Know what you want first, prioritize your search using this tried and true value formula and when you do find the right property, be prepared to win! Let’s make it easy and break it down:
Preapproval & Price Range
Your price range is truly defined when you have a mortgage preapproval. It isn’t much fun looking at real estate that is beyond your budget, so make sure you are 100% certain on what you can afford so we are spending your time looking at properties that are workable for you to purchase.
Define and Rank Your Needs vs. Wants
Together we will organize a list of your must haves, should haves and nice to haves so that we can very clearly search for listings that are appealing to you. Think seriously at your lifestyle, what you have planned for the future and make sure you give yourself some flexibility for changing circumstances.
Consistently Check In On Your Search Progress
In my experience, clients will refine their search throughout the buying process. By having some patience and searching in depth, they self discover things that perhaps were not that important to them, or suddenly very important to them. Continuously communicate your changing ideas and priorities to me.
LOOK FURTHER in real estate is my mantra. I always advise my clients to assign majority of importance to location, then property, then house. Everybody thinks they make money when they sell, but buying the right property first makes for an easy property to sell and strong return on investment. Follow this winning formula to a sound real estate purchase.
Location
Remember that LOCATION or neighbourhood is a game changer. If you have the nicest house in a bad neighbourhood, it’s hard to be a happy homeowner. Assign the most importance of your decision to location.
Property
Again you can’t change the physical characteristics of a PROPERTY so easily, or without major investment. Consider the facts and compromise as least as possible. Is the lot a desirable size, is it facing your favourite direction, is it on a quiet street, do you like the trees on the property, who are the neighbours, is there easy in and out access… Intense scrutiny should be conducted here, property is a major reason people decide that they need to move.
House
Last is HOUSE. Houses can be changed, remodeled, rebuilt - here you are in complete control. Don’t make a purchase all because the house has the same white kitchen that is in every trendy magazine currently. When evaluating a house, evaluate it for its existing quality of construction, the layout and the future potential if it isn’t what you want now. Dream big and know you that you bought in the best neighbourhood you could afford at the time, on the best lot you could afford at the time. Cheers that the house will depreciate but that the land will appreciate and you are protected.
Don’t purchase due to impatience, the right property will come along. But when it happens, be prepared to win with my assistance.
Complete Understanding of What Your Buying
Expect to know everything about the LOCATION, PROPERTY and HOUSE- this is my responsibility. This means upcoming development plans in the community, property zoning opportunities and limitations. A thorough understanding of how well or poorly built a home is – I minimize the surprises for you. My passion is architecture, urban planning and construction management; I am able to bring a very unique skillset as your realtor here to understand exactly what you are getting into with a purchase.
We Determine Market Value
I have invested in my own comparable sales and current comparable listing sales analysis that allows me to format data from individually selected properties into a simple but very COMPREHENSIVE MARKET SNAPSHOT. We will evaluate current market conditions and make adjustments on what we think is fair market value, stress testing potential market changes or circumstances and whether that would impact our opinion and change our decision.
Offer Strategy
Together we take the time to finalize our strategy and offer, coming in as clean and attractive to the sellers as possible, leveraging our position and negotiating. In multiple offers, I do not sit back and let the offer process unfold before my eyes, crossing my fingers with you. Multiple offer precision really comes down to the REALTOR's market knowledge, negotiation and sales experience, its much more than the just the buyers putting forth an offer.