Newlyweds Guide to Buying a Home
Purchasing a home is better than renting one, particularly for newlyweds with a nest egg, who want to build equity. Owning a home – besides giving you ownership over something – helps you build net worth and gets you a break on your taxes. Buying a home is an investment of money, time, and emotion, which is all the more reason to find the right home for you and your spouse. Here is a guide for newlyweds who want to buy a home:
1. Prioritize
You and your husband or wife should sit down and discuss the kind of home you want to buy, where you’d like to live, and the specific must-haves for the two of you. Maybe your new home needs to have a two-car garage or a backyard and that is something on which you are both unwilling to compromise. “Make sure you’re both on the same page,” says Elizabeth Weintraub, guide to Home Buying and a real estate agent in Sacramento. She adds that sometimes spouses want different things – from a wife who wants a city town house and her husband who wants a farm in the country to couples who disagree about the number of bedrooms their house should have. As a couple, determine your priorities. You must be willing to compromise with one another to figure out the right neighborhoods, types of homes, and must-haves.
2. Research
Start searching the Internet and going to open houses, suggests Weintraub. Get a feel for what kind of houses are out there and what you like. Look at pictures and virtual tours but do not make any decisions based on the properties you find online.
Beware what you see, says Jim Kimmons, guide to the Real Estate Business for About.com. For example, the National Association of Realtors charges realtors for extra exposure, so it presents listings in a way that favors those who pay. You can also search the blogosphere, suggests Kimmons, and search for the real estate market that interests you. For instance, you can type in “San Francisco real estate” to find blogs that cover your desired neighborhoods. Still, one of the best ways to get information, says Kimmons, is to talk to people who could potentially be your neighbors to find out about the culture and positives and negatives to the town you might call home.
3. Find a good real estate agent
You and your husband or wife must feel comfortable with your real estate agent. In addition, the agent must be an insider, one who knows the ins and outs of the neighborhoods that interest you most. Weintraub also says the agent should be someone who will not steer you into a home you can’t afford, has your best interests – and not just closing the deal – at heart, and can help you negotiate well. She adds that good agents have experience, can predict problems and head them off, call in favors, and know their market.
Talk to others – friends, family, colleagues – for recommendations. Also, talk to other agents at open houses, and search online for an agent. But, Weintraub warns, that agent Web sites are often padded with praise, so read between the lines and don’t rely just on Internet sites. Most experts say going with a friend or relative as your real estate agent is a mistake. He or she might be too emotionally invested to be objective and you won’t be able to fire him or her or go with another agent if necessary.
1. Prioritize
You and your husband or wife should sit down and discuss the kind of home you want to buy, where you’d like to live, and the specific must-haves for the two of you. Maybe your new home needs to have a two-car garage or a backyard and that is something on which you are both unwilling to compromise. “Make sure you’re both on the same page,” says Elizabeth Weintraub, guide to Home Buying and a real estate agent in Sacramento. She adds that sometimes spouses want different things – from a wife who wants a city town house and her husband who wants a farm in the country to couples who disagree about the number of bedrooms their house should have. As a couple, determine your priorities. You must be willing to compromise with one another to figure out the right neighborhoods, types of homes, and must-haves.
2. Research
Start searching the Internet and going to open houses, suggests Weintraub. Get a feel for what kind of houses are out there and what you like. Look at pictures and virtual tours but do not make any decisions based on the properties you find online.
Beware what you see, says Jim Kimmons, guide to the Real Estate Business for About.com. For example, the National Association of Realtors charges realtors for extra exposure, so it presents listings in a way that favors those who pay. You can also search the blogosphere, suggests Kimmons, and search for the real estate market that interests you. For instance, you can type in “San Francisco real estate” to find blogs that cover your desired neighborhoods. Still, one of the best ways to get information, says Kimmons, is to talk to people who could potentially be your neighbors to find out about the culture and positives and negatives to the town you might call home.
3. Find a good real estate agent
You and your husband or wife must feel comfortable with your real estate agent. In addition, the agent must be an insider, one who knows the ins and outs of the neighborhoods that interest you most. Weintraub also says the agent should be someone who will not steer you into a home you can’t afford, has your best interests – and not just closing the deal – at heart, and can help you negotiate well. She adds that good agents have experience, can predict problems and head them off, call in favors, and know their market.
Talk to others – friends, family, colleagues – for recommendations. Also, talk to other agents at open houses, and search online for an agent. But, Weintraub warns, that agent Web sites are often padded with praise, so read between the lines and don’t rely just on Internet sites. Most experts say going with a friend or relative as your real estate agent is a mistake. He or she might be too emotionally invested to be objective and you won’t be able to fire him or her or go with another agent if necessary.
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