A home is quite possibly the most expensive purchase you will ever make. Beyond this, a home is where you begin to build your dream life, whether that’s to raise a family, start a hobby farm, begin your career as a flipper, or anything else. With these two things in mind, you want to do everything in your power to ensure that you end up with a home you’re entirely satisfied with.
There are all sorts of ways to ensure this, but there are only a handful of surefire ways. For one, you need to first pinpoint your exact reason for wanting to buy a new home. Beyond this, you should work with a licensed and experienced realtor and, where it makes sense, always offer lower than the asking price (working with a realtor can also help with this).
To gain a better grasp of why these things will help you settle on your dream home, continue reading below.
Know Exactly What You Want
As with anything, ending up with a home you’re happy with starts with understanding the exact purpose of that home. Of course, there is the basic purpose of shelter, but you want to think beyond this — do you want to raise a family, start a hobby farm, live off the grid? These are the types of questions you want to be asking yourself.
You should also try to think about your purpose in relation to the future. Do you see yourself wanting to move in the near future? Are you looking to settle down? Is your intention to renovate your place and sell it down the road? In the case of wanting to resell your property down the road, you then have to think about things like marketplace value. If the area of a prospective place isn’t up-and-coming or already popular, then it might be hard selling your home for more money down the road. However, if you’re looking at homes for sale in Green Bay and N.E. Wisconsin, then you might be better off.
Knowing the exact purpose of your new home can also help you better choose a realtor to work with if you want to work with one in the first place. This is because different realtors specialize in different types of property. For example, if you’re looking to build a hobby farm, then you’re going to want to work with realtors specializing in farm houses for sale in Green Bay and N.E. Wisconsin. Or, if you want to flip your home, then you’re going to want to work with realtors who know the most valuable homes for sale in Green Bay WI and N.E. Wisconsin — whether they’re valuable now or potentially valuable in the future.
Work With a Realtor
As alluded to above, working with a realtor comes with all sorts of benefits. For one, much of the time-consuming elements of finding a home can be taken care of by your agent. For example, things like organizing viewings, filtering down potential options, and even negotiating pricing and terms can largely be taken care of by realtors.
Having a realtor with you during viewings can also ensure you’re provided with accurate information about any properties you’re considering. Without a realtor on hand, you’re beholden to whoever is showing you a piece of property — usually a real estate agent representing the property owner. Most of the time you can rely on these agents to provide you with accurate information, but at the end of the day, they’re acting on behalf of the property owner — who wants to ultimately sell the property.
Your real estate agent represents your needs, and therefore more likely to provide you with completely accurate information. Beyond just honesty, having a real estate agent can help you make better judgments about any homes for sale in Green Bay WI and N.E. Wisconsin you’re considering.
Always Bargain
There is the asking price, and there is what the owner of a piece of property is willing to accept. With this in mind, it’s important to never simply accept list price. In most cases, especially if there is no competition, you can end up with a home for far cheaper than the asking price.
However, competition is key when trying to bargain. If you’re bidding on houses for sale in Green Bay and N.E. Wisconsin for lower than the asking price when there are other bidders actually offering the asking price — if not more — then you’re almost guaranteed not to get the property.
Tracking property prices over time can also help you understand which pieces of property you might be able to get for lower than the asking price. For example, if you notice that a property has been steadily dropping in price for months, then there’s a higher chance that you might have success in bargaining for a lower price. This because the constant lowering of the price is usually a sign that no one has yet shown interest in the property. With no interest in sight, owners might be more willing to jump on any offer they get — even if it’s lower than what they’re asking for.
Takeaway
Along the road to ultimately moving into your dream home, a lot can go wrong. For one, by not first understanding the exact purpose of your new home, you risk buying something that doesn’t fit your needs. For example, if your ultimate goal is to start a hobby farm, then buying a townhouse in a busy suburb with no property probably won’t serve you well.
Similarly, if you want to flip your new home and sell it in the future for a profit, you want to make sure that there is interest in wherever your new home is located. If you don’t, there’s a good chance that you’ll simply end up with an expensive asset that no one wants to buy.
To make sure this doesn’t happen, always work with a realtor. Beyond this, always bargain for lower than the asking price to help offset your costs.