Calling all homeowners: Out of all the houses you were interested in, how did you narrow down which home was best for you?

[DreamLife7]

I am looking at a few homes and I see at least three that I am fixed on. The price and location are everything. Also, how did you find your realtor?

[Static_In_The_Attic]

As for me it was all about location & I was at the right place at the right time when I said something to a friend. I remember it like it like it was yesterday. My friends had a house build in a new development & after the house was built & setup they invited me over for dinner. As I was standing in their back yard I looked at the pond behind their house & I said this is what I’m looking for & I said if anyone is selling a house on any side of you let me know. The view in the back was perfect. The pond was amazing. Fish jumping, birds flying, turtles walking & of course a few alligators. My friends went on vacation & a hurricane decided to visit & my friends were worried about their new home. As for me I jumped in my vehicle & I went over to their house & boarded all the windows up & I went back to my apartment. After the hurricane I went back to their house checked it out & took all the boards down & luckily the house was ok. A week later my friend called me & said the house three doors down just went on the market. As for me I pulled up the county tax records too see what they paid for the house & I called a realtor & three hours later I had an offer on the table. As for the house it was a hurricane special & the house was only four months old. The house was going to be a retirement house for a couple & when they retired they were going to sell their other house & move into this one. Long story short the wife & son were in the house during the hurricane & the house was boarded up too. The wind was howling, the lights were flickering & rain like you wouldn’t believe it. This was their first hurricane & from what the neighbors said she had a nervous breakdown & after the hurricane she called her husband out of state & said I’m coming home. As for me I made an offer & offered them $500.00 less than what they originally paid for the house. Of course they didn’t go for the deal & I told them I could have a house build from the ground up & my original offer would be my last offer. They took the deal, I signed the papers & the market turned a my house is worth double & I love my pond view still.

[WindAtMyBack]

Well, at first it was mostly about learning what was out there in my price range, and learning which neighborhoods I might want to live in, and which ones I don't want to live in.

After narrowing neighborhoods, I can look at all houses in that neighborhood and compare both the house and the price.

All of this was before I even considered actually buying one of them. This was all homework. Just learning my way around.

Once I had a pretty good feel for the market, it was all about repetition. I kept going to the same neighborhoods and even the same houses over and over. I'd slowly narrow it down. Once I knew the market, I could also jump on a good deal if one came up.

Eventually it just got to the point of trying to decide between a small number of houses. It was almost random at that point. One day leaning toward one house, the next day leaning toward a different house. Gut feeling played a big role.

I also went out at night, like midnight. I'd walk around the neighborhood. If I was going to live there, I needed to see the area at night as well as during the day. I wanted a feel for the entire area, not just locally, but everything within a reasonable distance. If there were parks nearby, I went there at night also.

I'd talk to neighbors. Often they are not open with you, because they know the seller and don't want to say anything bad. But many will be open. You can get a lot of good info that way. I've also run into neighbors who are downright hostile or assholes. That street gets crossed off the list. I want good friendly neighbors not assholes. The neighbors make a HUGE difference on how well I'll like living someplace.

As for picking an agent, I didn't. They don't like you working with more than one agent, but I do it anyway. I never tell them I'm also working with someone else though. I might work with one more than others, but I don't stick to just one. When it's all done, they can fight among themselves about the commission. That's part of their business and they do it all the time.

[LazerBean]

We didn't use a realtor, We just searched around online using stuff like Zillow. Knew it was the one because it was a great location, great price, had everything we needed, and only needed a few things fixed up. We actually first saw it when we were looking at a different house about a road down, but we absolutely love it. It would be hard to leave

[DreamLife7]

I'm on zillow now. So you just contacted through there for a house?

[LazerBean]

Yeah, and it usually has either the realtor or the individual sellings contact information.

[DreamLife7]

Omg no way lol all this time I've looked through zillow I never knew you can just purchase that way

[LiamS95]

You obviously have to afford it. If you live in a place like I do where house prices just continue to rise you want to stretch yourself a bit and get into what you can swing in the best neighborhood as possible. So you investment rises in value on s regular basis. I have a real estate agent that I've known for years and we in some properties together over the years. I also studied the market for ages so I got to know what a property should go for. Some agents slightly under value a home to make a quick sale and make their history of selling properties look good. You don't want that kind of agent, look for an agent that constantly sells for the highest price possible if you're selling, know the market if you're buying and try to give an unconditional offer as I've seen multiple offers on a property especially an estate sale and the lowest offer get accepted because there were no conditions. i hope this helps somewhat. You're always better to own the cheapest house on an expensive street than the most expensive house on a lower rated area or street.

