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In today’s changing market, there’s more to a successful

closing than just getting the offer accepted. Make sure you have an

agent capable of guiding you from start to close!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Review Needs/Wants: Sit down and review your needs and wants.  Priority wants, as you most likely won’t find a home that covers all of them.
  2. Assess Areas Of Interest: If schools or other amenities are important, be sure to assess those as part of your search.
  3. Setup Property Showings: Once you’ve defined your criteria and areas of interest, your Cascade Team agent will go to work showing you homes.
  4. What To Expect In The Process: The most important thing is for you to understand what to expect going through the process and get your questions answered.

DEFINE, PREQUALIFY & GO!

Questions Homebuyers Ask Before & During The Search

What home can I afford?

That depends, of courseon your income and other financial obligations; plug them into a Home Affordability Calculator for a ballpark figure. And do it before you start shopping.  If you see houses you love outside your price range, it opens you up to disappointment.  Meet with a lender to get pre-approved for a home loan (added bonus: pre-approval makes you much more attractive to sellers).

Can I buy a home and sell my current one at the same time?

Yes, you can but it's the real estate equivalent of walking a tightrope. This is one of the trickiest questions to answer. On the one hand, if you buy a home before you sell the one you're in, you're overextended financially.  If you sell before you buy, you might need to rent awhile before finding a new place. But there are ways to do both at once, and one option is to insert a home sale contingency" in your contract. This means you only agree to buy a home if you can sell the one you're in. The downside sellers may not agree, especially if the market is hot and there is lots of buyer competition.

How many homes should I see before making an offer?

While home shoppers these days can look at hundreds of homes online, they only hoof it to check out 10 homes on average, before they put in an offer. But keep in mind, this varies tremendously for each person, as some people find their home within hours of hunting. For others, it takes months. If you want to streamline the process, it can help to really hone in on a particular neighborhood you're keen on.  That said, if you feel limited by your options, it may be time to expand to surrounding areas.

What do you think the seller will accept as a fair price?

As a rule of thumb, knocking 3% off the list price won't ruffle any feathers, but may not be the case in a busy market.  Sometimes you have to be prepared to go in over asking price. If it's been sitting on the market for months, you can venture below that, but the bottom line is, you never know how low a seller will go, as they all  have different motivations for selling. If the sellers are eager to move, you could luck out and score a deal.

Home Search Tools!

Smart Search Technology:  “Smart Search” exclusively by The Cascade Team is the only real estate search in the industry designed to learn and interact with you as you search for homes.  As you log onto www.TheCascadeTeam.com and begin saving listings our exclusive “Smart Search” technology will begin learning what you are looking for and make suggestions for you based on criteria such as: Price, Beds & Baths, Location, Schools and more. Start a search in one area and then find another area of interest? Smart Search will adjust for location too and begin finding homes for you in your new search area. Smart Search is a fully intuitive search system guided by your preferences and it will scour the web for new listings that meet your criteria and let you know the moment something new matches what you’re looking for in a home… Smart Search by The Cascade Team Real Estate!

Download the newly redesigned Cascade Team App today. It's beautiful, powerful and lightning fast too. It's the easiest and most convenient way to look for a home.

Check back tomorrow for the next installment:

CONTRACT, INSPECTION & APPRAISAL

 

 

 

 

Posted by Cary W Porter on
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