A Few Quick Buying Tips
Get Your Copy!
Elke has a great guide called 'Your Guide To Buying a Home' that is packed with information about buying a home. This 48 page guide goes over contract paperwork, inspections, things to look out for when buying, website information to find information, creating a budget, interviewing lenders and more! If you would like your personal copy just shoot her an email. She will email you the guide in pdf format, or if you would prefer it can be mailed to you. Just be sure to let Elke know which way you would like to receive it.
Here's a few helpful hints and tips to help you avoid common mistakes when buying your first home in the Myrtle Beach Area:
- Make a list of your needs & wants. On one list include items you must have (i.e., the number of bedrooms you need for the size of your family, a one-story house if accessibility is a factor, etc.). The second list is your wants - things you would like to have (Pool, Chef's Kitchen, etc.) but that are not absolutely necessary. Elke always reminds her buyers not to panic if they aren't finding exactly what they want. Let's say you want a pool and you can't find one, well then look for a yard that will fit a pool in the future.
- Representation by a Professional: Consider hiring your own real estate agent, one who is working for you, the buyer, not the seller. A listing agent (seller's agent) is representing the seller, and their job is to get the most money for the seller that they can. A buyer's agent, is representing you and your best interests.
- When Elke meets with her buyers to look at homes, she will always give them printouts of the homes they are seeing. It's a great way to stay organized by putting x's through what you don't like, taking notes on what you do like, and usually has all lthe information about the house so you can remember.
- It's also not a bad idea to have a 'toolbox'. Have your phone with you for snapping photos, a tape measurer so you can measure, and have measurements of your current furniture so you can see how it will fit.
- When you go in to a home there's a few things you should do. Visualize the house empty & with your decor: Are the rooms laid out to fit your needs? Is there enough light?
- Be Objective: Instead of thinking with your heart when you find a home, think with your head. Does this home really meet your needs?
