How to Choose the Perfect Home

Purchasing a home is one of the largest financial decisions most people make in their lifetimes. As such, it’s important to choose carefully and consider several different factors before making a purchase. Aside from obvious considerations such as your ideal home size and appearance, there are many other noteworthy aspects to think about when you’re purchasing your dream home. For tips on how to choose the perfect home, continue reading.

Determine your budget

A home that costs more than you can afford and causes you significant financial stress is far from perfect. As such, you must first determine your budget before searching for your perfect home. After determining the amount of money you’re comfortable spending on a house, make sure you don’t purchase a home that exceeds that price. You may be tempted to go a little outside your budget if you fall in love with a more expensive home, but this isn’t worth the financial strain such a purchase would cause.

Don’t judge a book by its cover

You may fall in love with the look of a home, but it’s important not to purchase a house based on its appearance alone. Homes that look beautiful may still have some pesky issues lurking beneath the surface. You should be especially careful if you’re thinking of purchasing an older home. Old homes may have elegant architecture, but they often come with a fair share of problems you should watch out for. If an old home hasn’t been updated recently, it may have poor insulation, mold damage, or electrical issues, or it may have been built or painted with materials that contain toxic chemicals. You should account for such potential issues before purchasing a home just for its outer appearance.

To make sure you don’t uncover any unforeseen issues after purchasing your home, you should always do a home inspection. By doing an inspection, you can rest easy knowing your home is perfect on the inside as well as on the outside.

Prioritize location

Choosing the perfect home isn’t just about the structure of the house or its appearance—it’s also about where the home is located. For instance, people looking to settle down in an area that is eco-conscious and friendly often check out these houses for sale in Eugene, Oregon to see their picks for the best homes in the area. The location of your home will greatly affect your everyday life. It will affect how far you must drive to work, what schools are in the area, what shops or activities are around you, how safe you are, and several other noteworthy factors. To choose a home that fits perfectly with your lifestyle, it’s essential to prioritize location during the decision-making process.

Important Mortgage Tips for First-Time Home Buyers

When you’re purchasing your first home, there’s a lot to think about. In addition to finding the perfect location and coming up with a budget, you’ll also have to consider many factors regarding your mortgage. To keep your stress levels down and to be as prepared as possible, read our list of some of the most important mortgage tips for first-time home buyers.

Shop around

Settling for the first quote you get from a mortgage lender could cost you thousands of dollars in the long run. We suggest researching a variety of mortgage lenders and comparing at least three quotes before you make a final decision. Spending the time to shop around will be well worth it in the end.

Prequalify

Before making an offer on a home, you must prequalify for a mortgage. For you to prequalify, a lender will thoroughly examine your finances. After the inspection, you’ll receive an estimate of how much money a lender may be willing to give you based on your income, credit, and current debt. If you are an active or former member of the military, you can also look for a VA loan, this way the process to get your home might be considerably easier, take a look at Security America Mortgage to learn more about this kind of loan. It’s important to note that even though you prequalify for a mortgage from a specific lender, you’re not exclusively committed to them yet. You’re still free to shop around for better interest rates, but having that prequalification letter will significantly improve your chances of closing a deal on the property you want.

Get the right mortgage for your budget

There are two main types of mortgages: fixed-rate and adjustable-rate. The main difference between the two is the way their interest rates are determined. The interest rate for fixed-rate mortgage loans is determined when you take it out, and it will not change. An adjustable-rate mortgage, on the other hand, has an interest rate that may fluctuate after the introductory period ends. Fixed-rate mortgages allow for easier budgeting, but adjustable-rate mortgages offer more flexibility when it comes to refinancing. Ultimately, the type of mortgage that’s right for you will largely depend on your budgeting preferences.

Avoid 30-year mortgages

30-year mortgages attract many home buyers due to their lower monthly payments. In the long run, however, you’ll end up paying tens of thousands of dollars more in interest than if you choose a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage. As such, you should try to choose a mortgage option with a shorter timeline.

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Everything You Need To Know About Buying A Waterfront Home

A dream. That is what many people see purchasing a waterfront home as, but what if it could become a reality? Yes, you too could take weekend breaks overlooking a lake, hand out by the beach, fish, or even boat in your spare time! Of course, before you spend your hard earned cash, you’ll need to know as much about lakeside property as possible. Something that the post below can help you with.

