A Few Quick Tips on Avoiding Stress When Buying a Home
Buying a home can be a stressful process. Here are some things you can do ahead of time (and during the process) that may help make buying your home a less stressful – or more enjoyable – experience.
- Start as soon as possible
Feeling rushed is a huge cause of stress. To reduce stress, ensure you have enough time to explore all your options. You want to look at a variety of properties to get a full understanding of the market. If need be, you may be able to break the lease on your current apartment, or if your move-out date is approaching, rent out a new apartment for a couple of months.
- Decide what you want
Going into the home buying process knowing what you want in your home not only saves time but keeps the stress away, too. Being as specific as possible helps! It’s good to know in advance what you consider to be essential and what you consider to be a deal-breaker. If you know what you don’t want in a house, you won’t waste time exploring a home that isn’t worth it!
- Stay organized
Keep any paperwork you have in an organized fashion, however you do it. It’s best to visit the bank early, and if you can, get pre-approved. While making your budget, make sure to take into consideration all costs, including relocation and renovation. A pre-approval shows sellers that you are serious about the home-buying process, and can give you a leg up if more than one person puts a bid on a home you want.
- Keep thorough records
You always want to remember which house had what features. Take a lot of notes during each viewing so that you can easily compare houses later. In addition, make sure to ask the seller’s agent if you can take pictures of the home. Pictures help you remember all the little details.
- Plan your viewings
If you can, schedule your viewings in a block of a few days, so that you can easily track how you felt about each one. In addition, booking a viewing on a weekday is a good idea if you can swing it. There will be fewer visitors, which in turn means that the agents will have more time to dedicate to each buyer.
- Don’t get attached
It’s easy to fall in love with a house the second you walk through the door, but try not to! It might be hard not to envision where all your furniture will go, but there is always the chance that someone will buy the house before you do, or that the seller might not accept your offer. Nothing is worse than getting your heart set on something only to find out that you can’t get it!
Above all else, there will always be the traditional stress relief activities also. So, take a deep breath, go for a walk, do whatever helps you calm down in any other stressful situation.
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