When you go to purchase a home, you might have a lot of questions. To save you hours upon hours of research, I wanted to give you a few quick tips on what to think about when buying a home. It’s a crazy market right now, so time is of the essence! Here are 5 things to think about when buying a home right now:
How much can you afford?
Heads up: right now, the housing market is expensive. You have to be prepared to offer above asking price + pay closing costs. This is why you need to consider how much you can actually afford. Look at homes that are well beyond the top of your budget, or consider waiting until homes are a bit less expensive and competitive. One thing that you want to make sure that you do not do is spend too much on your home.
Make sure you have a good agent
A good real estate agent is essential for the market that we are in. Right now, things are going well above selling price - and they are going quickly. To make sure that you have your best chance at competing for a home, you need a great agent that is familiar with the area, such as Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realty, Erin E. King MBA. Jacksonville is home to him and he is extremely knowledgeable when it comes to buying and selling within the Jacksonville area. “Erin, who previously worked in financial services and holds an MBA with an economics focus, brings a deep understanding of buying and selling historic homes. He enjoys sharing that knowledge with clients, from how to fit a 21st century lifestyle into a historic home and where to seek financing for renovation with a home purchase, to accurately pricing homes in Historic Districts such as Riverside, Avondale, Ortega, Springfield, Murray Hill, and San Marco. Erin, who prides himself on close attention to detail and quick response to clients, has put together a support team of contractors and other professionals who help transactions go smoothly.” Having a good agent is essential, as I mentioned, but when you do not have one, it puts you behind others that do have someone else on their team fighting for them along the way. Set yourself up for success when buying and/or selling a home and choose to work with Erin King!
Don’t forget the age of the property
If you are only interested in new construction, this is irrelevant. However, if you are willing to look at all houses in your price range that meet your basic requirements, you may see homes from several decades ago. Older homes like Avondale Homes for Sale can have a character that appeals, and they (at least some of them) may also need more repairs and upgrades. Make sure you have the time, inclination, and budget to enjoy managing these projects. Building codes change over the years, and it would be good to have a basic understanding of some of the more impactful differences when looking at homes built under a different set of rules. However, if you are not familiar with any of these things, your agent should know some about it (especially Erin E. King since he is familiar with historic homes AND your inspector, as well). Aside from potential issues with building codes, you just want to make sure that you are prepared for any upgrades or fixes that you will have to do over time.
Consider the location
One of the most important things to most buyers is the location of your home. Maybe this doesn’t matter to you much right now, but when you go to re-sell your home, you will have a much better chance at selling it for a great price (easily) if it is in a great location. Buyers want to find a location that allows easy access to the places they frequent the most (work, school, shopping, recreation, place of worship, friends and family). Look for easy access to the main roads and check traffic flow.
Do you want to be in an HOA?
Next question: do you want to be in an HOA, or not? This goes along with the location, but I wanted to create a separate paragraph for it, because it requires that much thought. An HOA is great if you are able to abide by their rules, but if you want to do things on your own terms, without having to follow set guidelines, it might not be for you. For example, if you want backyard chickens, think about that beforehand because most HOAs do not allow you to have them.
