Buying A Home After School Starts? Moving is difficult for families; both parents and kids. To make a move easier, most parents will wait to purchase a new home until the summer school break so that their students can have a more natural transition from one home to the next. Although moving is never ideal for any K-12’er, having to say goodbye to old friends and attempting to make new ones in the middle of the school year is even worse.
Unfortunately, although a summer move is easier for the children, it is worse for the parents. Because the school break is a better time to move, it is also a very popular time for buying a new home and as the old saying goes, “When demand is high, so are the prices.” Home sales tend to heat up with the rising temperature ending in a crescendo of bidding wars and sellers who won’t budge on negotiations.
So, what can parental prospective buyers do?
Planning
If your planning on buying a home after school starts, the first thing to do is to streamline the process as much as possible. If you know that you are going to move before school lets out, spend some time getting ready. Most people wait until they are shopping for a home to get finances in order which can take valuable time. Without prior planning, you might miss a great buying opportunity, or be in the middle of the season before you can start looking.
Scouting for Your New Location
Step two is to scout out your new location. Where are the good schools? Are the amenities(ie. shopping, parks, etc.) that you want close by? Is it going to be a reasonable commute for you? Narrowing down the search area will speed the process much more than you think.
What Type of Home Are You Looking For?
Next comes home specs. What do you need in your home? 2 Bedrooms? 3? How many bathrooms? Garage? Yard? Basement? Have these ready for your realtor for a fast search and quick results.
Flexibility on Terms
While Denver is still a very hot and competitive market, many real estate agents advise motivated home sellers to sell their home just below market value. Consult with your agent to find these motivated sellers or homes that have spent above average time on the market. There might be some opportunity for negotiations in your favor such as carpet allowances, appliances, and flexible closing dates.
Buying A Home After School Starts? Its One of the BEST times to be watching the Colorado Real Estate Market!
Once you’ve finished your prep work (usually about a month before the final class if you can help it), it’s time to start watching the market. While Colorado’s real estate market is still very hot, timing is everything and with the proper preparation, you can jump into buying a new home at the ideal time, instead of trapped in the summer slog with everyone else. If you can make certain that everything is in order beforehand, you may even have your new home before the last bell rings.