Efficient Strategies to Streamline House Hunting and Maximize Your Time
House hunting is a monumental step in life, often filled with excitement and perhaps even intimidation. It’s no different here in Fort Worth. That being said, if you’ve ever done it or are currently on the hunt, you know how much time and energy it demands. Browsing listings, touring houses, and researching locations all take hours upon hours, let alone visiting the communities and getting a grasp around what might become your new home. In short, finding the right property, location, and price requires a part-time job’s worth of hours and effort!
Why House Hunting Takes up So Much Time
House hunting is such a detailed and involved process if you do it right. It requires browsing listings, attending showings, putting in an offer, negotiating, and a great deal of paperwork. Plus, if you plan on getting a mortgage, that adds another pile of work.
In today’s market, finding your dream home will demand more time than you think. Communities and properties are changing constantly, so just keeping up feels like a Herculean effort. However, that’s why home buying is so special: After paying careful attention to each part of the process, you’ll be able to rest easy in your dream home before you know it. All it takes is some careful preparation and a plan to execute.
5 Ways to Save Time on the Process
As local real estate agents, we get the house buying process inside and out, including how to save time doing it. Our mission is to make the buying process as smooth as possible so you get settled into your dream home before you know it. To help you get there, here are 5 ways to save time in the home buying process.
1. Get Pre-Approved First
Financing your home is a crucial piece of the puzzle, and should be taken care of as soon as possible. Sometimes, a buyer will find the right property and right community, only then to search for financing. This could add time to the buying process, or worse, result in a buyer unable to finance a property they had their heart set on. So, we recommend taking care of the financing before you go hunting. That way, you’ll spend less time thinking about money and more time thinking about move-in day.
2. Shop 10% Below Your Budget Max
Budgets are crucial to any house hunt, but it’s so easy to include properties that hit your budget ceiling. Then, if there’s an unexpected cost, suddenly the property is outside your range. Or, you might find yourself trying to negotiate the price down on a great property, while there are 2 similar properties within your price range. Shop smart and don’t let price eat up your time and energy.
3. Potential, Not Perfection
It’s so easy to let the idea of the “perfect” house thwart our attempt to find an excellent one. Sometimes the buying process takes a long time because buyers have a long list of non-negotiable criteria. However, it’s important to understand that homes can always be renovated or even remodeled. Instead of looking for perfection, look for potential, and you’ll start noticing how you could transform a good house into your dream home.
4. Don’t Get Attached Until You Sign
When prospective buyers browse homes, they sometimes get fixated on one or two favorite properties. This is all well and good, unless they stop searching for other options. If the top options don’t work out for any reason, the search begins again from square one. We recommend continuing to look for properties until your offer is accepted.
5. Hire a Local Real Estate Agent
A local real estate agent is a professional whose mission is to help you navigate the home buying process and advocate for you every step of the way. The right agent will listen to your needs and connect you with a good fit, all while demystifying the process and saving you time.
This is our favorite option, because real estate agents are experienced, trusted professionals who understand the market, live in the communities you’re researching, and know how to navigate the home buying process. With Fort Worth growing so rapidly, our housing market is changing constantly. That’s why we always recommend working with an agent—you’ll save yourself time, energy, and heartache in the long run.
If you’re considering a home in Fort Worth, we’re the professionals homeowners trust. Our experienced team of REALTORS®, and vendors knows how to help you save precious time and energy during one of the most important decisions of your life. We’re a community of agents dedicated to meaningful service to our clients. We're here for you and #ReadyToServe. Get a hold of us today!
