The Right Time To Buy Or Sell A Home Is When You Are Ready

Who knows what the home buying and home selling market is going to be like?  In reading reports by industry economists from the National Association of Realtors, Realtor.com and others, the predictions are confusing.

They talk about economic indicators, job trends, percentages of increases up or down in categories they monitor.  They talk about “inventory” shortages that took years to develop and will take years to change. They talk about training more workers for the construction industry.  They talk about last year, this year and next year.

What does any of this mean to someone wanting to buy or sell a home this year?  It means if you are ready to buy or sell, and now is your time, you need to do some homework, and then find a team that can guide you through the process.  And make no mistake, it takes a team.  Although the process is similar whether you’re living in Lawrenceville or Woodstock, the local housing conditions, pricing, availability of homes in various price categories, styles and locations can be very different.

It all begins with choices. 

- Choice #1: How much can you afford to spend and what can you get for your money?

- Choice #2: Where do you want to live and what can you get for your money?

- Choice #3: If you know how much you can afford to spend and know where you want to live, but discover there are few or no homes you like and can afford are there alternatives and are those alternatives to your liking?

Choice #1: How much can you afford to spend?  Every day we speak with potential home buyers and ask if they have contacted a lender to find out if they can qualify for a home loan and if so how much can they qualify for.  And every day we hear folks tell us no, they have not, or they’ll do that when they find a home they want to buy.  Choice #1 is ruled by how much you can borrow, which tells you how much you will be paying each month for your home and tells you what priced home you can afford. No loan… no money to purchase a home.

Choice #2 Where do you want to live? Buford or Cumming? Lawrenceville or Snellville? Woodstock or Powder Springs? Smyrna or Newnan? Different locations have different pricing and different housing styles and different schools and different access to shopping and different styles of communities. Some more rural.  Some more suburban. Some more urban.  Each have a range of prices for homes available. But not every city or town offers the right combination of wants and needs for everyone.  And each will dictate what you must spend or what you can buy based on how much you can afford to spend.

Choice #3 Here is where knowing what the answers are to Choice #1 – How much can I afford to spend, and Choice #2 – Where do I want to live, gets sorted out.

Are there houses in your price category in the communities and in the style and size you want and need that are available to buy?  And if there are some, how many other buyers are vying for the same home?  And what if there aren’t any available, what do you do?  And what if there are some, but every one you place offers for are bought by someone who bids higher than you?

Sounds bleak, but it isn’t.  In every housing market there are rough spots and creative solutions.  As long as you figure out Choice #1: How much can I afford to spend, by making a qualified lender the first person you meet with after choosing a real estate adviser with a Team to guide you, everything else is picking the right location and having a flexible strategy.

If you have a great real estate agent adviser with a team who can guide you and offer alternatives and solutions, and if you are flexible enough to look at all the alternatives to finding the right home in the area most suitable to your needs and for a price you can afford, today’s tough buying market isn’t that tough at all.

And remember, if you follow the industry economists and gurus you will learn that all they can do is “predict.”  If now is the right time for you to buy a home, then you need a plan to buy that is smartly structured to buy it right.

For a FREE No Obligation consultation to find out how to make good choices and what the best choices are for you when buying a home, call us direct at 770-672-7832. 

And ask for a complimentary copy of our newest book for Buyers: It Takes A Team – How To Take The Worry and Concern Out Of Buying Your New Home. And for Sellers ask for How To Sell Homes FAST FOR TOP DOLLAR.  Buying and Selling: Ask for both books. They are complimentary and It is our Pleasure to Serve You!