This week we’re going to cover the general home buying process. This will be particularly helpful if you’re a first time home buyer. What you should avoid when purchasing a home, how to get the most for your money, current market conditions, etc. Sitting in on the podcast is Kurt Buehler. Kurt and his team have been in the business for over 31 years, has sold more than 6,000 homes, in the top 1% of all realtors in the nation for the last 20 years, and among the top 5 realtors in all of Dallas Fort Worth according to Wall Street Journal. To put into perspective the average realtor will sell between 8 to 10 homes per year. You can do the math, Kurt knows his stuff, so let’s get started!
Our main group of individuals we’ll be addressing is millennials. We are all getting to the age that we are either purchasing a home or the thought has at least crossed your mind. Personally, I’m still an apartment dweller because I like nice things, and I know buying a house at my age I’d be able to afford something built in the 80’s with popcorn ceilings. Not a fan. I enjoy my wood floors, stainless steel appliances, and granite countertops. I also apparently enjoy throwing money out the window. If you want to build wealth and have cash flow, buy a house.
The huge problem with first time home buyers is thinking they’re going to find the perfect home. Perfect homes don’t exist, and that’s okay! When buying a house you really need to look at the bigger picture. If you like the bones of the home and the basic floorplan it’s a solid start. Everything else can be customized to your liking. The one thing you really have to be aware of if you choose to do this is overpricing yourself out of your neighborhood. If you buy a house for $180,000 you don’t want to build a $50,000 pool in your backyard. Be sensible when making updates to your home. For example, putting in granite countertops will cost you around $1,500 and in return it will add about $5,000 to the value of your home when you decide to sell. Kurt is familiar with flipping homes and getting the most for his money, I won’t delve into too many details if you want more advice just give us a call.
Another thing our generation is absolutely incredible at is doing their research. In fact, we’re almost too good. I’m talking about using websites like Zillow. Zillow is a realtors worst nightmare. Zillow is the wikipedia of real estate. When pricing homes, Zillow will just pull a radius of houses and their estimated value. You have a $200,000 home next to a gated community? Congratulations, you’re home value just skyrocketed according to zestimate. Feel free guys, do your research, check out some houses online, but when you see that zestimate price take it with a grain of salt, please. I can’t tell you the amount of conversations we have with homeowners looking to sell and they’re about $70,000 off their value because they picked up a laptop. When realtors pull comps, they’re pulling exactly what the appraiser does when he comes to asses the value. You’ve been warned.
Let’s say you’ve found a house, you put in an offer, it gets accepted, boom, contract. Exciting stuff, you’ve entered the option period! Option period is basically a short amount of time (usually 10 days) in which a buyer can back out of the contract if needed. This is usually the time that inspections and appraisals take place. Give you a good idea if there’s any serious issues with the property you’re purchasing. One thing everyone needs to realize about inspectors, they are liable for things they don’t catch, so they will literally list EVERYTHING. Don’t let this throw you into panic mode. The biggest things you should keep an eye out for is foundation issues, roof, HVAC, electrical and plumbing. The big ticket items. Also keep in mind, you are living in Texas. Our weather can literally cover all four seasons in one day. All homes will shift, it’s just the way it is, so if your inspection report comes back saying “foundation issues, piers needed” don’t freak out. What needs to happen is a call to a structural engineer, we wouldn’t advise you to call a foundation company. They are there to sell you piers, they are going to tell you that the home is on the verge of collapse and needs $15,000 worth of foundation repair. Spend the $400 on getting a structural engineer, they aren’t affiliated with a foundation company and will give you an honest estimate. Your agent should also be knowledgeable and flag items that may not come up in an inspection report. Kurt lists a specific example in the podcast.
You’ve made it through the option period without having a full fledged breakdown and manageable buyer's remorse, you’re doing good. The rest of the contract will be light and breezy, as long as the house appraises, but that’s a different podcast. You close, funds transfer, and are handed the keys. Congratulations! You are officially a homeowner. Now is actually the daunting yet fun part of the process. You get to make the home yours. I probably don’t need to tell anyone what the current styles are. If you have any social media, you know. Old world is out, it’s now light, bright, and airy. I’m going to put a link at the bottom of this blog so you can check out some of my favorite websites I go to for interior design ideas. If you have any more detailed questions we’re just a call away. Happy to help!
Your real estate professionals,
The Buehler Group.
And of course….. www.pinterest.com
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