Everyone has a different home-search experience; there is no one- way path to finding “the one” home that’s right for you. For example, as I mentioned, some buyers find their new dream home almost right away. In fact, some might check out just one home before making an offer and then purchasing it. Of course, this isn’t common, and you shouldn’t expect it to happen to you, but it does happen. But, in these cases, how do the buyers know that something better isn’t out there? The secret here is research — particularly online research. Buyers might actually search for homes online for months, even years before actually going out to check out a home in person. They are prepared because they did some online “grunt work” first. If online research isn’t something you’re familiar or comfortable with, then talk to your real estate agent and someone in your family who’s web savvy. Other buyers need — or want — to look at a lot more homes before they find “the one,” and sometimes this process can take not only months, but years. “Sometimes you have to shop around to get a firm handle on what you like — and dislike — and what your market has to offer,” Sager writes. “Don’t think of it as wasted time if it takes a while for the right house to appear; consider it time well spent honing your house-hunting skills.” Yet other buyers just can’t find the right home for them, even after plenty of online research, checking out home after home, for months or years on end. Many of these buyers can end up buying a home that wasn’t even on the market — and this is far from uncommon. You might be out and about and suddenly and randomly spot a home in a neighborhood you like and declare it’s
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