Many buyers think that when they want to buy a house, they pick out some houses online, go look at a few, pick out one, speak to a mortgage broker and buy a house.
Unfortunately it’s not that easy these days. Many markets have low inventory and are experiencing bidding wars. You have to do some research before you are ready to buy because homes move quickly and you need to be ready to move on a property when you see something you like.
First, before you even step into one house, find a mortgage lender and get prequalified. You want a local lender (not some company you found online) who has experience and you can access 7 days a week. Many showings are done on weekends and you need a lender that you can ask questions when you need. Speak to a few lenders and factor in service and accountability not just a low rate. For a low rate is nice, but if the lender can’t get you to closing, you just got a low rate of nothing.

Second, the lender should then give you some criteria that will be of help as you start searching for houses, such as price range and type of financing. Many buyers don’t realize but not all sellers accept all types of financing. Make sure you tell your REALTOR® these parameters so they show you properties that will work for you.

Third, drive by neighborhoods. Google maps only does so much. Go at 9am, 5pm and on weekends to see if this is a neighborhood you would like to live in.

Fourth, your REALTOR® should be sending you properties by now. Drive by them first. It sounds like a lot of extra work but I promise it will be less work in the grand scheme of things. When you ask your REALTOR® to take you out on your day off and you see 8 properties, but you find that you only like 3 because 5 had unappealing qualities (too close to power lines, backs up to commercial properties, too close to major highway, street is too busy, and so on). You then feel like you wasted a lot of your day and are a bit disappointed. Then you have to spend another full day looking at properties. Now if you drove by all 15 properties the REALTOR® sent you and narrowed it down to your top 6 there is a good chance you are going to see a lot of properties that interest you. When my buyers don’t do drivebys, they usually see 30-40 homes before going to contract. Yet ones that do drivebys can find a home within 5-15 homes.

Happy house hunting!