offered to check in to see if they were ready to move on,” writes Sager. They discovered that the owners had been thinking about moving because the husband got a new job offer. Freda and her husband looked inside and were sold, gave an offer, and bought the home. Don’t settle for something that’s just close to what you need. “If you spot your dream house, but it isn’t for sale, it never hurts to ask,” Sager reports. The point here is that every buyer’s home-search process is different. What happens or works for one buyer won’t necessarily be the case for another. Don’t feel pressure because of something that worked out for someone you know. Purchasing or renting a home is likely going to be one of the largest financial investments you will make in your lifetime. Don’t settle, don’t make a hasty decision based on pressure or weariness, and definitely don’t choose a home that you’re not 100% sure about or comfortable with, because you’ll probably be paying your mortgage or paying monthly rent for that thing for years. And you definitely don’t want to end up in another pre-foreclosure situation, so you’ll need to find something affordable and realistic.
So, where do you start?
MAKE A LIST
You have an idea of what your dream house would be like, but this impression in your mind will be much clearer and more useful if you actually put pen to paper and make a complete checklist of your needs and wants. It’s a good idea to start from the outside in, instead of inside out. This would mean considering location first. Location could be a need instead of a want. For example, if you got a promotion that requires you to move out of the city, then location is top priority and your highest need. But if you would like to stay in your area of your city, then
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