Step 4 Begin Shopping in Jenn’s Portal
Yay!! You have gotten to the point where we get to start looking at homes, Congratulations! Now, if you notice, I said shopping in Jenn’s Portal and not Zillow or Realtor.com. There is a reason for this. The Portal that I set up for buyers to shop in is the most up to date site there is. This is the site that Realtors™ first place the home into when it goes live on the market, it’s the multiple listing service, or the MLS.
I have said it before, and I will say it again – I am NOT a salesperson, I AM YOUR ADVOCATE. My job is to listen to what you need, protect your interest, and provide guidance throughout the process.
On the days when we tour homes together, we’ll need to pre-plan the visits to allow the owners enough time to tidy up and leave the premises. You’ll spend most of the morning or afternoon looking at five to six houses. Any more than that and they’ll all start to blend together. Plan on looking at between 10 and 15 houses total – anything more indicates your priorities have changed, and we’ll need to revisit your home search criteria. When we tour a property, you should focus on whether or not the house fits your needs and if it says “home” to you. When visiting homes, point out any problems you see or details you dislike. A good home with a few adjustments could be your dream home, as long as we stay inside your comfort zone.
So, How many homes will we look at before you find the perfect home? This question is asked often and is simply the easiest to answer. There is no specific number of homes that you must look at before writing an offer. Don’t feel that if you fall in love with the first home you see, that you are making a mistake.
And then on the flip side, if you are looking at home number 15, do not get discouraged that you are not falling in love with the homes you are seeing. We may need to revisit your search criteria and see if your priorities have changed once we have started the house search process. Trust me, it is easy to shift priorities once you have looked at a few homes.
Once you find your dream home, I’ll help you write a competitive offer. Otherwise, I’ll need to ask you what you liked and disliked about each house so we can adjust our candidates appropriately.
Join me next week as I share step 5 where we get to start the fun part, shopping for your new home! Did you miss step 3? Catch it here!
