Are you considering purchasing a new home or relocating to North Myrtle Beach? If the answer is yes, let us share some helpful tips with you. Now that you’ve decided to move to the area, allow one of our agents here at North Beach Realty to help you make the other big decision. See the four important steps in finding the perfect neighborhood below.
What Are Your Priorities
Now that you’ve decided to purchase a home in North Myrtle Beach, setting your priorities is next. This can be a big thing for many families as it helps us identify the best neighborhoods for your family. We may ask you questions: do you want to live in a small setting where everyone knows each other? Or would you like to live in a big community with endless things to do? After you answer those few questions, we can continue searching for your perfect new home.
What Type of Amenities do you Want
The second thing that you will want to choose is the types of amenities the neighborhood may offer. Do you want to hang out at the neighborhood pool all summer? Does the community offer a clubhouse or a park that the kids can play in? Are there walking trails for you to enjoy? Once you have narrowed down what kind of amenities you’d like in the neighborhood will help us determine where we’d like to show you homes.
Are Kids Part of the Picture?
The third thing that we will ask you is if you have any kids in the family. Knowing this can help us picture the perfect neighborhood for you. Say you found the perfect home, but it is in a 55+ community. That is not ideal in purchasing if you have young kids. We will consider the ages of your children and locate a few homes close to excellent schools depending on their ages. Or we could find a home with many children in the community for your kids to make new friends and get along with them.
What is the Noise Level?
The fourth thing we will check is what kind of noise level you are looking for. Do you want to be in a community with many bars, restaurants, or live entertainment? Are you looking for a quieter neighborhood where you can’t hear trains, planes, or traffic buzzing? This knowledge will help us find the perfect home in the ideal community that fits your needs and wants.
Once you have answered these questions above and are ready to make that move, give us a call. Our agents at North Beach Realty are ready to help you and your family find your perfect neighborhood here on the Grand Strand!
Have you made the decision that now is the time to buy your first home in the Myrtle Beach area? Buying your first home can bring a high level of uncertainty and stress. There are many steps when buying a home and many first-time buyers are unaware of what steps they need to take when buying their first home. Unfortunately, many first-time home buyers who are unaware of the home buying process and can make some mistakes. These mistakes can often cost themselves thousands of dollars, frustration and possibly not being able to purchase their first home. We understand that it is important when you buy your first home that you understand what the most common first-time home buyer mistakes are and how to avoid them.
Not Getting a Pre-Approval for a Mortgage
The first mistake that any first-time home
buyer can make is not getting “pre-approved” for a mortgage. As you prepared to
purchase your first home you may hear the word “pre-qualification” being thrown
around. You need to know there is a difference between a mortgage pre-approval
and pre-qualification. A mortgage pre-approval is an in-depth look at your (the
buyers) financial by a mortgage lender or bank in order to see the likelihood
of getting a mortgage. A pre-approval will normally require the buyer to
provide documents such as their tax returns, recent pay stubs and bank
statements. A mortgage pre-qualification is just a general look at the buyer’s
financials by a mortgage lender or bank to determine of the likelihood of
getting a mortgage. A mortgage pre-approval will place you the buyer in the
best light of the seller because the changes for you to get a mortgage is
actually granted is greater.
Not Taking the Process of Hiring a Buyer’s
Agent
The most important person that you will be relying on for guidance in purchasing your first home is a real estate agent. There are many reasons on why you should use a real estate agent when buying a home and the worst first time homebuyer mistakes is not using one. We always recommend that you do not use the same agent as the home seller is using. This can be a conflict of interest and can become very complicated to deal with. Also hiring a friend, family member or the very first agent you encounter can be a recipe for disaster. While a friend or family member may be a competent and successful agent, it’s not always the case. Since you are purchasing your first home this is a big deal and you want to have an agent who is guiding you through the process and not choosing what they think is the perfect home for you. We at North Beach Realty have many real estate agents who are well qualified to become your own agent in the process of buying your first home.
Factoring in Additional Expenses of Owning a
Home
Many first-time home buyers will forget to
factor in the additional expenses of home ownership. It’s important that you
realize to factor in any additional expenses that come with owning a home. You
may be wondering what those additional expenses may be but we can tell you they
are monthly utilities, refuse, homeowners insurance and general maintenance. To
help you with factoring in the additional expense we recommend creating a
spreadsheet with your estimated home ownership costs. Creating a monthly budget
will help you ensure that you don’t purchase a home you can’t afford and keep
on track for being able to afford everything.
Relying on Online Home Value Estimates
As a first-time home buyer, you may struggle on
how to determine how much to offer for the home once you find one you love. One
way to embarrass yourself when making an offer is to believe the home values
you may see online. It’s likely you have seen different websites online that
will give you an estimate on what the house is worth, but many are just
calculated using an algorithm. We have seen many of the estimates online either
be too high for what the home is really worth or too low.
The only true way to find out what the home is
worth is to have an appraisal done on the home when you purchase it. Then you
will know that you are making a fair offer on your dream home. Having an
experienced real estate agent will help you with making a fair offer on the
home as well so you will be able to purchase your dream home.
Not Doing the Home Inspection
When you are in the first stages of buying your
first home one of the most important steps in the process is the inspection
phase. Skipping the home inspection is one of the worse first-time home buyers’
mistakes and here is why. There are a ton of reasons that will make you want to
skip the home inspection even if it’s on a new home, but it can help save you
time and money in the long run. Having an inspection done on your prospective
home can protect you from a home that may need a lot of home repairs. The home
inspector can also see if there is structural issues or mold present in the
home. These are just a few red flags that you want to watch for when purchasing
a home and may help you save thousands of dollars just by doing a home
inspection.
Buying your first home is a very exciting event and time but it’s important that you don’t let your excitement get in the way of these common mistakes. As you are going through the process of buying a home, and you have any questions then to please allow us to answer them for you during the process of finding the perfect home. We at North Beach Realty want to help you find your perfect dream home and want this process to go as smooth as it can in being first time home buyers.
