Daniel Lets Us Follow Along As He Buys His First Home
Posted by Rebecca
Thinking about buying your first home, but have no idea where to begin?
I’m willing to bet that a lot of first-time home buyers feel the same way. That’s why I’ve asked my brother-in-law, Daniel, if he’ll allow me write a detailed account of his first home purchase. Join me during my next few posts as I take us step-by-step through buying a house.
1. Figure out what exactly you are looking for in a home.
Decide, for starters, on your ideal price range, home size, yard size, number of bedrooms and bathrooms and location of the home. This is a good time to find a Realtor you can trust. Your Realtor can help you decide exactly what you’re looking for in your first home.
Note: the first step for some buyers may be to find a good lender and have him prequalify you. This is very helpful, and if you have no idea what you can afford, the lender will help you find out.
In Daniel’s case, he wasn’t even planning on buying for another year or so, but he had already begun thinking about what he’d like in a home. To help with this process, I’d been sending him e-mails, complete with photos, of houses currently on the market. This helped him get an idea of how property in Savannah is priced, and what types of homes are available in the different local neighborhoods.
Click here to sign up to receive e-mails with Savannah property information and photos.
It didn’t take Daniel long to figure out that he’d like to live on Whitemarsh or Wilmington Island. (He wanted to be close to downtown Savannah, a reasonably short drive to I-16, close to the beach and near his friends.) He also wanted at least three bedrooms.
2. Find your perfect home - the home that most closely meets your needs.
(Keep in mind that your first home will not likely be your dream home, but look at it as a stepping stone to get you there).
This step was easy for Daniel. Like I said, he wasn’t looking to buy for quite some time, but I just happened to stumble across this home, and it was a deal he couldn’t refuse. Here’s what happened:
My husband Rob and I live in a condo we bought a little over a year ago on Whitemarsh Island. My neighbor invited me in to look at hers, saying that she’d been trying to sell it for over a month, and she had to get out(she had an emergency situation). If she didn’t sell in the next two weeks, she would let the bank foreclose on it. Her asking price was below market value, and she said she was willing to take quite a bit lower. In addition, the home was being sold completely furnished (including washer and dryer!).
Rob told Daniel about it, and despite the fact that he wasn’t planning on buying for another year, and that this place had only one bedroom when he preferred three, we all agreed that this was a deal that couldn’t be passed up.
He decided that he didn’t truly need three bedrooms at this moment, and that he’d be able to sell his condo in two years and make a very nice profit. With that profit, he’ll be able to buy a nicer three bedroom home than he’d originally planned.
So now Daniel will be our neighbor!
good post