There is nothing like the anticipation of purchasing a home. By owning a home, you can build equity for your family, invest in an appreciating asset, and enjoy the freedom of living on your own property.
However, some common house-hunting hurdles can quickly depreciate the thrill. Finding a trustworthy agent, improving your credit, avoiding bidding wars, and preparing for all costs are just some of the challenges you may face. These barriers can feel discouraging and add to confusion during an already demanding process.
Many homebuyers realize that a proactive approach can help overcome these hurdles.
#1 Finding A Good Real Estate Agent
A good real estate agent can be a critical ally during the house-hunting journey. They can help you find your dream home that’s within your budget, advocate on your behalf, assist with the paperwork, and offer important advice.
The hurdle is finding a good agent. While there are some decent agents out there, many work toward their own interests rather than the concerns of their clients.
A great way to shop for top real estate agents is to use the online marketplace Nobul.
The brainchild of real estate innovator Regan McGee, Nobul makes it easier for house hunters to match with reliable real estate agents by unmasking their professional histories, reviews, and commissions. In this marketplace, Realtors compete for your business — the way it should be.
#2 Avoiding Bidding Wars
Bidding wars are becoming common in large cities with competitive real estate markets. Here, sellers list their homes at lower prices to catch attention and initiate bidding wars between potential buyers. While sellers benefit from bidding wars by selling properties at higher values, buyers usually do not gain many advantages from getting caught up in bidding wars. The losers of the bidding process may feel used after an emotional process, while the winners may feel like they overpaid.
Although there’s no guaranteed way to avoid a bidding war, you can reduce your risk of getting caught in one by completing some market research. If most homes in the neighborhood sold for a higher price than the listing price, it’s probable that the seller is trying to start a bidding war. Avoid dropping an emotional bid on a suspiciously low-priced home if you want to steer clear of bidding wars.
#3 Winning Bidding Wars
In a hot real estate market, you may feel like you have no choice but to enter a bidding war if you want to purchase a home. With inventory falling short in major cities, properties typically end up with many offers.
Here are some tips for a bidding war:
- Avoid getting emotionally invested. By taking a more apathetic approach, you can stay within your budget and avert disappointment.
- Consider making a reasonable pre-emptive offer that a seller may accept to sidestep a long bidding process.
- Streamline the process by making an offer without any strings attached and having your deposit ready.
- Consider writing a personal letter to the seller about your family and what you love about the house. Many sellers with emotional attachments to their homes would rather sell to a family than an investor interested in flipping the property for money.
#4 Improve Your Credit
By improving your credit, you can appear more reliable to lenders and earn more favorable mortgage rates. Improve your credit by reducing your debts, avoiding more loans, increasing credit card limits, and removing negative entries from your credit report.
Other ways to overcome financial hurdles are to prepare for all costs involved in purchasing and moving into a home, getting pre-approved for a mortgage, and saving money for a larger deposit.
While there are many house-hunting hurdles, you can overcome them by being proactive about your finances, connecting with a reliable real estate professional through Nobul, and avoiding getting emotionally invested in order to make smarter monetary decisions.
