It might still technically be winter, but when it comes to the housing market, Spring is here! Spring has historically been the busiest buying season, but as competition for homes heats up across the country, January and February have become the new April.
Inventory is low and there is an increase in the number of potential home buyers, so doing everything you can on the front end to be ready to make a deal, will help you score your dream home! Here are 5 tips to consider if you’re planning to buy this Spring.
First Step: Pre-Approval.
Before you start your house hunting journey, you need to be pre-approved. This is good advice for anytime of year, but especially in the spring when the market is typically more competitive. In a sellers market, bidding wars are common, if you aren’t pre-approved when you make your offer, the seller may not want to wait for you to organize your finances. Start by meeting with a Mortgage professional and make sure you get pre-approved, not just pre-qualified.
Find a Realtor
A Realtor will be able to guide you through the home buying process as smoothly as possible by using their knowledge and experience about the community, and your preferred neighborhoods. They will have insights to houses coming on market that might help you scoop something up before anyone else knows it’s coming. Something that is very important in a competitive market.
Research
Once you have your finances in order and you know what you can afford, start a web search and have your Realtor start pulling listings in the neighborhoods you’re interested in, so that you can see what types of homes are available for your budget.
Be Realistic
Try to keep your expectations in check. It’s very easy to allow emotions to take over when it comes to buying (and selling) a home. Keep in mind that unless you’re building your dream home from the ground up, most homes will need some tweaks to make it exactly what you want. Keep an open mind and look for the potential rather than getting caught up on small things that can be changed.
Sweeten the Deal
When you’re ready to make an offer, try improving it by adding in some benefits for the seller. Be flexible on the closing if it needs to be sped up or slowed down, and don’t sweat the small stuff on the home inspection. Focus on the items that will help or hurt you when it comes the home meeting your lending criteria.
Thank you to our new site sponsors, Sophia Leece and Scott Boudreaux with LAH Real Easte for these great tips. For more information on what’s happening in the Birmingham Housing Market, or to schedule a free home buyer/seller consultation, you can reach them:
Sophia Leece, 205.895.9120 | sleece@lahrealestate.com |
Scott Boudreaux, 205.835.9787 |sboudreaux@lahrealestate.com | Website
