Good properties, in highly desirable areas, sell fast so be ready to make an offer before you start the tour. It is common for properties, in a seller’s market especially, to have an offer within a couple of days after listing, or even before they get listed. You probably won’t have time to get your loan preapproval after you find a property and the seller will probably require it to be submitted with the offer. Your offer has greater appeal to a seller if it is a cash offer or you have a solid loan preapproval letter. Your REALTOR® can check the average Days On Market for properties in subdivisions where you are interested in buying. Absorption Rate and the number of houses for sale, for a given subdivision, can have an impact on the sales price.
Choose 3-4 houses from the emails and research that you have done on you own that you are most interested in and would like to have a close up look at. Don’t waste time. Only visit those properties that you can get loan approval for and that you would really like to live in. Properties are usually scheduled an hour in advance and allow one hour on site. Allow plenty of time. You don’t want to rush through this process.
As your REALTOR®, I will schedule showings for these properties and that you have ranked from the most desirable first.
Not all properties are available all of the time. Some are occupied and may not be available on the day or time that you would like so expect to be flexible in your schedule. I will Schedule showings the day before visiting them in order to give the sellers time to prepare to vacate the premises so you can tour the property without feeling rushed. This give us time to discuss your likes and dislikes about the property after seeing it. Your should keep good notes about your impressions of each property. Scheduling a showing on a property also lets the sellers know that you are interested in the property so they may delay a decision until they receive your offer.
Do your own inspection and evaluations as you tour the homes that you have select. Take lots of notes. Ask lots of questions of your REALTOR®, as your tour the properties.. Take pictures to help you remember details later on. You will probably see lots of houses and it is easy to get confused about the details of each so take lots of notes. Compare each home to the list of desirable attributes that you listed previously.
As you tour the houses, note which ones are all electric and note how energy efficient they are. Make sure that there are connections for your appliances, especially the dryer connections, if you require gas or electric. Many home don’t include gas connections for the dryer and some may not include an electric dryer connection. Ask for copies of utility bills for the past year to so you can include that cost along with the total cost of home ownership. Check for good seals around exterior doors and for Low-E (Low-Emissivity) windows. Check the insulation in the attic as well as the underside of the roof for signs of water leaks.