Are you looking for a new home? Congratulations, the house hunting journey can be rewarding once you find the home of your dreams, but what should you be looking for when purchasing a home you may be wondering?
We’re here to help answer those questions for you by providing a list of things to look for when buying a house checklist. By following our guide, you’re not going to miss and thing and ensure that you don’t move into a home with a ton of overwhelming problems.
We don’t want to waste any more time! Continue reading this article for everything you need to know now.
Do Your Research
One of the first things that you need to do before searching for your new home is your research. You’re going to want to compile a list of homes that you’re interested in looking at. You’re going to want to do this before contacting an agent, so you’ve got an idea of what you’re looking for before meeting with them.
Once you provide them with a couple of homes that you like, they will then set up a meeting and take you to tour homes, which in our opinion, is one of the most exciting parts of finding a home behind the final sale during your closing date.
Set a Budget
Before you begin your search for homes, you need to know what you’re going to want to spend on the home. When you speak to the real estate agent, one of the first things that they’re going to ask you is about your budget.
From there, they will then pull some homes that fall within your budget to show you. And it helps if you’ve gotten prequalified for your loan before touring a home. The agent will be able to contact your lender and find out what you’ve been approved for to then continue pulling listings for you to tour.
Ride Through the Neighborhood
Listing photos are designed to show you the best angle of the home, and there are times when the area the home is in isn’t the best. Before making your final decisions, you need to ensure that you’ve taken the time to ride through the neighborhood.
You’ll want to get a sense of the neighbors and whether the neighborhood is quiet or if it’s got heavy traffic flowing through it. If you’ve got young children, an area with high traffic isn’t going to be the ideal place to live for safety reasons.
And the only way you’re going to know that is if you tour the neighborhood.
Walk Through the Property
If you’ve found a listing that seems too good to be true, there may be some underlying issues. You’re going to want to ask your agent if there are any foundational problems you need to be aware of or any significant repairs that need to occur.
When a home is being sold at a discounted price or has been on the market for an extended time, there is a reason for that. If the seller wants to sell the home as-is, you need to be aware of the things you may find within the home.
Schedule a Home Inspection
When you’re looking for a new home before your sale is finalized, one of the things that you’re going to want to have done is a home inspection. The home inspector will come out to the home and conduct an inspection of the inside and outside of the home.
They are going to take not of things like wood rot or problems with the roofing. When they are inside, they will check to make sure the air conditioner, water heater, and all electrical outlets are in working order.
When they’ve finished their inspection, they’re going to go over the problems they see, and they will also send you a detailed email that contains the issues they are talking about. Once you’ve heard what the problems are, you can decide which issues you’re going to ask the seller to fix.
Once the seller agrees to make the necessary changes, they have until a couple of days before closing to get things done. If they don’t, then it can affect your closing date.
Ask About Included Items
Typically when a seller sells their home, they will include things like the refrigerator and dishwasher in the sale of the house. But, that’s not always the case, and before you put in an offer on a home, you need to ask the agent what’s included in the sale.
If the home doesn’t come with the items inside the home, it may be a deal-breaker for you.
Is it Big Enough?
If you’ve got a larger family, you’re not going to want to move into a home that doesn’t accommodate everyone. When you’re touring the homes ensure that you only tour homes with the right amount of bedrooms and bathrooms you’re looking for.
Once you’ve entered the home, check the size of each room. There are times when you’re going to have the right number of rooms and not like each room’s size.
What Needs to Change?
If you’re looking to invest a lot of money into a renovation home, then that’s one thing, but if you’re looking for a move-in ready home, you’re not going to choose a home that needs a lot of repairs.
Repairs can get costly; therefore, you’re going to want to understand what it will take to make the home ready to move into.
Things to Look For When Buying a House Checklist
When you’re using the things to look for when buying a house checklist, you’re going to want to take into account all of the things above. When you’ve done your research and have a house inspection done, it’s going to make your decision easier when choosing the right home for you and your family.
We know the information above was a lot to take in, but we hope it provided you with everything that you were looking for. Take some time to scroll through the other posts offered on our site.