Buying a new home can be overwhelming, above all in a market as competitive as in the Mammoth Lakes Area.

We have four golden rules that will help you not feeling stuck in the buying process while making your decision!

1-      Establish your budget:  if you are thinking to buy a home, your first step must be to establish your budget. A buyer should get an Advance Approval or at least a pre-approval (see our previous post for more on this). After having determined how much money you are qualified to borrow, you should consider all additional costs of ownership such as taxes, utilities, and insurance. All this makes up to determine the final budget you can comfortably afford.

2-      Make a list of your Home Needs versus Home Wants. In order not to feel overwhelmed, it is important to have a clear list in your mind about what it is that you are looking for. This will help you keep your priority high, and to know when you can compromise.

3-      Do not get fixed on cosmetics detail. Often if the paint color is not of our taste, or the bathroom is ugly, it’s easy to overlook a house that would otherwise have a lot of potential! Always keep in mind that you can easily change the details of your new home. What is going to be harder is to change your neighbors or neighborhood. So, keep in mind your priority. Make a list of what you don’t like in a potential house and analyze it: are the point conflicting with your priorities’ list? Then move on. Are the points smaller details, easily and cheaply adjusted to your taste? Then it’s worth a second thought!

4-      Seek professional help. Find yourself a good realtor: that’s the easiest way to have somebody in the business that will be able to calm you down and have you look at the properties you are visiting in an objective way. It’s hard otherwise to leave emotions out of the equation. And if it’s true that we should trust our hearts…if we are falling in love with a home because of the wall paints or a corner of the garden brings us back to our childhood, we might be overlooking potential problems, like leaky pipes or moldy walls. A realtor is the objective point of view that’s going to help you to look at the whole picture! A trusted realtor can also help you through the financial aspects of the process, directing you to the right people for Advance-Approval or pre-approval, in the bidding process and much more.

If you are considering buying, give us a call! We can discuss what you are looking for, your needs and wants, budgets...and move from there! We will be thrilled to help you through this exciting process!