Tips for searching for your new home!

I find myself in the market for a new place to live so we have been searching for our next home!  And as always, I am learning a lot that may be helpful to other people!

First,  Stock up on chocolate! (okay that’s not really the first tip)

Surprisingly enough, Kevin and I have always picked the same house as our favorite when we have moved.  I hope that happens this time as well.  I hear it is not always the case.  A good thing to do is separately write down what you want in a house, then talk about it.  It will get you headed in the right direction!

Things have changed a little since we bought our last house in 2006.  Now you cannot even submit an offer until you have a pre-qualification letter for that house.  So before you even go look, find yourself a mortgage broker and have them help you decide what you can qualify for.  You may want to talk with a couple to find one that is quick and efficient and you feel comfortable with.

Find a great realtor for the location you are looking in!  In our case we got a recommendation from a realtor where we live to a realtor in another area.   Many realtors can refer you to a realtor in a different part of the country.  We are fortunate we are not going too far and the realtor here actually new the one she recommended.

Next start looking at houses on-line,  a couple of sites are Zillow.com and Trulia.com.  You can get a good idea if you want to see a house by looking at the websites.  Your realtor can also send you listings to look at. 

I like to look at the for sale by owner houses in craigslist and other sites as well.

Then start packing and getting rid of non-essentials.  I had a friend tell me to look at each item before you pack it and if it doesn’t spark joy, get rid of it. 

If you are using a moving company, be sure to get bids on price from three different companies.  We have always done this and the prices vary greatly!

Let everyone know you are planning to move.  Many people will offer to give you boxes and used packing paper which can save you money and often they will bring them to your house which will save you time!

When you are packing breakables, wrinkle up some of the packing paper and put it in the bottom of the box, then wrap each item in packing paper.  If it is very delicate wrap it in bubble wrap first.  I also found out that now they make a product to put between dishes that is made of foam and perforated to tear into squares if you want to as you wrap your dishes.

I like to pack everything I can into small boxes so they are not too heavy to move.  Of course, that is not always possible, I do as much as I can that way.

So next time you move, here are some things to think about. 

Comments

comments