Follow These 8 Steps to Successfully Purchase Your First Home (1)

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Purchase
Successfully
First Home Your
Follow These 8 Steps to

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educate you, so you can really learn
You’ve been in an apartment or
Always note the age of roof,
renting a house with friends or
and understand the market?” Other
windows, siding, and mechanicals
— such as furnace and air
things to ask yourself are, do you
maybe even living in your parent’s
conditioner. These home
basement to save for a down
feel confident they are working on
payment on your first home. You’ve
maintenance projects add up in
your behalf and not just trying to
slam dunk you into a home to get
overall home cost if you have to
decided to take the plunge to buy a
home. In today’s market, we
the sale? Is the Realtor
make these repairs soon after the
knowledgeable of the specific
wanted to find out what the most
purchase of your new home and
neighborhoods and areas you are
are a must to be considered when
important steps to take to
comparing other homes on the
successfully purchase your first
interested in living so they can
negotiate a good price for you? It is
market. If you do move into a home
home. We sat down with one of the
Twin Cities’ top realtors — Donna
always a good idea to talk to a few
with an old roof, here are a few
good tips on how to fix your roof.
Vanneste, President Elite for
of the realtors’ recent buyers to find
out if they experienced good
Coldwell Banker — to find out what
communication and follow up.
Location, Location, Location
first-time home buyers should really
be on the lookout for in a first
First-time home buyers might be
home.
Love at First Site
struggling with the dilemma of
Be patient. ‘First-time home buyers
buying a home with more square
footage versus buying a home in an
Find a Realtor with Whom You
can easily to get excited about a
house and fall in love just because
Click
area’s hot spot. Home values and
When looking for a Realtor, find one
being able to sell the home down
it’s staged with nice furniture and
with whom you really have a
has a few nice updates,’ says
the line are important for the firsttime
buyer and when wrestling
connection. “It’s important to click
Vanneste. ‘But when the frenzy is
over, will the next buyer see the
with this question, location truly
with your Realtor,” says Donna
Vanneste, Real Estate Agent,
value in a normal market?’ Even if
helps maintain home values in all
types of markets.
Coldwell Banker. “Does the realtor
you think you are in love, watch out
feel honest and authentic? Can you
for DIY projects that haven’t been
tell they will be patient and
done correctly.

Don’t Always Believe the
One Car Garage
A one car garage is better than
Estimate of a Home Price on
Zillow
no garage for maintaining
home values. Two garage stalls
The estimate of a home is very
likely not accurate on Zillow.
are better than one, and for
the first-time home buyer — a
The way Zillow derives an
estimated home market value
three car garage is probably
pretty much a nonexistent
is using a proprietary formula
and must not be mistaken for
option. No matter what size
garage you get with your first
a bank appraisal. Zillow is only
a starting point in determining
home, have at least a one-stall
garage. Find easy space-saving
a home’s value and is
calculated from public and
tips for the garage here
user-submitted data, taking
Rambler/Ranch House
into account special features,
location, and market
“One home style first-time
buyers should definitely take a
conditions. First-time buyers
need to be wary of the Zillow
look at are the ramblers,” says
Vanneste. The rambler is
estimate in deciding whether
a home is under or over priced
considered a plain home built
in the mid-century, but these
and determining whether a
home is a good market deal.
homes have the potential to
give the first time buyer more
square footage per dollar.
Bidding War Strategy
The first-time home buyer
Rambers were built in a time
period where they are typically
market is a tight one. Many
homes may have more than
in an inner ring suburb, so
excellent location, with larger
one offer — turning the offer
process into a full-on bidding
than normal city-sized lots.
Another plus for the rambler is
war. Besides the financial
winning strategies in a bidding
the possibility for transforming
war — such as doing a bigger
down payment or upping your
the rambler from run-of-themill
into exceptional one-level
living. Here are some good
earnest money, there is one
strategy that many home
ideas for the first projects to
tackle after you move into your
buyers may not think of on
their own. Get personal with
first home.
the seller. Either in person or
Split-Level Home
writing a letter to the seller
about your family and why the
Everyone knows a mom or a
dad or a friend who “hated”
neighborhood and home fit
your needs are both excellent
their split-entry home. The
reality is — many split-entry
ways to stand out in a bidding
war. Be sure to include a family
homes have been updated
with bigger foyers and closets.
picture, and of course, a few
compliments to the sellers on
For the first-time home buyer,
excluding split-entry homes,
the maintenance and appeal
of their home.
might mean missing an
affordable home option with
some very nice features such
as wood floors, a more open
floor plan between the kitchen
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and living areas on the upper
level.