Make Sure You Get What You Need From Home Shopping

by Zainab Adams

Home shopping is often the fun part of the real estate journey.

Looking at beautiful homes and imagining yourself or your family making memories there is enough to make anyone giddy.

But sometimes, the "fun" part of the real estate journey can turn sour. It happens when your realtor sends you the 20th house to look at, and you have to drag yourself to see a home you might not like.

Or your moving in, and you pass by a home that meets your needs and is significantly better than the one you now own.

With this in mind, the question may be: when should you start looking for a home? That way, you're not looking for months on end or rushing to the point where you overlook the homes that are available to you.

This article will cover when you should start looking for homes to rent or buy and why.

When Should I Start Shopping?

Our Savants recommend that we start shopping for homes between 30-60 days before you want to move in.

This timeline is especially crucial for buyers since it takes about a month to get to the closing table when your offer is accepted.

The timeline is also vital for those looking to find their next rental.

We want to make sure that you have secured a new home a month before your lease ends and that your new lease starts two weeks before your old lease ends—that way, you have enough time to move.

What Affects The Homes We See?

The main factor that affects the homes you and your Savant will see is your price range, the current state of the real estate market, and your deal-breakers.

Price Range

The most fundamental factor in the home shopping process is looking at homes in your price range.

Shopping in your price range can ensure that you stay within budget and that your offer is competitive.

The Market

The state of the real estate market will impact the length of the home shopping portion of your real estate journey.

The "Market" is a mixture of the housing inventory, interest rates, government policies, amongst other things (source).

Luckily, that's one of the ways our Savants are of service to you. If you ever want frequent market reports, give us a call, and we'll make that change to your profile.

Deal-Breakers

Deal-breakers are the details that you determine are mandatory for your next home.

And your deal-breakers can keep you in the shopping stage for longer.

Our advice?

List your top five deal-breakers in order of importance. As your agent takes you on showings, take note of the homes with at least three of those needs met.

The ones that do meet at 3/5 deal-breakers will be the ones you pick between with your realtor's advice.

When Should I Reach Out To A Realtor?

You can reach out to our team now.

Because we are a team of real estate advisors, you don't have to wait until you're ready to rent/buy/sell a home to speak to us.

We aim to give you tips and resources to not only help you during your journey but as you prepare and well after you've closed.

So make sure to register in the top right corner if you haven't already, and we'll get to know you and provide you with advice tailored to your real estate journey.