What should I do to get Ready to Buy a House

What should I do to get ready to buy a house.

Getting ready to buy a house is not a spur of the moment thing.

There are many things that you can do to help the process along and make it a less stressful and expedient adventure.   But if it has been a little while since you have gone through a home purchase, things have gotten a lot more hectic than they once were.

It used to be that you would visit your Real Estate Agent of choice and explain what you were looking for and they would look through the massive MLS book to find some homes that met your criteria.  Then the agent would set up a time for you to go look at the houses.  Once you found the home of your dreams, or at least the house you could live in for now, you would call your bank and they would set up the loan, then in a few weeks you would close and the house would be yours.   Now that wasn't so bad...  now fast forward 20 years.

Now a days it isn't quite that simple.   For one thing, there are a lot more houses available now.  Secondly, there are many types of properties on the market now, and I am not talking about split foyers and basement rancher.  Now you have foreclosures, short sales and fixer uppers.  Finally, the mortgage process is extremely more complex and has many hoops to jump through.

Here are some helpful hints to guide you on your way to happy house hunting....

1. Talk to a Mortgage lender and find out how much you can and can't spend.
2. Write down a list of must haves you want in a house
3. Decide what Geographical area you want to be in
4. If you have to sell a house to be able to buy get it ready and on the market to sell
5. Take a look through the home search engines to preview the house.
6. Contact a Real Estate Professional to help guide you through the rest.

Step 6 can be the best move you make.  You see a Buyers Agent is obligate to work in your best interests in every facet of the process.  And the best part of it is that they get paid from the proceeds of the seller, not yours.  You get their expertise and connections for your benefit alone.

If you are looking to buy or sell a home in the Knoxville Tennessee market please consider contacting me.  When contacting me please request your complimentary "8 step guide to getting your house ready to sell".  To View Greg Reynolds other Real Estate Blogs please go to www.KnoxvilleMetroProperties.com