Buying a home, particularly your first home, is a thrilling experience. It’s the biggest investment decision most people make in their life. Therefore, you are bound to have plenty of questions about buying your first home in Dallas real estate market.
So, to make your home buying process a breeze, I have compiled a list of questions most commonly asked by homebuyers and have tried to answer them in an as easy and as straightforward manner as possible.
1. How much can I afford?
There’s no definite answer to this question. How much you can afford will depend on your income and your financial obligations. Enter this information in a Home Affordability Calculator (or you can easily find one by a quick Google search) to know how much you can afford. This is an important first step because if you see houses you love that are outside your budget, you will feel disappointed. So, partnering with a real estate agent is important to get a pre-approved home loan and avoid setbacks in the home buying process.
2. Can I sell my current home and buy a new one at the same time?
This is a tricky question. To do this, you will be required to add a clause about ‘sale contingency’ in your contract. A sale contingency means that you buy a home only when you can sell your existing place. This way, you do not have to rent a place in case you sell before you buy a home and vice versa. Other option is to explore bridge loans which allow you to get a short term loan for buying a new home as long as you sell your existing home in six months or so. Talk to your lender for this option.
3. How can I know if buying a certain property makes a good real estate deal?
No one can predict that a particular property is a bargain and that its value will appreciate after some time. However, an experienced real estate agent can study Dallas real estate market trends and dynamics and provide you a general idea about whether property prices will increase or decrease in the future.
4. How many homes do buyers see on average before they make an offer?
This varies from person to person. Some people find their dream home on their first day of home search, while others spend months finding the ideal place for their family. There are two tips that you can use to stay motivated during the home buying process – first, do your homework, know what you want, browse through listings online to get an idea of property prices; second, focus your efforts on a particular neighborhood. And create a list of must-have items that you are looking for in your new Dallas home and items that are nice-to-have.
5. What if I skip the home inspection?
Well, this will save you some money, but I strongly recommend every buyer to get a professional home inspection done in order to identify any major repair issues. While you can easily detect chipped paint and leaky faucets, determining the condition of the roof and the heating and plumbing system requires specialized expertise. Therefore, partnering with a home inspection expert is a must!
6. Should I buy a new home or a resale home?
There are tradeoffs between buying a new home vs. resale homes. Factors that need to be considered include home price, location, home design & style, maintenance costs, lifestyle differences and home size! You can read more about these differences here.
If you have more questions about buying or selling a home in Dallas real estate market, you may contact me on my website. To get more tips and tricks about home buying and selling, please read my blogs.
About us:
If you are interested in moving and relocating to our great city of Dallas and need help finding a home, I would appreciate the opportunity to help you. I have lived in Dallas metro area for over 14 years. Since many of my clients are relocation buyers, I have all the tools you need to help your home search. Whether it is video previews of homes, extended work hours, digital signatures for documents or more, I can make this process as comfortable as possible no matter where you are located. You can search through the listings published on my website and find the perfect home for your family. In addition to this, if you want to learn more about the home-buying process or get some tips and tricks, you may read the articles published on my blog.
