With Colorado’s economy still rocketing, home prices are still extremely competitive. A potential home-buyer will lose out on great deals not prepared in many different ways. If you want to be able to jump on your dream home before it’s gone, here are the most important items to have ready before you even go looking for “For Sale” signs. Here are some tips to buying a home in a hot Colorado market.
Your Lender
This is the first step. Without knowing what you can qualify for, you won’t know what price range you can look in or what your monthly payment may be. While you may want to jump into a $350k home with a $2k/month payment, it won’t happen if you only qualify for $250.
Pre-qualifying also gives your agent options to work with instead of fumbling around in the dark, especially in the areas of negotiation and fees. Remember that you, as the buyer, will probably be the one to pay inspection, regulatory, and service fees which often comes from the loan.
What do you want to live with?
Once you know what you can afford, it’s time to figure out what you want in a home. Do you want a garage? One or two car? How many bedrooms? Bathrooms? Do you want a yard? How big? Are you happy with on-street parking or are you dead-set on a driveway? What about location? Do you want your home near main arterial roads or are you looking for something off the beaten path?
The best way to decide (if you haven’t already) is to drive around the areas where you think you would like to live. Look at houses that appeal to you and take notes on what they have to offer. After a few days of this, you should have your criteria pretty well laid out.
What are you willing to live without?
Now that you know what you want in a home, it’s time to decide where you are willing to compromise. Perhaps you want a 3-bedroom house with 2 ½ baths, a two car garage, ½ acre backyard, and a finished basement but all of those options just happen to be out of your price range. Are you willing to settle for 2 bedrooms for the two car garage or will the basement lose out? How important is the yard size? It’s a safe bet that you will have to compromise somewhere so it’s important to figure out where so that you can make rapid decisions when a great opportunity comes up.
A Flexible Agent
Not all agents are created equal. While most work around the clock, many tend to stick to banker’s hours. This means that they are not able or willing to attend to your needs and may miss an opportunity to get you into the perfect house. You need an agent that can be called upon anytime. At True Performance, our agents work seven days a week to be ready when you need us.
Be Ready to Act
5 or 6 years ago, a house may have languished on the market for weeks or even months before changing hands. In the current real estate market, it is rare for a home to display a “For Sale” sign for longer than 48 hours. In fact, the market is at a point where many buyers are getting 20-50 offers in the first 24. If you are not in a place where your agent can leap into the fray for you to get your dream home, you’ll lose out.
Buying a Home in Colorado
Let’s face it, the Colorado Real Estate Market is jumping right now and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. Buyers must be ready to act on a moment’s notice and able to let their agent make a rational decision, not leap on an emotional choice. Having your “ducks-in-a-row” will help you succeed in this market where others falter. Sit down with a True Performance Agent and find your dream house today!