It’s a New Year – which means, everyone has a long list of New Years Resolutions. Whether it be wanting to travel across the world, wanting to save more money, wanting to lose weight, you name it, its probably on someones list. Every year, we make our resolutions; Career Resolutions, Personal Resolutions, Health Resolutions. The best way to reach a goal is by writing them out, re-reading them throughout the year, and making them attainable and within reach.

Is your goal to buy a home in 2017?

If so, we would highly recommend getting started NOW versus waiting. Why now? January and February tend to be months when more homes are going on the market with more people wanting to make that big move going into the new year! Get started on your home hunt now!

First Step: Get Pre-Approved

Before you start looking for your dream home, you need to know what’s actually within your price range. Most buyers spend hours perusing homes on Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin, and online resources. Some, even go out and tour homes, yet, they have not been pre-approved. We highly recommend – Talk to a local lender. This is the most important step in the initial home search. Get Approved. NOT Pre-Qualified. Getting pre-qualified, simply gives you an estimate of how much a lender may be willing to lend based on your income and debts. But as you get closer to buying a home, it’s smart to get a pre-approval, where the lender thoroughly examines your finances and confirms in writing how much it’s willing to lend you and at what terms.

Second Step: Make a List (Wants/Needs)

Searching for a home can be exciting. But deciding what you truly want and need—and can afford—can be challenging. Making these decisions begins with setting priorities among many different preferences. Our agent’s can play a key role in helping you sort out your options and can also offer important insights specific to your local market.

First and Foremost you need to ask yourself – What is important to YOU in a Home? Everyone has different needs/and wants. What may be important to you is completely different than your spouse.

What we recommend is that clients make a Needs/Wants List. Write it down, what is important to YOU in a Home? Location, Price, Style, Size, etc. For some it may look something like this:

1. Price – Home under $400K

2. Size – 1500+ Sq. Ft.,

3. Min. 3 Bedroom

4. Detached Garage

5. Living Room off of Kitchen

6. 5 miles or less from the nearest freeway, shopping mall, schools