In this 8-part series, How to Find the Perfect Home for You and Your Budget, you’ll learn how to find a home that is the right fit for your lifestyle, needs and, most importantly, your budget. It takes you through every single step and shows you how to avoid buyer’s remorse.  Your first home is most likely the stepping stone for your next home so you want to do it right and set yourself up financially to move up to your next home.

There’s a very specific formula and step-by-step approach that buyers – like you — should take to make sure they end up with the home that best fits their needs and budget. 

It requires some initial patience on your part so that each step is done right (and then you are prepared to quickly put in an offer with confidence when you reach that point!).

Don’t Skip These Three Steps

1. Be 100% sure you want to be a homeowner

Before you start looking for a home, make sure you’re convinced that buying a home is right for you. Some people start house hunting because their friends are doing it, they’re getting older, or they’ve rented for a long time. They believe that looking at homes will help them decide. However, this approach often leads to mistakes.

First, decide if you’re ready to commit to homeownership. Buying a home is a significant decision and a commitment of at least three to five years, if not more.

Think carefully before you move forward. Decide if this is the right step for you, and commit to the process of finding the perfect home, no matter how long it takes. The market can be tough, and the search can be frustrating and difficult. Don’t set yourself up for failure by thinking you’ll only become a homeowner if you find the perfect house.

Make a conscious decision that buying a home is the right move for you right now—both financially and otherwise. This way, you’ll be more committed to the journey of becoming a homeowner and less likely to look back.

2. Slow down to get the best fit for you

Often times, we spend so much time thinking about wanting to buy a home that once we make the decision to buy, we want to find that home ASAP. 

This is called immediate gratification syndrome. Don’t let it get the best of you!

It’s understandable that you’ve been waiting all your life to have enough money, the job stability and your life in order to buy your first home.  But you can’t just wake up one day and go buy the first home you see. 

It’s truly a process … and you want to make sure you are making the best decision for both your financial life AND for the life you want to live over the next few years. 

Figuring all that out and having a home that fits your goals does take time.

Buying a home is like finding a mate (LINK to buying home is like fall in love) and just because you decide you are ready to commit doesn’t mean you should marry the first person you go on a date with. 

Same thing with buying a home — once you’ve decided buying a home is the commitment you want to make, take a deep breath, slow down and understand the process; you might just enjoy it more and you will find that perfect home!

3. Decide who will represent you

There is a lot more than meets the eye when it comes to buying a home.  You need someone experienced in the type of home you are buying—price range, location, and loan programs suitable for you.  Not every agent knows how to help every buyer. 

Start with getting recommendations from friends and family.  Think about where they bought and their price range.  Only ask people in your life who would be buying something similar.  Ask them what they liked and didn’t like about the agent they worked with. 

Once you have a list, reach out to at least two to three agents and ask them how they work and where they have sold homes recently and in what price range.  Then set up an appointment to meet them for an initial consultation. 

You don’t need to know everything about the home-buying process before you meet, they should be educating you about the process and what you need to know to make your first purchase successful.

Some internet research on your own is fine, but your agent will get you up to speed on the current real estate market, provide insight on local neighborhoods, and also advise you on mortgage options and home-buying assistance programs for first-time buyers. 

Be honest with your agent and soon you’ll get a sense if you and them will be compatible and well-suited together. It’s important to have a good working relationship and be attuned to each other.

That way, your agent will “get” you and be able to anticipate your likes, dislikes, and needs in a home, even better than you may at this point!

This is important since you want your agent to guide you toward homes that will work best for you … and not waste time on homes that aren’t.

And, finally, make sure you want to spend hours with them every weekend 🙂

Congrats, you did not skip these important three steps! Now you can move forward. It’s time to figure out how to pay for your new home!

Hope you are enjoying this series — How to Find the Perfect Home for You and Your Budget – and look out for next week’s article. You’ll learn the best way to budget for and finance your first home purchase.