North Bay Real Estate - 7 Tips For The First Time Home Buyer

North Bay Real Estate – 7 Tips for the First Time Home Buyer

If you are a first time home buyer, these 7 tips will address the most important issues to help guide you in your decision process. I trust you’ll enjoy “North Bay Real Estate and the 7 Tips For The First Time Home Buyer”

Get Preapproved for a Mortgage. Before getting too far down the home search path it is always best to have an idea of how much home you can afford. Arrange a meeting with your financial institution to go over your personal financial situation. This will help you determine the amount of monthly payment you can afford after factoring in extraneous costs that come with home ownership. Establishing a realistic budget you can live with at the beginning is essential!

Work with a REALTOR® Ask your family and friends for recommendations then meet and interview a short-list. Choose a REALTOR® that you are comfortable with and matches your personality or approach. A professional REALTOR® will do most of the ‘leg work’ on your behalf saving you time and effort in seeking out the best possible listings based on your personal wants and needs.

Research the neighbourhood. Once you have found a house, be sure to check out the area that house is in. Amenities, schools, shopping and public transit are something that you may or may not want next door to your new home. Visit the neighbourhood during a week day and on the weekend, as well as at different times of the day to get a ‘feel’ for the neighbourhood.

Think about resale. As a first time buyer this is likely the first of several homes that you will own. You will eventually want to move on to another home for a variety of reasons. The real estate market place is like a chess match, you need to plan several steps ahead. So put some thought now into what will make your house desirable to potential buyers down the road.

Do not wait until spring. Spring is the busiest real estate activity period with the largest inventory on the market and is the traditional buying time. However, that does not mean that there are no suitable homes available on the market at other time periods of the year. Buying opportunities are available year round. Knowing what you want, your REALTOR® can help you move quickly on an opportunity that presents itself outside of the spring activity period.

Falling in love with the first property you see. Many home buyers, particularly first time home buyers, often get caught up in the emotional excitement and passion of home buying and as a consequence, fall in love with the first house that they see. To minimize the effect of emotions on such an important decision you need to commit to seeing at a minimum of three homes before making a decision. By doing so, you will get an idea of what the comparable homes are in your price range, allowing you to make a better informed buying decision.

Buying a house for its décor. Remember, you are buying the house, not the things inside of it. Some homes may be professionally staged to hide flaws and maximize their appeal. You need to look beyond the furnishings and concentrate on the ‘bones’ of the house such as the floor plan and the square footage. You may want to take measurements and quickly see if all your furniture will actually fit into the new home. This is especially true if you have any oversized furniture, king size bed etc

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As a registered real estate sales person I am familiar with the North Bay Real Estate market. If you are a first time home buyer, I would be pleased to work with you in finding you your first home. Please feel free to contact me directly at: rob@robertsteele.com