Home Buying: 10 Tips I Wish I'd Had

This is our third place together and we've now been in this house almost two years. As we're finally in the furnish-and-hang-out-phase after a lot of the renovation-phase, I'm thinking back on the process as a whole. It's strange how some distance between the phases will help you gain perspective.

Now as I look back at the home-buying-phase, and I've been having conversations with people that are in this stage, here are the top things I wish I had known then: *Note: These are tips I personally wish I had known, everyone's experience or situation will vary... I'm just sharing my own in case it's helpful to others, and also so I can have it for personal reference.

1. Don't Get Emotionally Invested In Anything During This Phase. Holy hot dogs this one is a hard one to know at the time, but it is an important one. Getting emotionally involved is easy to do, especially when making large purchases. And doubly so when it's your home. Emotions will run high during this phase. Houses will look exciting. Putting in an offer can be exciting, or disheartening, depending on the outcome. It's important to not let your emotions take the wheel in this phase because a lot can change, and it can cloud your judgement. Ultimately, it'll stress you the heck out. (I had so much trouble remembering this, and Drew kept reminding me over and over, but it's a difficult one when you're in the moment.) Mini-tip: Invest time in mentally distracting yourself during this process- books, movies, shows, workouts, etc. The cheaper, the better.
   

2. Remember, It's A Business Transaction. This relates to point #1, but it's equally important. When you buy a house, yes it will become a home, but it's good to remember the buying phase is business. This means, go for a good investment. Find one that you can put some time/money into and see it improve. Mini-tip: Location can be a big factor in a home increasing in value, more-so than a lot of cosmetic updates. Look for great locations. It's far better to have the worst home on the best block, instead of the best home on the worst block.
   

3. Working With Family or Friends - refer to #2. At this point in time, everyone probably knows a realtor, lender, etc. When it's a family member, it can be tricky to navigate because some of the formalities will be gone. There are definite pros and cons here, but if you notice that short-cuts are being made, things are being overlooked, or your time is not being respected fully, cut it loose. Having an awkward conversation is much better than being hooked into an expensive monetary or contractual mistake.
   

4. Stay Well-Informed, And Put In Your Own Research. This means- look up houses on your own, compare them to different areas, find out how the home buying process works, and so on. Realtors are great resources, but in busy markets, they may not be able to look up as much for each specific client. Also, this may broaden your horizons for what you want. Personally, doing this opened up a lot more areas we were willing to look at, and different home styles too.
   

5. Speak Up. This is your process. Remember it's okay to ask questions like "why is this still on the market after this long?" or "Can we come see it at night as well? I'd like to get a feel for the neighborhood at different times" "Can we see similar houses in the area?" "Are there HOA fees? What do those fees cover?" "Does this area require flood insurance?" This will also help your realtor a lot when it comes to narrowing down the search. They won't know unless you speak up about it. Example: If you don't like ranch style homes- speak up, they should stop showing them to you.
   

6. The Inspection Is Important. The inspection will help with negotiating fixes, pricing, and help you to get inside about how much you'll need to repair if you close on the house. If the owner is trying to wriggle out of a home inspection, run. There's absolutely no reason to not do a home inspection. Sure, it'll cost you money up front, but it will save money down the line. For example, the last house we were in- they tried to keep pushing a foundation inspection out, and when we finally got the results back from it, we were within a week of closing. It was a VERY pricy foundation fix that they ended up having to pay for, but if we didn't insist on it prior to closing, we would have been stuck with it. Know what's big $ items from your inspection too- roof, foundation, sewer, plumbing, electrical, siding, etc. Mini-tip: when they do the sewer scope part of the inspection, make sure they do it without the water on so they can see any potential cracks or breaks on the bottom. Again, we learned this the hard way and it's an expensive thing we had to take on from a negligent previous owner.
   

7. Look Beyond Ugly. I've seen enough HGTV, and went through enough houses to know how true this is. A lot of people have a hard time looking past cosmetic fixes - paint colors, flooring, light fixtures, etc. All of those things can be updated over time. In fact, fixing ugly stuff can help you easily increase value to your home. It's the big health/safety things you need to keep an eye out for. Mini-tip: Investing in your kitchen or bathroom will be the two biggest areas you'll see a return of your money in. Updating those can take some time, patience, and money, but if this is a starter-home, or an investment home, that's where you'll get the biggest increase.
   

8. Know When To Walk Away. If the seller is driving the price up, know when to walk away. If they're resisting your requests for the home inspection fixes, know when to walk away. If you're looking in a price bracket that's too tight for comfort, know when to walk away. It's okay to walk away. In many cases, it might be the right thing to do. If something in your gut is telling you it's not right, listen to it. Don't force yourself into a bad spot. (again, see point #1)
   

9. Hold Off On Looking Too Far Forward. Your realtor or lender will tell you to hold off on making big purchases once you're pre-approved, and that's excellent advice. It also goes for packing, planning, and getting hung up on the little things like decor and tools. You can take care of all of that once you're closed on the house. There is absolutely no reason to stress yourself out about more than you currently have going on. Before we moved into this house, I'd started packing months before Drew had agreed to start looking at places... It worked out... but I wouldn't suggest thinking or acting on things that far ahead.
   

10. Be Patient. Again, personally, I struggled hard with this one. The home buying process can be a blur when it comes to things popping up on the market and then being gone before you get to see them. It also means waiting 30-ish days once you're under contract. Or, in our case last time, it meant we had to endure a couple of rejected offers in a competitive market before finding one that we could move forward with in the process. It all takes time.