Get the Most Out of Your Online House Hunt | Part 1

If buying a new home is on your list of New Year’s resolutions, you’re in the right place. We understand finding your perfect home doesn’t happen overnight. With the world wide web at your fingertips, it can sometimes be a little intimidating. It takes time to research financing options in order to set your budget. There’s a lot of thought that goes into deciding the specific features you’re looking for in a new home and its surrounding community. Finding the floor plan that accommodates your family’s lifestyle can be a lengthy process. We work with new home buyers every day, from first-time homeowners to individuals relocating for a job and empty-nesters ready to down-size. To navigate this portion of the home buying process, here are the first two of five steps to help you get the most out of your online house hunt.

Know Your Budget

One of the most important things you should do before starting your online house hunt is to determine your budget. Establishing your budget is dependent upon several factors. These include how much money you have set aside in savings to use towards the purchase, your credit score, and how much you qualify for in loans. We recommend working through one of our preferred lenders, Fidelity Bank Mortgage, HomeStar, or Southeast Mortgage. They’ll walk you through the process of getting prequalified for a home loan and establishing the budget that’s most appropriate. Plus, when you purchase your new home through one of our preferred lenders, Kerley Family Homes will pay the closing costs on your new home! This crucial first step will help you set your price range so you can easily identify which new home communities are right for you.

Create Your Home Search Checklist

The next step to help you succeed in finding your new home online is to create a checklist of all your needs. Here are a few questions to consider to help get you started:

• How many bedrooms does your new home need? This is often determined by the number of people who live in your household, as well as how frequently you host guests.
• How many bathrooms should your new home have? Think about how long it takes each member of your family to get ready in the morning. If you have a smaller family, a 2 – 2.5 bathroom home should be enough, but if you have a family of 6 or more, you may need to consider homes with 4.5+ bathrooms.
• Are you someone who works from home and needs a dedicated home office?
• Do you host a lot of dinner parties? If so, you’ll probably need a home with a formal dining room.
• Do you need a loft or bonus room to use as a playroom for the kids or media room for watching your favorite sports game?
• What are your preferences when it comes to the color of your kitchen cabinets, style of backsplash, or type of countertop?
• Is it important that you have a large yard for a garden or area where the kids can play outdoors?

Answering these questions and more will help you think more critically about what your new home must have versus what you’d like to have. In the end, you’ll have a list of criteria that you can use to evaluate homes moving forward in your online house hunt journey to find a new home.

Let Us Help You With Your Online House Hunt

Feeling more confident about your online search for a new home? If so, that’s great! Take a look at our metro Atlanta communities to determine which ones best fit your family’s lifestyle. Our agents are here to answer all your questions along the way. Still a little unsure about what steps you should take next? Stay tuned for our next post in this series where we’ll discuss how to decide what floor plans are right for you and the importance of researching the surrounding community.