subject: Medford Ma Real Estate [print this page] Buying Your First Home, Part I: Wants VsBuying Your First Home, Part I: Wants Vs. Needs
Many of my clients are first time homebuyers. Its an exciting time in their lives, and for many of them buying a home has been a lifelong dream. But whether theyre newlyweds looking to start a life together, a single guy buying a bachelor pad, or a new investor, I always share my top three home buying tips with them.
These tips are the result of many years of experience selling real estate in Medford, Massachusetts and the surrounding towns. If you follow these instructions to the letter, youll save time, effort and money when you buy your Medford home. But if you ignore them, you could potentially lose thousands of dollarsor worse, miss out on the chance to buy your dream house entirely.
Luckily, these tips are all straightforward and easy to follow. Ive listed each one in order of importance. All you have to do is follow each one step-by-step. If you do, youll be more likely to have an easy, hassle-free home buying experience.
Medford Homebuyers Tip #1: Know What is a Want and What is a Need
Before you start looking at homes for sale in Medford, you need to know what you really need vs. what you want. This may seemobvious to you-- but there are many people who come into my office without a clear idea of what they want in a home.
Many times, these people confuse a want with a need. For instance, a couple may want to live in a certain style of home in Medford but they may need a 4 bedroom house to accommodate their growing family. And in the Medford real estate market, those two things are sometimes mutually exclusive.
Thats because Medford saw an explosion of home building after WWII. Because many of the potential buyers were young families, most of the homes built at that time were designed for their needs. Most of those families just didnt need more than 3 bedrooms. So if a client is in love with that post-war style of home, but needs 4 bedrooms, theyre probably going to waste a lot of time looking for a needle in a haystack. Instead, they could look at older homes, or homes built after 1960.
Some of the questions you must ask yourself before you starting looking for a house are:
What type of neighborhood amenities are important to you? Do you need parks, access to public transportation, etc.?
How many bedrooms do you need? How many full bathrooms vs. half or bathrooms do you need?
Do you prefer a subdivision or would you rather live on a busy street?
All of these questionsand more-- must be answered before you start looking for a home in Medford. Thats why I always talk with my clients about what their wants vs. their needs are. For many of them, this is the most useful hour of their home search. When were done, they have a clear picture of their ideal home, and they leave with a list of home in Medford that match their criteria perfectly.
In the next article, Ill talk about how to begin your home search the right way. Ill also discuss why you must get pre-approved and how to go about doing it quickly and easily. And if youre in the Medford Massachusetts area, feel free to drop by our office any time to get your real estate questions answered.
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Brian Flynn in the owner of RE/MAX Results, a full-service real estate office in Medford, Massachusetts. As the CEO of the Flynn Team, Brian has helped over 1,000 clients buy and sell homes in Medford, Malden, and the surrounding area. To learn more about how the Flynn Teams real estate marketing systems can help you, visit http://www.FlynnTeam.com
