In my 7 week series, Finding the Perfect Home within Your Budget, you’ll learn how to incorporate my strategies with your own to find a home that is the right fit for your lifestyle and your budget. You’ll know what to do every step of the way and completely avoid that dreaded buyer’s remorse. Keep in mind, that this is a home that you plan to stay in for the next however many years and you want to do it right. Whether this will be your forever home to retire in, or your very first home, you want to be confident when making this huge financial decision. And I can help you with just that!
There’s a very specific formula and step-by-step approach that buyers – like you – should take to make sure they end up with the home that best fits their needs and budget. It requires some patience on your part so that each step is done right (and then you are prepared to quickly submit an offer with confidence when you get to that point)!
Don’t Skip These Three Steps
No one should rush out to purchase a home before they are ready since this is a big financial decision. Remember that slow and steady gets the “prize”!
First, you should have determined your deal breakers, “must haves” and lifestyle goals. That process was covered in a previous article from this series – Questions to Ask Yourself Before Attending an Open House. Go back and read it again, and then you can move forward once you’ve answered the questions.
Now you’re ready for the next three important steps. But do not bypass these steps since you’ll end up wasting your time, getting confused, and ultimately, buying a wrong home…
- Be 100% sure you want to own an acreage home, now (or soon)
Many people start looking for a home before they are truly convinced that buying a home is right for them. (Maybe their friends are doing it, they’re getting older, they’ve rented forever, etc). They think that by just looking at homes, it will help them make that decision for them. However, this can sure lead to a big mistake!
You must first make the decision that you want to commit to being an acreage home owner. Buying a home is a big deal and a commitment that you have to be willing to make for at least three to five years, if not more.
Depending on the current market, the looking process can be frustrating, difficult, and hard to see through to the goal of finding the right acreage home. Don’t set yourself up to fail by thinking that when you find the right home, you’ll quickly figure out the remaining pieces to the puzzle. Instead, make the conscious decision that buying a home is the right move for you right now – so be financially ready and prepare yourself mentally. Then you’ll be more committed to go down the (long!) road to finding the right acreage home and not look back.
- Slow down to get the best fit for you
Often times, we spend so much time thinking about wanting to buy a home that once we make the decision to buy, we want to find a home ASAP. This is called immediate gratification syndrome. Don’t let it get the best of you!
It’s understandable that you’ve been waiting for so long to save up, yet time seems to be flying by and the kids and fur babies seem to be growing up quickly. It feels like yesterday that you were celebrating your first big holiday as a family and now you are out-growing the current place and desperately need a bigger, acreage home. But you can’t just wake up one day and go buy the first home you see.
It’s truly a process… and you want to make sure you are making the best decision for both your financial life AND for the life you want to live over the next few years. Figuring all that out and having a home that fits your goals does take time.
Buying a home is like finding a mate and just because you decide you are ready to commit doesn’t mean you should marry the first person you go on a date with. Similarly with buying an acreage home – once you’ve decided buying a home is the commitment you want to make, slow down to find the right home for the life you want to create. Be patient. Take a deep breath, slow down and understand the process; you might just enjoy it more and you will find that perfect acreage home!
- Decide who will represent you
There is a lot more than meets the eye to buying an acreage home. You need someone experienced in the type of home you are buying – location, type of home, and loan programs you’ll be best suited for. Not every agent knows how to help every buyer.
Start with getting recommendations from friends and family. Think about where they bought, what they bought, and their price range. Only ask people in your life who would be buying something similar. Ask them what they liked and didn’t like about the agent they worked with.
Once you have a list, reach out to at least two to three agents and ask them how they work and where they have sold homes recently and in what price range. Then set up an appointment to meet them for an initial consultation. You don’t need to know everything about the home-buying process before you meet, they should be educating you about the process and what you need to know to make your purchase successful.
Some internet research on your own is just fine, but your agent will get you up to speed on the current real estate market, provide insight on local neighborhoods, and also advise you on mortgage options and guidance on what to watch out for throughout the process of purchasing an acreage home.
Be honest with your agent and soon you’ll get a sense if you and the agent will be compatible to work together. It’s important to have a good working relationship and be attuned to each other. That way, your agent will “get” you and be able to also anticipate your likes, dislikes, and needs in a home even better than you may at this point!
This is important since you want your agent to guide you toward homes that will work best for you – your wants, needs, and budget… and not waste time on homes that do not.
Finally, make sure you want to spend hours looking at homes with them every weekend 🙂
Congratulations, you did not skip these important three steps! Now you can move forward. It’s time to figure out how to pay for your new home!
Hope you are enjoying this series – Finding the Perfect Acreage Home within Your Budget – and look out for next week’s article. You’ll learn the best way to budget for and financing options on your next acreage home purchase. Stay tuned!
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