needs to offload the house in a hurry, then perhaps they might be willing to consider a lower offer. But if the seller isn’t motivated, then the process might not move very quickly.

  1. What are the neighbors like? Have there ever been any issues?

You aren’t just buying a property. You are also going to be spending the majority of your time in a new neighborhood. Even if you like the property, do you really want to live in a neighborhood you don’t feel comfortable in? Ask the real estate agent about the neighbors and make sure there haven’t been any issues. You’ll also want to check online and look at the local shops and eateries. Visit a few and see if they match your lifestyle and meet your needs.

  1. What/where are the schools? How are they rated?

Schools are a huge issue for home buyers. You can check how the local school district is rated online, but nothing beats asking people in person. How do they feel the local schools are serving the students? Even if kids aren’t in your near future, the quality of your school district will eventually impact your home’s resell value.

  1. What other homes should you check out in the neighborhood? Why?

Real estate agents aren’t just selling one home. There are likely other sellers in the area that they represent as well. If you aren’t totally sold on the home you are visiting during the open house, ask the agent if there are any other homes nearby that you should check out. You’d be surprised how often buyers find helpful information this way.

This article originally appeared on OpenListings.

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