March 28, 2021
1. What Are Your Needs?
Before getting too excited and jumping in to search the most recent listings, start by making a list of what you want – the “nice-to-haves” – and need – the “must haves” – in your first home.
Doing this upfront will help you immediately refine your search once you’re ready to start seeing what’s out there. This will also help your agent in finding the right properties for you to examine with a fine-toothed comb. Everyone wins when you’re clear on your must-haves right up front and can separate those from the things that would be nice, but are optional, at least for the time being.
For instance, a couple expecting a child will likely have different needs than someone not planning a family, searching instead for quiet and solitude. How many bedrooms and bathrooms will you need, what size living space seems adequate, and what additional features should be included in your first home?
Think through as well, your interests, hobbies, type or style of amenities, and resources you want to use regularly; for example:
- Do you sew, love woodworking, or find photography to be your thing? If so, you will likely need to carve out space to make it happen!
- Is it important to be near doctors, medical treatment facilities, retail shopping, and grocery stores? Or, do you prefer have some elbow room away from the city and don’t mind driving a few extra miles?
- Do you want easy access to bike, walking and hiking trails? Do you plan to make several trips this year to Estes and Rocky Mountain National Park? If the latter, Loveland may be a far better fit than Timnath for example.
- Being intentional in your planning now will lead to a deeper appreciation later, for that place you choose as your first-ever home!
This is also the time to asses your realistic financial means. Planning financially, will help dictate and fine tune your list of “must-haves” as well as the “nice-to-haves,” right from the beginning.
2. Assemble Your Team
With a basic idea of what you’re looking for when buying your first home, you will want to get the ball rolling with your chosen real estate professional and mortgage lender.
Start this process by meeting with a few of each in order to get a feel for how they operate and how comfortable you are in discussing your first home buying venture with them. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, either, as this helps indicate which agent and lender will work best for you.
If you don’t have contacts or know where to begin by building your team, give me a call, text, email, or complete the short form below. We have lenders as well as many other resources you will need to get you moving in the right direction. And, you can rest assured, I would love to have the opportunity to serve as your Realtor®️!
3. The Lay of the Land
Looking through the latest additions to the market and creating a listing of possible homes to tour gets you started, but thoroughly researching their surrounding neighborhoods will give you a leg up.
This is a critical step in that it helps you to learn not only what’s available, but how your daily commute and life might work from that home, and whether or not the price is right. Your real estate professional can provide a property valuation or market analysis, but it’s always a good idea for you to see what similar houses in the neighborhood have sold for over the last few years.
This information will help give you a feel for whether the home is priced right and if it will be the best “fit” in terms of meeting your needs.
It’s always wise to anticipate and plan for additional costs beyond those needed just to get into your home.
4. Additional Costs
As shopping gets underway and excitement builds, it can become easy to view your home purchase costs based solely on the asking price of a home, letting other potential costs fall by the wayside.
Examples of additional costs will include earnest money, down payment, appraisals, closing costs, materials for packing, and moving costs. Do keep in mind that your down payment will vary, depending on your type of loan. For example, an FHA loan will require a lower down payment than conventional lending. You can reduce moving costs if you’re willing to “DIY,” handling via U-Haul rather than use professional movers.
In today’s white hot market, you will want to consider having Appraisal Gap cash on hand as well. We are seeing bidding wars daily, with offers being made far in excess of the list price. If you are in a position to join in, that’s great! However, you should always keep in mind the fact that the home may not appraise for the price you’ve just offered. Should that be the case, you will either need to renegotiate the price [not likely in this market], walk away, or be ready to pay the difference out-of-pocket – Appraisal Gap! With so many cash offers being presented today, having Appraisal Gap cash will help keep your offer viable among the many that may be submitted on the house you love!
If you have limited resources for down payment but could handle an additional payment amount after moving into your home, talk with your lender about a CHFA loan option, available in Colorado. CHFA will provide the majority of your down payment in the form of an up-front grant that can be repaid, over time, after you move into your new home! For some buyers, it can be a great option and mean the difference between getting into a home or missing out!
Last, have a budget prepared that allows you to save as much monthly as possible. This will provide some financial padding – a growing safety net of sorts – because something inevitably will not work out the way you had planned.
5. Effort and Patience Pay Off
As you press on in your search, maintain a positive outlook and do not allow yourself to get discouraged! Easier said than done, I know.
Always approach every property with the possibility that you may need to walk away if things don’t turn out as you had hoped. The next step is to get back out there to find a seller and home that will work for you.
Resilience is the name of the game when looking for a home, especially today! Keep in mind that in this seller’s market, it will likely take longer to find the home of your dreams, at the price you can afford, than you had originally planned.
Professional Help Buying Your First Home in Northern Colorado
If your future plans include buying your first home in ANY Northern Colorado community, please reach out to me today at 970.820.0969 for help! I will be happy to assist in ANY way possible, walking you through all the topics above and more, in an effort to find that home that is perfectly suited for your unique situation.
If you prefer email – tavery@c3-re.com or complete the short interest form below. I will respond quickly to address your questions.
