Thinking about entering the market anytime soon as a home buyer in the Plymouth area? If so, congratulations!
Our community is an outstanding place to live, with friendly neighbors, excellent public and private schools, great proximity to major cities and a thriving local economy.
As you might imagine, however, it’s important to enter the market prepared. Otherwise, you’re likely to quickly become overwhelmed by the home buying process.
Tips that Every Plymouth Home Buyer Should Take
Here is our list of the top 7 things that every buyer should know when investing in Plymouth real estate:
Don’t purchase a home if you’re not the one to stay in one place for a while. Unless you can commit to remaining in one place for at least a few years, then the transaction costs are going to outweigh the investment value and you’re likely to lose money in the end. And this is in the ideal scenario that prices are rising. If prices are falling, it can have an even worse impact on your wallet.
Start building your credit now. Unless you’re independently wealthy, you’ll likely need to get a mortgage to buy your home. So make sure that your credit history is as clean as possible and get copies of your credit report to see where you stand. If you find inaccurate information in your credit report, make sure to fix it quickly.
Be realistic on what you can afford. Generally speaking, you can buy a home that is about 2.5 times your annual salary. But there are plenty more tools available online that are much more specific and take into account such factors as income, debts and expenses.
Even if you can’t put down 20 percent, you may still qualify for a loan. After all, there are many public and private lenders available out there. So do your research and you’re likely to find a loan that fits your financial situation.
Request professional help. Yes, the Internet brings a wealth of information right into your living room but it doesn’t supplant an experienced and qualified real estate expert who has a better gauge of the market. Make sure to work with a buyer’s agent, who is specifically qualified to help buyers like you.
Get pre-approval before you start house hunting. This will ultimately save you time and grief if you’re looking at homes that you really can’t afford. Plus, it will put you in a better position to make a serious offer when you finally do find the right house.
Make sure you do your homework before you make an offer. Your bid should be based on sales trends of comparable homes in the community. Make sure to consider these home sales for the last three months. How does this help you? Well, if homes have recently been selling for 5 percent less than the asking price, you might consider making a bid that’s roughly 8 to 10 percent under what the seller is asking.
Let’s Get Started Finding Your Next Dream Home!
Hopefully you found the above tips useful as a prospective home buyer.
If you have any additional questions about navigating the market as a home buyer or would like to request more resources, please contact us at The Bittinger Team. Of course, we have tons of knowledge and resources for home sellers as well, so please let us know if you are ready to list (or even just thinking about it) and we can get the ball rolling for you!
We would be happy to assist you at every stage of the home buying process on the Plymouth MI real estate market!
Until next time,
Noel
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