We all know that that home prices are still skyrocketing and inventory is still low so the cycling of the “seller’s market“ continues. Sellers are receiving multiple offers for their home and buyers are chomping at the bit to have the winning offer. So, exactly how do you get that winning bid?
Over the next few weeks, we will dive into this topic and you will learn what it takes to be the winning bid in this crazy market. It takes preparedness, prioritization, flexibility, and tolerates zero procrastination. Even if you aren’t ready to make a move, you may want to store this info away somewhere so its handy when you are ready.
First, start EARLY! Most people can’t wake up one day, see a house on the market, and decide that day they want to move and go buy it. It’s a PROCESS. Let’s call this phase the INITITAL PHASE. Here in the initial phase, you will decide four main things:
- Yes, I want to move.
- I want to move to the ______ area, or more specifically, _________ neighborhood.
- I HAVE to have ____ bedrooms, ____ bathrooms, specific school zone, and anything else you HAVE to have (eat in kitchen, basement, acreage, etc.)
- I would LIKE to have _______ (fireplace, flat lot, vaulted ceilings, main level garage, etc.)
What info do you notice doesn’t come into play in this first phase? If you said “price range,” you’re correct!
Make these first four decisions, then we will proceed to pricing and budgets in our next phases. We will look at these in next week’s column.
Kathy Caufield is an experienced real estate agent with RealtySouth. You can submit a home buying and selling question to Kathy for her weekly column by sending an email to [email protected]. Disclosure: Kathy Caufield is also an advertiser in The Gardendale News.
