Buying a Home This Summer? Read This First
Summer is the most popular house buying season, and this year as the country continues to open after the coronavirus pandemic, it is looking to be even more competitive than usual. With properties selling at a rapid pace and so many buyers navigating the market, it will be all-too-easy for overzealous buyers to overlook certain things on their pursuit of buying the perfect home. This will undoubtedly leave them open to making all kinds of mistakes.
If you are planning on buying a home this summer, then you have to do your due diligence to ensure you get the right home at the best price. To do that and to avoid buyer’s remorse, you need to avoid the following five mistakes so commonly made when buying a home in the summer.
#1: Not Being Ready to Close
Summer is when serious home buyers buy. Closings typically occur in a fast and furious manner. One of the biggest mistakes made by summer homebuyers is not anticipating the speed at which the process goes.
Many buyers lose out on their ideal homes simply because they aren’t ready to close on the property. If you want to buy a home in the summer, then you need to be ready to act fast and close at any given moment.
#2: Failing to Begin With the End in Mind
If you want to buy a new home this summer, so your kids can get acclimated to their surroundings before the new school year starts, then you need to keep this in consideration when determining when to start looking.
While the closing process moves fast in summer, it can actually take you longer than you might expect to find the right home simply because properties are scooped up and taken off the market so quickly. Therefore, you may want to start your home search earlier.
#3: Getting Caught Up in the Negotiation Game
It happens more than you might think – a home buyer finds the perfect home, and soon they find themselves in a bidding war. They are so blinded by their love of the house that they get into a pattern of counter-offers. Eventually, they reach the point where their next offer will be more than they can comfortably afford and they decide to make it anyway. While they may win the day and get the house, the buyer is now left in a position where they can’t afford it easily. This will likely cause problems very soon down the road.
When buying in the summer, it is vital to remember your budget and what you can realistically afford. Don’t get caught up in the emotional push and pull of the negotiation game.
#4: Buying a Home That’s Too Big of a Project to Handle
With homes selling faster than usual in summer, some buyers resort to buying “project” homes. These are homes that need a little work and as a result, they tend to be less expensive. The idea is that these hopeful buyers will save money on their properties and then put the money they saved into restoring the homes and maximizing their value. While this can work for some buyers, it does come with its own set of risks.
The problem is, the cost of rehabbing a project home can quickly get out of control. All too often, the buyer has no idea of the extent of work that will be required to restore the home, and soon finds themselves out of their depth and budget. The home that was supposed to cost a little, suddenly balloons into a home they can’t really afford.
#5: Bypassing the Home Inspection
In the summer, it can be easy to overlook at lot of minor issues a home might have. After all, the sun is shining, the flowers are in bloom, and you’re looking at houses – everything is coming up pink. And, to help expedite your home-buying process, you might even agree to forgo the usual home inspection. This would be a tremendous mistake and one that could cost you thousands of dollars later. Summer’s dry weather can make it harder to find moisture problems in a home, but experienced home inspectors know where to look and what signs to look out for. Before making an offer on a home this summer, make sure you have it inspected!
Summer is here and now is the time to start looking if you want to get in a new home before fall. Good luck in your search and make sure you keep these five common mistakes in mind when buying your new home. This way you can enjoy the summer by relaxing more and stressing out less.