[exitseven]

We looked at maybe a hundred houses. Every house we looked at was either on a busy street or was built on a cliff or had no basement. Or else it was too expensive.

We looked at a neighborhood that was being built in one of the towns we were interested in. The builder nailed a sign with his name and phone number on a tree so I called this guy up and asked him if he could build a house in that neighborhood. He said that there was a covenant that required a big house to be built but he said he was building homes in another town that we could afford. We went to look and it was perfect for us. It was a nice side street with not much traffic, we had an acre of land and a big year. The town is fairly affluent with good schools. Since we dealt with the builder directly we did not pay a realtor's commission.

[NathanDavis]

I did look for the ones I know I can sell at a much higher price than I paid to own them... it is an investment

I have not bought one yet to stay in it forever, why... because if I were to start a family, that would be a choice I'd make with someone else and not by myself, so... whether is houses or lands/plots... I could trade in the future or sell for a profit, then buy anything I would like to keep for the rest of my life

personally, I don't deal with realtors

[DreamLife7]

Thank you, yeah for some reason I feel funny about realtors. Like cut the middle man. So how did you purchase without a realtor?

[NathanDavis]

there are regions in which you can't really get in contact unless you do it through the middle man, and others in which you can get in touch directly with the owners

but in my specific case, I did get in touch with people I know, or through mutual contacts... as for the purchase itself, well... I also have a few contacts that did assist and inform me with all that

[stark04]

How far from your workplace are you looking? Do you like city crowded areas or do you prefer Suburbia with house with some space around? Do you like apartment or condominium?

[DreamLife7]

I prefer low maintenance with a small backyard so a townhome but I don't like hoa fees. So I'm in between looking for a ranch home or townhome

[stark04]

Ranch house will be perfect for you. Start with your friends family and colleagues for a good and reliable realtor. And beware of the fraudsters, all they want is to make quick money and they'll try to sell you any of the house available. So choosing a well established realtor or realtors firm is really important before getting into anything.

Now if you want ranch house, check this things first Foundation: Missing floor joist supports can cause settling and sloped floors, Decks, Chimneys: Roof leaks and defects are common, Gutter systems.

If you go for townhouses, You can also ask your real estate agent, the townhouse community representative, and your bank representative about the following: HOA fees, HOA rules, What the HOA pays for, and what that fund, Past year's HOA meeting minutes, Major repairs coming up, Pet restrictions, Whether you can rent out your unit, What kind of events are there in the community, Do owners socialize or tend to keep to themselves, What kind of noise level can you expect.

And always before finalizing, always have your house inspected thoroughly by a real estate expert. Need not to say but every house you look, always consider neighbours and neighbourhood an important factor before buying it.

I'm no expert, this is just a rough explanation to start so the estate agent won't talk using big words and fancy that can lure you into buying a wrong property. If you wanna talk more messege me. All the best. Have a happy and safe hunting. 🤗

[DreamLife7]

Wow!! This was very informative thank you.

[Aubrey_0V0]

The price was good. It was a new build, so my interest rate was lower. I live 25 minutes from my job and 20 minutes or less from my closest friends. It was also not in a flood zone and had a good floor plan.

I was referred to my realtor by another realtor. Lol

[DryGermanGuy]

• Location with regard to noise, especially highway noise
• Maintenance status of the roof
• Age / status of electrics, water and heating
• Age of the windows

[Wiredone]

We looked at a lot of houses when we were in the market to buy. We made a checklist of features that we were looking for. We found 4 that we liked. We went with the house that had the most features on our checklist

[Sharkstealth]

I chose because it's a very quiet area and also it's got large ceilings and an open concept house. Much more comfortable for me because I am on the bigger side.

[MikeTheBartender]

Location number 1, pool, no major repairs needed, no HOA, safety, price.

[gorydetails]

I wanted a neighborhood with a pool and good schools.

[BarryLiverstone]

Good luck. I researched 10 houses. It was a long process

[BarryLiverstone]

Would recommend you get a national realtor. Mine was with century 21 and she knew many tips, including relationships with the bank and inspector and license office

[nawtee_me]

Bought property and built the house I wanted on it...