It’s easy to get starry-eyed about your first home. For the first time, you will have full autonomy to do anything you choose to do with your walls and garden! You can make this home just as you envision. The prospect is exciting.
Considerations for first-home buyers
Of course, there are other considerations to make during the buying process. These include choosing a Realtor as your advocate, securing the best home financing available, and setting your search parameters to meet your family’s needs.
One critical element to a successful first home purchase that is often overlooked by first-time buyers is the consideration of their new home’s resale-ability. First-time buyers will eventually be sellers of their homes. If you purchase a first home that does not have broad appeal, you may not see the return on your investment that you hope for when it is time to sell.
When you purchase your first home, think about selling it, too
Take, for example, Dot and Jake’s first home-buying experience. Dot and Jake had spent months searching for their first home. They were determined to be within 15 minutes of Dot’s work; they wanted three bedrooms so that they could have a guest room and home office; and they wanted a garage so Jake would have space for his woodworking hobby. When they couldn’t find a home that checked all these boxes, they grew frustrated and expanded their parameters. It was then that they found a two-bedroom home for sale on a busy street. Despite the lack of a third bedroom and the proximity to traffic, the home had beautiful hardwood floors, a spacious backyard with a brick outdoor fireplace and a built-in hot tub! These features exceeded their expectations, so they called the listing agent, submitted a full price offer, and the home was theirs.
Three years later, on recommendation from Dot’s co-worker, Dot and Jake gave me a call. They had earned promotions at work and they were ready to upsize into a larger home.
Our first step was to assess Dot and Jake’s financial position. I walked through their current house and returned with a market analysis to help forecast the appropriate sales price for their home. With this information, Dot and Jake could better understand what money they had available for the down payment on their new home. Unfortunately, the anticipated list price that I recommended based on recent sales of similar homes near their property was less than they had hoped for.
The importance of hiring a buyers’ agent
When Dot and Jake purchased their home they didn’t realize that the list price should have been discounted to offset the proximity to an arterial street. If they had worked with an independent buyers’ agent instead of the sellers’ agent, they would have received the guidance necessary to factor the potential resale value of their home into their initial offer, and had a more realistic perspective on their investment. Fortunately, Dot and Jake successfully were able to upscale to a larger home despite needing to list their home for sale at a lower than anticipated price.
Enlisting your own council in the home-buying process is critical to paying an appropriate list price and optimizing your home investment. The right buying agent empowers you with knowledge of other potential buyers’ perspectives of your property, and what they will likely be willing to pay for it when you are ready to sell.
Attend a first-time home buyer bus event
If you want to learn more about buying your first home, join us for a first-time buyer bus experience on Feb. 10. Mike Barclay will be on the bus to talk about home insurance; Mark Brocket will speak about home loans; and Marcia Edwards will talk about real estate while you tour four local homes. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to email Marcia at me@marciaedwards.com or give her a call at 541-221-1454.