Proven Way to Buy an Affordable Home and Profit - Part 3

So far in this series, I have introduced part one and part two of the proven way to buy an affordable home and profit. These steps are fundamental steps to take to ensure a successful home purchase. To recap the first two steps are as follows:

• Step 1 - Determine a comfortable payment range
• Step 2 - Determine the real need for the purchase. 

A few years back, my husband and I made the tough decision to scale back in our lives.  Because we were scaling back, we found it difficult to find something that would work for us.  We were set on living in a specific area but after many months of searching in the desired area, we concluded we would have to expand our search, so we began looking at homes 5 miles away from the desired area. Low and behold, we found the perfect home. The school system was not our number one choice but it is still a good school system and most importantly, the payment are where we need them to be in order to move ahead in our finances and save for college. We do not regret our decision at all and love living without all the stress we had before our move. 

There are lessons we learned along the way and some of the hardest lessons we learned were centered around keeping an open mind.  So today, when I share step 3, I not only share it from the perspective of my customers but from a personal perspective as well. 

Listed below are some dos and don'ts to help you think outside the box when purchasing a home:

• Do identify multiple locations of interest - Predetermine an area in which you would like to buy but also add a second area and possibly a third area to consider. Doing so will give you a back up plan if you are unable to find anything in the price range the first go round. 
• Do predetermine the price range you will consider  - It is important to have a flexible approach to the sales price of the home with a cap of what you are willing to spend.
• Do practice on seeing the perspective home in the future and not the present  - It is easy to focus on the present when purchasing a home but it is a better strategy to see the home in the future. Ask yourself the fol.lowing questions -  What home improvements can be done to the home? How will the home accommodate a growing (or shrinking) family? What major home repairs will be needed in the next five to ten years? What will the neighborhood look like in ten years, etc?
• Do be flexible - You may have to change your approach if you cannot find what you are looking for so remain flexible and open to change. 

• Don't adopt the "I have to have" thought pattern - Keep away from an exact vision of how you want to the transaction to look. So many times we end up paying more for something when it has to be a certain way. 
• Don't be afraid to look at ugly homes - Ugly homes yield some of the best returns on home values and the best part is there are many renovation loans that allow you to buy the home and finance the repairs at the same time. 
• Don't rush things - So many times we rush because we are scared we will not have a place to live but sometimes we just need to slow down so we can make a better decision. This is especially true when relocating to a new area. It is better to live in a hotel a few months (even if cramped) to associate yourself with the area and make sure the area will fit your needs. 

Sometimes the greatest deals are right under our noses but we cannot see them because we have not expanded our vision. Be open with your approach to finding a home. You will be pleasantly surprised at the deals you come across. 

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