Tips for Buying a Home this Summer

by Lorrie Morales

Are you a new homeowner ready to purchase your first house or property? Or perhaps you are a seasoned buyer who knows the housing market? Regardless of your status, real estate is a huge investment and taking time to understand the details of buying or selling a property is important.

Tricia Rakos and Laurie Allan are Century 21 real estate agents in the Foothills area. Working in collaboration, their motto is “Let us guide you home.” They have sound advice regarding tips for buying, as well as selling your home based on a collective thirty-six-year experience. Whether it is residential, commercial, or rural, communication is the key.

Tips for buying a home

First, getting Pre-approved is the first step when buying a home. Knowing your limits and staying with a budget is paramount. When you have your finances in place, it’s important to interview various realtors and choose the one that will help you navigate the market and feel comfortable working with on this important decision. Next is getting to know the market. Because it is continually changing, you need to keep up to date in terms of what you are looking for. That’s when you need to identify your home needs and wants. For exam- ple, you may want a new home that has a fireplace, but that might be the only item not on your “want list”. When you make the offer to buy, remember that you may be competing with other offers, so make your best offer based on price, terms, and conditions because it’s not always the highest bid that ends up being successful.

Tips for selling a home

When you have found the realtors you want to work with to get your house listed and marketed, you are ready to start the sale of your home. Currently, it is essential to find realtors who embrace technology, as they have many tools at their disposal to get your house sold. By pricing your home at market price, cleaning and decluttering, you can walk through your home and put yourself in the buyer’s shoes. Prior to listing, this is an excellent time to fix what is broken and even replace burned-out lightbulbs or replace fixtures, mirrors, or anything the buyer might want to stay if they purchase. Find documents that pertain to the house, such as home improvement projects, warranty paperwork, instruction manuals and a list of the ages of the furnace, roof, air conditioning or hot water heater. It is also advisable to have a Real Property Report available, especially if you have made any changes to the yard or outside of the house, such as a deck addition. Getting ready for showings is also essential. Open the windows for natural light, ensure a shovelled walk and have an inviting porch or entryway into the home. https://foothillsrealestate.c21.ca/

The lawyers, brokers, and bankers will work with your personalized real estate agents, who will keep you organized, communicate with you, and follow up to ensure that you have successfully purchased or sold your home. Tricia and Laurie know that collaborating, communicating, and caring will enable you to enjoy your purchase or sale.