1. Know what your time frame is. Unless you have an unlimited time frame, retaining a professional realty agent will keep you on schedule. The agent will bring you the choices you need over the time period you have specified. You will then have the satisfaction of knowing that you have considered all of your realistic choices.
2. Who else is on your team? Before you begin looking at any unit you might consider making an offer on, be sure and get yourself pre-qualified with a lending institution. Once you have reviewed what your monthly housing costs can be, (loan terms, taxes, and condo assessments,) you can make a purchase offer that is realistic, and therefore, successful. Hiring a good real estate attorney completes your professional team.
3. Maximize your choice: get the most for your money. Working with an agent brings out the widest range of choices you have in the time frame you have set for yourself. Through the power of the multiple listing service, the internet, and the local print outlets, your agent will bring you a wide variety of choices. These choices will all be based on your own specifications: of how much, where, and what kind of unit.
4. Negotiate a successful purchase offer. Your agent and your attorney will help you draft a purchase offer that makes sense for you, considering your life style and your financial circumstances. Sellers and their agents can tell when they have received a ‘serious’ offer. The homework you do before you make an offer will greatly enhance your chance of bidding successfully.
5. Finding the right home for you. Once you have allowed your agent to bring you the full range of choices that are out there for you to see, and you have worked in a methodical manner, going and seeing the ones that appear to offer the most value, your work is done. You can then make an offer on the best unit for the money you are willing to spend. Knowing you used your time effectively, and found the best value for your funds, leads to an enjoyment of your new home based on the effort you and your professional team put into the selection process.
Peter Fugiel
June, 2006 ©