Four Steps To Remember When Purchasing Your Next Home

Stressful, intimidating, sometimes down right difficult, being stripped of privacy are all terms I've heard used for first time home buyers who are either in the process of or have concluded their purchase of a home. The question becomes, what kinds of things need to be thought about when getting ready to look for and then purchase a home?

1. You must deal with the mortgage right upfront. Have you been pre-qualified for a mortgage? Getting pre-qualified before you begin touring homes is the best way to know what is truly affordable. Many people fall into the trap of looking first, falling in love with a house that's well out of their price range and then meeting up with huge disappointment when they find out it is too much house for what the bank will give a loan for. Getting pre-qualified and then only looking in the price range you are qualified for is an important part of house shopping. Feel free to Contact David for a list of lenders his clients have had a good measure of success with.

2. Stop, pause, contemplate, at least for awhile about where you would like to live. We are talking location, location, location here. I recently penned an article that stressed, "A house needs to be near what's important to you and your every day lifestyle". As I stressed in that earlier article: How important is it to you that you live close to your church, school, or a particular kind of grocery store? Does someone in your family need medical treatment on a regular basis? That alone would necessitate the need of living close to doctors and hospitals. Remember, location is very important when looking for a place to call home.

3. Think, what are my specific wants and needs in reference to my next house? How large should it be? What about if your family increases in size? Does it have enough room for you to grow? What should the house feel like when you walk in? For sure you want it feel comfortable; you more than likely want it to feel like you belong there? Your feelings are very important when looking for a house. If this house doesn't feel like home to you, then keep on looking on. By the way, look for your house on my  "Search Fairfax MLS Listings and all of Northern Virginia NO Registration required exploration page."

4. Remember you will one day want to sell again. We live in an age of transition. We change furniture more often than our parents did. We move from city to city, job to job more often than previous generations. Keeping that in mind, many people do not live in their house for the full term of their mortgage. When looking for that right house, keep in mind that at some point you will probably want to put your home on the market, so don't compromise in what is important to you. If you decide a house has some aspect that you can pass over, you need to be aware that someone else may not feel the same way. When looking for the right house, choose one that is not only appealing to you, but there is a high possibility it will be appealing to someone else down the road when you offer it "for sale".


David Burrows
ERA Champion Realty, Fairfax, VA 22033
Burrows Properties

Sellers: I would encourage you to employ a Realtor to help you sell your home. When your agent or another agent is showing your house, go away and let them do your work for you. I also urge you to utilize my FREE SELLERS TOOLKIT before selling your house.

Buyers: I would encourage you to really check out anything and everything you are told by a well meaning seller. Employ the services of a Buyer's Agent to help you discern what you read and listen to about the area you are thinking of calling home. I would also urge you to get my FREE BUYERS TOOLKIT before heading out on the journey to find your new house.

Try this link to help you find your next home: Fairfax Homes For Sale   When you land on the main page try one of our custom searches listed on the bottom of the page. No registration is necessary for the Fairfax MLS general search on my site. If you check the box to receive automated updates sent to your email, you will be required to give us your name and a valid email address.

Northern Virginia Information - Here you will find answers to your questions about schools, auto registration, taxes, things to do this weekend, popular destinations. It only takes a moment to look and it is free with no registration required!

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