Happy House Hunting Tips for your Real Estate search in Palestine, Texas

Happy House Hunting Tips for your Real Estate search in Palestine, Texas

Happy House Hunting Tips for your Real Estate search in Palestine, Texas

Happy House Hunting Tips
Shopping for a house should be fun! It is likely the biggest investment you will ever make, so you need to be prepared to make it enjoyable and as stress-free as possible.  It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of it all, so remember these tips for happy house hunting:

1. See Beyond the Aesthetics – Don’t pass up a beautiful house because one bedroom is bright pink or it has ugly bushes out front.  Things like paint color, trim hardware color, light fixtures and draperies are all things that can being relatively easily and cheaply updated.  On a similar note, look beyond the personal items in the house—whether it is an ugly sofa from a long gone era or even a gorgeous modern furniture set—none of these things are included in the sale.  A fabulously decorated home will look much different once it’s vacant and the same goes for the not so fab décor.  Focus on the space in the home, not the decoration.
2. Remodel Frenzy – Even though TV makes it seems easy to knock down a wall here and there, be careful—it may not be as simple as getting your hammer out.  Making changes to a floorplan is often more costly than people realize.  There may be plumbing or electrical that needs to be moved or the wall may be a structural wall that needs extra supports—all of which equate to a fairly spendy update.  Don’t get me wrong, I think that everyone should make the house their own, but just be mindful of reality vs. dreams when planning remodeling or updating.  Make sure that what you’d like to do is realistic for your talents or budget before you make an offer.
3. Be Honest – The more feedback you give to your buyer’s agent, the faster and easier he/she can locate your perfect house. You won’t hurt your agent’s feelings.  Your buyer’s agent works for you, and your feedback can prevent you from seeing house after house with deal-breaking negative features.
4. Don’t “Over Shop” – If you look at 12 houses in a day, you won’t be able to remember which one was which. If you narrow down your real likes and dislikes with your agent, you won’t need to look at that many.  There is no reason to look at every house on the market just to say you did—it will do you more harm than good.  If you know 100% that you would never buy a house with a pool, then there is no reason to waste your time looking at it.
5. Questions are Good! – Never be afraid to ask questions. Your home is likely the biggest purchase you will ever make, so there really is no such thing as too many questions.  How old is the roof? What is that weird patch on the ceiling? Whose initials are carved in the tree in the backyard?  The best time to ask is before you’ve bought it!
6. Be Flexible – Probably the best tip there is when house hunting is to be flexible. You may start off your search thinking you want minimum of 20 acres and a 3 bedroom house to go with it.  As your search progresses, you may realize that 20 acres is a lot to take care of and that maybe you would rather have something a little smaller with a larger house instead—and that is ok! I personally did almost exactly what I just described, so I can testify that even agents aren’t immune.  The goal is that at the end of it, you find the perfect property for you—no matter what you thought you “had to have” when you started!

Shopping for a house is a time of excitement of all the possibilities for your future home.  There’s no reason it can’t be fun!  Just keep it reasonable and you’ll be driving down that perfect road towards your dream home in no time.
 
Lisa E. Priest loves a good house hunt and is an East Texas Area REALTOR® with Picket Fence Realty, Inc. You can reach her via phone or text at 903-948-3343 or read more at BuyPalestine.com.