• By rentmypad
• 15/08/201719/11/2020
• With 7 comments

So you’ve decided it’s time to buy a new home. Awesome! Can you see the light pouring in from the windows of your shiny new kitchen and hear the family laughing together in your new living room or smell the fresh mulch sprinkled over the backyard garden?

There’s just one problem: How the heck do you find this perfect home?

Well, home buyers have a world of information at their fingertips nowadays. In fact, 93% of them reported that websites were their most useful source of information.  And of those who ended up purchasing, 50%—that’s right, half of all buyers—found their home online.

But is it really that easy? Can you find your dream home online with the click of a button? Well, it may be easier now than ever before to find a home—but that doesn’t always mean it’s the one that best fits your family and budget.

Follow our steps below to feel confident about finding your perfect home online.

Here are the first steps to set up your house hunt for success:

• Know how much house you can afford. If you’re able to pay in cash, do it. If you’re getting a mortgage, don’t buy a house unless you know the mortgage payment will be no more than 25% of your take-home pay. That includes private mortgage insurance (PMI), homeowners association (HOA) fees, property taxes and homeowner’s insurance.

• Save for your down payment. Save at least 20% (or absolutely no less than 10%) of the total house price to avoid paying PMI—unless you enjoy paying extra in interest and fees. Use mortgage calculator to enter your down payment amount and try out different home prices within your budget.

• Get a mortgage preapproval. A mortgage preapproval tells the seller you’re a serious buyer and signals the process will go faster if they choose your offer. Sure, you can submit an offer on a home you found online without a mortgage preapproval. But if your offer is up against preapproved buyers, the seller is probably going to choose one of them over you.

 How to Find a Home Online

Okay, if you’re serious about buying a home, make sure you’re looking at data from a multiple listing service (MLS). An MLS is a private database of available homes for sale—compiled and managed by real estate professionals.

Start Your Online Search

Say you’re looking for a three-bedroom home under $200,000. You find all the basic nuts and bolts you need to know about a home (from photos and features to schools and a brief property history) at the first site you check because it has plenty of listings with MLS data.

You make a list of your 10 favorite homes to ensure you still have choices if any contenders get snatched up by other buyers.

Do Your History Homework

Now it’s time to dig a little deeper into the past and do a background check on each home. Take notes about:

• How long (and how often) the home has been on the market
• Price changes since the seller listed the home
• The number of foreclosures in the area
• How much you can expect to pay in property taxes
• Neighboring homes that recently sold

You decide to pass on one home after discovering it’s in a neighborhood with a few recent foreclosures. With nine homes remaining, you broaden your view.

Check Out the Neighborhood

Let’s suppose you’re married and expecting your first bundle of joy but you still like to keep an active lifestyle, so finding a safe neighborhood with great schools and lots of things to do is a high priority. With your favorite homes in hand, you choose to explore the area around each house in more detail.

Using the heat map features found on most real estate sites, you can check to see how each neighborhood stacks up by looking at these key factors:

• Schools. Even if you don’t have kids, the school district will affect your home’s value when you eventually decide to sell.

• Crime. Has there been a recent uptick in crime? Check the surrounding neighborhoods too—you don’t want to mistake a sweet deal for one that puts your family at risk.

• Commute. If you use public transit, is there a stop nearby? If you drive to work, a 45-minute commute might sound okay now, but how will you feel about it after a few years?

Bring in an Expert

Your agent guides you from search to success by sharing expert insight into each home’s pricing and potential, negotiating a great deal, and handling all the paperwork. When all is said and done, you feel confident knowing you made the decision that was right for you and your family.

That’s what it looks like to find your perfect home online.

Get the Best Deal on the Home That’s Right for You

Are you looking for an expert to save you time and money on your new home? Remember: Your search might start online, but it’s hard to find the perfect fit unless you’re willing to hit the pavement and partner with a pro.

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