This is part of an intended seven-part series to teach you how to purchase a home in the Austin area. Here are the first two parts, if you are interested in starting at the beginning:
Buying a Home in Austin, Texas - Step One: Get Pre-Approved for Mortgage Financing
Buying a Home in Austin, Texas - Step Two: Selecting an Area of Town
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Your Personal Criteria
Now that you have determined how much you can afford and are comfortable spending on a home, and you have narrowed it down to the areas that are most desirable for you, it's time to find the right place!
Here are a few characteristics to consider:
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Number of bedrooms
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Number of bathrooms
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Square footage - If you have this in mind already, it helps, but we can figure it out pretty quickly once you start looking at houses
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Age of home - Some buyers strongly prefer brand-new homes. Others are content with resale homes. Give some thought to whether you want to deal with potential maintenance headaches for homes that are much older.
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One-story vs. two-story
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Size of lot - Is a huge lot important, or would you prefer not to maintain a big yard? Maybe you want acreage. This plays a part in your decision.
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Other upgrades - This could include granite counters, wood floors, stainless steel appliances, etc.
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Garage size
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Other rooms that you want/need: Do you want a gameroom? Media room? Formal dining? Make sure to let us know!
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Type of neighborhood - Do you prefer a master-planned community with schools that are walking distance from your home? Maybe a rural setting with few restrictions would be more to your liking.
Looking at Homes
We will help you develop a list of homes that can generally be seen during one or two outings. Sometimes, after the first day, you will have honed in on a specific neighborhood or 2-3 homes that you would like to see again before writing an offer.
In the interest of making productive use of your time (and mine), I always tell my clients that if we pull up to a house and they don't like it, we don't have to see it. The same goes while we are looking inside. If there is something objectionable that would prevent you from buying any of the homes, just let me know and we'll move on. I didn't build them, and I don't own them, so I promise I won't be offended. You can cover a lot more ground by using this technique.
How Many Homes Will We See?
The average homebuyer that I work with probably looks at 7-10 homes in person before making a decision. Of course, one reason for this is our ability to narrow it down by listening carefully to your needs and using our time on the phone and via email to trim down the myriad of options on the market at any given time. If we didn't do this homework beforehand, it would take a lot longer, and it would probably end up causing more confusion than good.
Once you have found the perfect home (or as close as we can get), we will work on putting together the offer paperwork, which will comprise the next post in this series!
I will provide the link to Part Four as soon as it has been written!
If you have any questions at all, please feel free to call me anytime at 512-796-7653 (cell) or email me at jason@austintexashomes.com. I look forward to hearing from you soon! You can also visit our primary Austin real estate website at www.austintexashomes.com.
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