Your First Step To Buying a Home: Prepare

What happens when you don’t prepare for for something? It either doesn’t happen or does so with so much added stress, cost, time and energy. This is true of all aspects of your life and applies just as much to the home buying process. If you do not prepare, expect a bumpy road ahead.

“Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success.” – Henry Ford

Around this time a year, I think about how many clients I’ve come in contact who planned on buying a home “next year” and never do. They fully intend on doing so but as life happens, the things we do not plan for are the first to get left behind. About three years ago I wrote an article on setting a New Year’s Resolution: To Buy A Home. It is by no means an all encompassing plan but at the very least future home buyers have actionable steps to make it a reality.

So how should one prepare for the home buying process? Become an expert. Yes, you will hire mortgage, real estate, and other professionals but with so many moving parts in buying a home, you should become as informed as you possibly can to ensure a smooth and successful result.

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Becoming well informed in real estate can be extremely difficult for a consumer. Why? You are saturated with real estate data without any guidance on how to navigate and discern what is relevant and what is not.

Connecting with a knowledgable real estate agent from the very beginning can be the most valuable crash course in real estate you will ever get. I’m reminded of my good friend JC who over the course of a year would schedule time to meet with me for lunch, coffee and just hanging out to pick my brain about home buying, what down payment would be needed, timing, mortgage payments and just about everything under the sun in real estate. Without fail, JC would always ask: “Am I bothering you with all these questions.” Absolutely not! Conversations like those are so valuable and should be had before writing offers on a home. Sometime later, a home I knew was what JC and his family were looking for came on the market. I called him immediately to see it. The result, we had an accepted offer by day 2 on the market.

Abraham Lincoln said, “I will prepare and some day my chance will come.” JC prepared to buy a home. Based on nearly a year understanding the process, he and his family were able to take action and buy their first home. Had we not had those discussions, I am sure there might have been much hesitation and possibly missing out on their family home.

Knowing what you’re getting yourself into eliminates the stress and uncertainty of the situation. Will you have questions along the way? Of course, but the knowledge you will have will instill confidence in your decision making.