>U Mom Knows Best: Best Tips For Buying A Home During A Pandemic

Monday, January 3, 2022

Best Tips For Buying A Home During A Pandemic

 The housing market is crazy right now. In many towns, there are more buyers than available homes. So being prepared before you start home shopping is key. 


 Last year the housing market shifted in a huge way. It seems that the Covid-19 pandemic had many people choosing to relocate to another state. So home buying was on the rise, as well as home sales. So many home areas became a seller's market as there were plenty of buyers wanting to purchase a home. 

 In my town, I had friends selling their homes and having multiple offers on the first day of the home listing. I even had friends who sold their house in a day. So many people were moving to Albuquerque, from other states, and needed to buy a house. It was simply crazy how fast homes were selling.

Home buying and selling from a realtor perspective

 My friends who were realtors were posting on social media that there was a shortage of homes in the Albuquerque area and needed people to list their homes for sale. It was a home seller market and now was the best time to sell your home. People were listing their homes for sale at higher prices as home values were increasing. The reality for those who needed to buy a home during the pandemic was the home market was a competitive market and you needed to act fast. If you wanted to buy a new home, you needed to be quick. 

 I was glad that I was not looking for a new home. Now was not the best time to buy a home for my family. My husband and I spent a lot of money over the past 4 years, remodeling our home to make it look awesome. First, my husband and I remodeled the master bathroom, four years ago. Then two years ago, we replaced the carpet downstairs with ceramic tile. In 2021, we remodeled the whole upstairs with new vinyl floors and new paint. We also converted the bathtub into a shower in the kid's bathroom. We loved our home and had no desire to move.

Tips for first time home buyers

The real estate market is still a seller's market as we head into 2022. So it is even more important to be ready to quickly make an offer on a home or you may not get the home of your dreams. So there are so many things that one needs to do before they start looking at homes to buy. The first step to buying a new home is knowing how much money you can spend on your home purchase.

 One of the best ways to know about home much home you can afford is to use a mortgage calculator. A mortgage calculator will help figure out what your house payment will be, based on the price of the home. So you can then figure how much home you can afford. Knowing how much your monthly mortgage payment will be will help you consider whether it makes sense to buy vs rent.

Important steps to buying your first home

1. Determine How Much House You Can Afford

2. Get Prequalified and Preapproved for Your Mortgage

3. Find the Right Real Estate Agent

4. Shop for Your Home and Make an Offer

Once you determine that it is the right time to buy a home, then head to a mortgage broker and get prequalified for your mortgage. Homes are selling fast and will not have time to waste, once you find a home that you want to purchase. So before you even look at homes for sale, make sure to get preapproved for your mortgage for your new home. This is an important step to home buying as you don't want to look at homes that you can't afford.

So now that you used the mortgage calculator and have the mortgage preapproval, it is time to find the right Real Estate Agent. A real estate agent will be the person who will help you find your home and help you buy the home that is right for you. Make sure that this person is the right fit as you will be seeing them often, as they take you to view many homes for sale. Maybe you have a friend who sells homes or perhaps your friends recently used a real estate agent. Ask friends and family for recommendations for the best real estate agent to work with. It is important to know that you as a home buyer, do not have to pay for the use of a real estate agent. They get paid by the home seller once you buy a home.

Important tips for shopping for your new home

Since you will be buying a home during a time when there is a shortage of homes for sale, you need to be better prepared before you look at homes. This is the time to sit down with your partner and make a list of items that are important to have in your new home. This list will help your realtor find the right homes to show you. When making this list, just consider items that would be hard to change. Items like carpet, the color of walls, light fixtures, and even kitchen counters can be replaced with ones that you desire.

Questions to ask yourself are 

~ How many bedrooms do we need? 

~ How many bathrooms?

~ One story or two floors?

~ Big or small backyard?

~ Square footage of home

~ Size of rooms

 Now would be a good time to measure your furniture and room sizes in your current home. This is especially important if you have unique size pieces of furniture that may have trouble fitting in smaller rooms. You may have a large bedroom set or a big dining room table that may not fit in certain spaces. So, measure and bring these measurements along with a tape measure when you shop for a new home.

 When homes are selling fast, you may not have the time to take a second look at a home for sale. When I bought a house many years ago, I had a china cabinet that needed more space, so having the measurement of the cabinet helped me to know that it would fit in the dining room of the house that we purchased. So be prepared with measurements so you can quickly buy a home before someone else buys it.

Making the offer on a home

 A real estate agent will help you make the best offer on the home that you want to buy. The realtors know the important things that you need to know before purchasing a home. Things like how much similar homes sold for, how many other people are interested in the home, etc. The real estate agent will help you place the right bid on the home. The realtors make money when you buy a home, so they will help you get the house that you want to buy.

 Buying your first home takes a lot of work. Buying a home can be stressful too. Thankfully there are plenty of resources available online to help you with buying a home. For more tips on buying a home, you should check out these 100 Tips For Buying a Home. Buying a home is also very rewarding. Once you move into your new home, you will quickly learn that owning a home is a good thing.





13 comments:

AiringMyLaundry said...

You have some awesome tips here. I am glad I am not wanting to buy a home right now. It seems like a crazy time.

Simply Tasheena said...

I really enjoyed this post, thanks for sharing these tips.

Gervin Khan said...

Such a lot of helpful tips in buying a new home. One thing for sure, you need to consider everything when buying a new house most especially your budget. Thank you!

alita said...

Buying a house in the pandemic can be stressful but thanks for these tips

Beth Pierce said...

These are all important things to keep in mind when buying a house. Tools such as mortgage calculator is helpful

Elizabeth O said...

Thanks for sharing these tips. I really find them helpful since we are considering to buy a new home this year

Toni said...

These are really awesome tips!! Saving this! Thank you!

Terri Steffes said...

I have purchased many homes and built three, so I feel qualified to say that this is a great post!

Gust si Aroma said...

Pandemic changed a lot the real estate market. Love those question. It's important to know the answer.

Marysa said...

It is such a different time to be buying a home, during the pandemic. House prices near me are absolutely crazy!

Anamika A Chattopadhyaya said...

Such great advice! We are yet to buy our first house, will keep these tips in mind :)

Everything Enchanting <3

Swathi said...

These are useful information buying home is not that easy. Especially during pandemic it is not all easy. You put all these tips nicely.

Melissa Cushing said...

The market is crazy right now. Buying a new home is hard because there isn’t enough available. It is very important to do your homework so you make all the right decisions when you’re buying your home. Thank you for your advice!

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