I’m sure by this point you’re very excited to find your new home. You’ve chosen your Realtor (me!) and have your pre-approval letter.  Now comes step 4, finding the right home.

When considering your new home you want to make the choice to buy a home that meets your needs and priorities. A home you can be comfortable in for at least 5 years.  At the same time you want to think like a seller and view your home as a long-term investment that will appreciate and build wealth over time.  Here’s a great article on that topic. 

Think Like a Seller

Now that you’re thinking like a future seller, consider the following when choosing a neighborhood and choosing a home:

When choosing a neighborhood	When choosing a home
Location	Location
Trends	Curb appeal
Commute time and proximity	Amenities
Quality of schools	Age of the home
Crime rates	Updates/Improvements
Amenities in the area	Layout
Neighborhood demand	Profit potential

Don’t worry…I can provide you with information about neighborhoods and detailed information about each home you have interest in. I’ll be with you throughout every step of the way.

Wants vs. Needs

Before we start looking at homes make a list of your top 3-5 needs/must haves in a home.  These are the things you absolutely cannot live without and you won’t even look at a property unless it has every one of them.  (e.g. – 3 bedrooms, yard for the dog, basement, no more than 15 minutes commute time to work, etc.)

Now make a list of your top 5 wants. These are the things you’d really like to have but can live without if you had to. (e.g. hardwood floors, skylights, fireplace, his/her closets, etc.)

Remember, not every home will have all of the features you’re looking for so you’ll need to decide if the home is right for you based on what it did have.  Download your needs vs. wants checklist now. Once you’ve completed making your list email it back to me.

Finding Homes to View

By now you should be receiving the auto search MLS emails from me.  You’ll receive these emails every day and they will include any new properties that have come on the market that match your criteria. The email will also include any properties with price changes and are now within your budget.  Be sure to change your email settings so the MLS emails do not go to your spam folder.

Each time you receive an MLS email you’ll want to do the following:

• Review all of the properties in that email.  You’ll be able to use icons on each listing to mark your favorites, make notes about each one, or ask me questions.
• If there’s something you want to see you can use the notes section to shoot me a quick email letting me know when you’re available to see it.
  • Most properties require 24 to 48 hours notice for showings
  • Properties are usually available to see between 9:00am – 8:00pm but we must get approval to see the home first.  Times and days are up to the Seller.  Flexibility is key!
  • Great properties can sell within a couple days so it’s important that you review
    the MLS email daily.  We’ll want to get in to see the ones you like right away.
• I’ll make the arrangements for you to see the homes you like
• In addition to you reviewing the MLS emails I’ll be behind the scenes networking with other agents and home owners to learn about properties; those that may be coming on the market soon and those that are available others may not know about.

Hopefully by now there’s no need for you to continue to look at homes on other sites.  In fact, studies show that buyers who search all of those sites actually take longer to find the right home then if they just worked with their Realtor.

Now it’s time to move on to viewing some homes!

Have questions?  Call 614-208-9794 or email jodydeeds7@gmail.com. I’ll help you buy sell love Columbus.