Top Tips For Home Buyers – David DuMont (10/07/2024)
Top tips for home buyers was written to help you make one of the most important life decisions, buying a home. Take a few minutes and read my Top Tips For Home Buyers article. You won’t regret it!
1. Look at your finances and decide how much you can afford. Many agents want you to at least be pre-approved with a lender, and I’m one of those agents but for a reason that’s important for me to share. In the 20 years I’ve been involved in Real Estate, I’ve had buyers that just didn’t want to deal with any financing up front. I’ve understood and started the process of finding them a home. I find a home that perfectly fits what they desire, they go to the bank for a mortgage and find out the home they love is $30,000 more than they can get approved for. Their hearts are broken and they shut the whole process down. If they had known up front what their range was, I’m 100% confident they would have found another home they love that worked with their price. Sadly that didn’t happen. I know and work with at least 3-5 extremely capable lenders at all times that will quickly speak with you, and get you the information you need on the lending side to begin looking at homes with confidence.
2. Make sure to physically inspect the home and property for potential issues, concerns and hazards. This is #2 only after financing on my list of top tips for home buyers because it’s incredibly important to look very closely at any home you are even considering buying, and having a licensed professional do the same if you move further into the purchase process. This is another task that makes the quality and experience level of your Realtor/Agent so important. Once I know that my buyer(s) love a home and are even considering moving forward towards an offer, I inspect the home myself with a flashlight in hand. I’m not a licensed inspector, but doing a personal pre-inspection is important when you have your buyer(s) best interests in mind. I say this because if I look at a home closely and find that many of the doors in the home stick when opening/closing, there are cracks above them or the signs of cracks being repaired, these are a couple of clear signs up-front that there could be structural/foundation issues. This is when I would make sure to point these things out to my buyer(s), with the explanation that I would strongly recommend that should they want to put in an offer, they have the home professionally inspected and include the cost of a structural/foundation inspection as well. If my buyer(s) is also seriously looking at another home, this up-front finding of foundation concerns might just be the reason to move forward on the other home and not risk wasting the extra structural inspection money on this one. Upon a closer look at a home, you might find termite tubes behind the furnace, or termite damage to the fence. Has the home been treated for termites? Do they currently have a pest company? Are there termite bait stations around the home that have been maintained? How old is the roof? How many layers of shingles are on the roof? Many insurance companies in Oklahoma won’t insure a home if the roof is 10+ years old! It’s important for an Agent to be clear and honest with their customers at all times. Any elevated risk on a home needs to be talked about, especially before they start spending money on the process. I even advise buyers looking at new construction to have the home inspected by a pro. It’s a good use of around $500 to have a 3rd party inspect and verify that all systems in a home are working well.
3. Tour the neighborhood at different hours to get a feel for the local atmosphere, traffic patterns, activity. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “You’re not just marrying the man, you’re also marrying his family.” When you buy a home, you’re also kind of buying the neighbors as well. If the home you really like is next to one that has trash piled in the front yard, the lawn hasn’t been mowed in at least 6 weeks, and/or there’s a car on jack stands in the driveway, are you willing to always look at that, because it might never change. If there isn’t an HOA, there isn’t much you can do other than call the city on the grass not being cut. How likely is it that a home like that is going to get worse? What effect would that have on your ability to resell your home down the road, and more importantly, how will that effect your homes value? It always hurts my heart when I talk to someone that loves their current home but has been made miserable and forced to move because of a neighborhood situation. Those situations make this an important item on my list of top tips for home buyers.
4. Schools. If you have children now or might in the future, check out the local schools. Click here for school rankings at all levels: Greatschools.org
5. Location! Check the location of the nearest shopping, such as grocery stores, restaurants, and other stores you already frequent. What level of convenience do you want with everyday tasks? What is your drive to work going to be like? Where do your friends live, and if you have kids, where do their friends live?
6. Storage space! Does the home you’re looking at have the space for all your stuff? Is the attic floored and accessible? Can storage space/shelving be added to the garage for items that won’t be harmed by the summer heat?
7. Land use. If you are wanting a pool, don’t look at the backyard of a home you are interested in and think, sure, the pool we want will fit in this yard. While the size of the pool vs. the yard are important, whether or not you can dig is the issue. I promise you would be surprised by the amount of times homeowners find out about buried power, gas, phone, cable, or sewer lines that prevent digging and installing an in-ground pool. If I’m your Realtor, I will include a longer Inspection Period in your contract in an effort to make sure the folks that come out and detect buried lines have time to do their jobs (call before you dig). Are there any concerns with the land the home sits on? Has your Agent provided you the flood map for your review?
8. Energy efficiency. All hype aside, there are energy efficiency products and services that are worth their money, and those that just won’t pay for themselves.
- Solar panels – A solar salesperson will tell you how great a roof full of solar panels is for you. Consider first the total cost, what it WILL save you on your power bills (not estimates), and the average life expectancy of the panels, the power storage batteries and their cost, and the age of the roof. Depending on the state you live in, most roofs don’t come close to actually lasting 30 years, but I’ve spoken with several solar panel companies that sell the systems on a 30 year note. How much will it cost to have the panels removed and then reinstalled on a new roof? What do you do if you sell the home before you pay off the solar panels? How does having solar panels on your roof ACTUALLY affect your homes value? This is a question for someone to answer that doesn’t work for the solar panel company.
- Radiant barrier decking – Personally I believe this is worth the money when buying new construction or having a roof replaced that includes having the decking replaced as well. As mentioned earlier in this list, some homes may be low on storage space so the attic is an option. Having radiant barrier decking will lower the temperature of the attic during the hot summer months and help to keep the heat from damaging items stored there.
- Solar attic fans – depending on the cost, a solar attic fan can help keep the temperature of the attic lower, and by doing that they also keep the temperature of your AC ducts lower, allowing the air that travels thru them to stay colder and cool the home quicker saving electricity.
- Tankless water heater – The price of tankless water heaters has dropped so low over the last 5 years that I fully support getting one.
- Programmable thermostat – YES! It’s just too much for most of us with busy lives to remember to drop the AC during summer days so your not cooling the house as much when nobody is home.
- Spray foam insulation – The cost of spray foam insulation is so high currently (10/2024) that I wouldn’t do it myself if I was having a home built. Unless you are 100% positive that you will never move again, it can cost far more than you will save.
9. Cell and internet service. This is often overlooked when looking for a home. This list isn’t necessarily in order of importance because what’s important is personal, however cell and internet service is high on the list of important details when it comes to top tips for home buyers. Just about all of us are affected by cell and internet service. If you’re looking to buy a Secluded Home (click for my article on Secluded Homes), what option do you have for internet and cable? If it’s satellite, what is the cost and how long is the contract? Also with satellite, you have to find out the details of the quality of service, speed of downloads and uploads. When it comes to cell service, check your phone while you’re on the property being considered. You might even want to visit a nearby home and ask the owners what their service is like. While there, you can also ask questions like “Are there any nearby roads that flood over during heavy rains? Do you have kids and are there any problems with bussing to school? If they don’t have children and bussing is a concern for you, ask if they know anyone nearby that has kids that they could refer you to. If you’re a hunter you can ask what the game situation is like in the area?
I think you’ll agree that this partial list of top tips for home buyers has some great points in it. I could probably go on for another 2,000 words but when would I write my next 2 articles? Feel free to reach out to me if you want to hire one of the best Realtors in Tulsa: David DuMont, (918)409-5195, [email protected].
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