Do consider your journey distance

Most people buy a waterfront home as a vacation residence, and it can be easy to get carried away when you see a gorgeous location. However, before you sign on the dotted line, it's cruel that you consider how practical a site it will actually be.

After all, if you are having to travel over 3 hours in your vehicle just to get there, it may be tough to get the use out of it on weekends you would like. It can also cost a fair bit in gas as well, so if you are looking for a more budget-friendly option, then a waterfront site closer to home may be in order.

Don't forget to consider the weather in the areas you are looking at

For waterfront properties, the weather that you can expect is a crucial factor to consider. After all, the time you get to spend sampling the local seafood alfresco, will be mostly dependent on this.

Also, remember that the weather may dictate whether you have an issue with pests or other unwanted wildlife that could prevent you from enjoying your investment.

To that end, researching the climate, and temperature, as well as rainfall you can expect each season is a must before you go to view any waterside property in real life.

Do run custom searches for the type of property you want

When looking at waterfront properties, it can be beneficial to compare real estate listings before you decide to visit and see if the place is right for you. In fact, good realtors will be able to run customized searches that make finding a property with the exact requirements you need even more straightforward. Something that can really cut down on travel time you will need to dedicate to visiting each property, one by one.

Don't ignore any additional fees you may encounter

Life down by the water, may not always be plain sailing! In fact, owning lakeside poetry can incur quite a few additional costs, and it's best to be prepared for these ahead of time.

Firstly there are the licenses that you may need including boating, fishing even hunting. Additionally, don't forget that waterside properties are often much more vulnerable to damp and weather damage, and sometimes require additional work to ensure they don't succumb to subsidence as well. The latter being something that can be a common problem around waterfront locations.

To that end, getting a proper survey done before you buy and maintaining an emergency budget just in case the worse happens, is a smart move if you are looking to pursue a cabin or home that is close to the water.

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Does Your House Hunt Have To Be So Stressful?

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a first time home buyer or on the hunt for your fifth property; There’s just something incredibly stressful about the entire process. It’s a complicated experience, with a number of large costs to consider, and the emotions that come with finding a place to call home can be difficult to deal with. All that being said, it is possible to make the process easier to handle. Here are six ways you can reduce your house hunting stress.

Get Pre-Approved First

Before you start looking for any sort of home, you need to understand exactly what you can afford. Unless you have enough cash available to buy a property yourself, you’ll need to borrow this money from a bank or mortgage lender. Getting pre-approved for this loan is a sensible decision, especially if you have poor credit, as it means you won't be disappointed later on.

Start To Save Early

Unbeknownst to many first time buyers, a mortgage loan doesn’t actually cover all of the costs you’ll need to pay throughout the buying process. There are also legal fees, inspections, and a deposit that need to be covered. To ensure you have enough cash when you want to place a bid, you should start to save up early. This is made easier if you reduce your household expenses.

Work With A Professional

Buying a home is an incredibly complicated process, so it helps to have someone by your side who knows what they’re doing. For this reason, you should consider working with a real estate agent. Make sure to check that they have a real estate licence and plenty of referrals from happy clients. If you choose the right person, you can save yourself a lot of time, money, and worry.

Know What You Want

Real estate agents can be a lot of help, but they’re definitely not mind readers. If you want them to find the house of your dreams, then you need to know exactly what this looks like. Ensure you write a list of things you absolutely need from a property, such as a certain number of rooms, as well as other things you would like. If you’re co-investing, make sure that your priorities match.

Keep An Open Mind

As much as your realtor can help, chances are, they won’t find a house that exactly matches what you’re after. In fact, they’d probably only be able to find this property if you build a home of your own. Because of this, you must ensure that you keep an open mind throughout the house hunting. Just be sure you don’t settle for a house you know you’re not completely happy with.

Always Expect The Worst

There is a lot that can go wrong when house hunting, so it helps to expect and plan for the worst. Be sure you always have other property options if your first choice doesn’t accept your bid and never agree to move out until you know for certain that you have somewhere else to move into. You should also have an emergency fund, in case things get more expensive than you expected.

House hunting will never be a stress-free process, but, with the advice above, you should be able to enjoy it a little more.

Have a listing you think should be featured contact us or email at Jeremy@offthemrkt.com to tell us more! Follow Off The MRKT on Twitter and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.