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Hunting for a New Home? Don’t Wait Until Saturday!

House hunting has become a contact sport over the past year. The idealized vision of a leisurely Saturday morning reviewing open houses and plotting the day’s tours over lattes and croissants is a thing of the past. While popping into the local open house might be fun for the casual looker, if you are serious about finding your next home, this climate demands strategy.

First and most importantly, know exactly what you need and want in a new home. Then share this vision in detail with your agent. Identify not only what you need in the property, but which communities would best fit your lifestyle. With lower inventory from which to choose, you also need to be clear about any compromises you are willing to make—if any.

Once you know what you’re looking for, the next step is to clear some time during the week for house hunting. That’s right, mid-week.

In fact, for those searching for open houses, Thursdays are the best days to tour a community. Thursdays have always been the traditional days for agent open houses. This is when real estate professionals take time to tour new listings, but they are open for buyers also. This can allow serious buyers to view and write offers on new listings before the weekend crowds.

Strategy is critical in a seller’s market. Serious buyers need to prioritize their search to position themselves ahead of their competition. Being available to see new listings as soon as possible is one way to ensure you don’t lose out on an opportunity to write an offer on the right home.

Imagine strolling down to your private boat dock each morning with your cup of coffee to watch the sun come up. While this might sound like something reserved for the rich and famous, the country is filled with opportunities to buy on a lake, river, ocean, and other waterways. From small streams suitable for canoes or kayaks to larger ocean-ready craft, before you write an offer on your dream home, there are a few considerations to think through.

4 Things to Consider before Buying a Boat-Access Property

1. Types of Boats Allowed – This is the most important consideration to research. Between local authorities and neighborhood associations, the kind of boat may be limited to length, engine, speed, height, and much more. Make sure the property allows the kind of boat you want.
2. Water Depth – Just because there is a dock on the property doesn’t mean year-round access. The average depth of the water is critical. Understand the way the seasons can affect water depth and if you’ll need to pull the boat and store it for any part of the year
3. Environmental Restrictions – Almost all waterways include restrictions. These can include easements and areas inaccessible due to military or power company use. They can also include restrictions to protect wildlife such as fish or bird populations.
4. Type of Ownership – Waterfront properties generally include some private ownership. This can include shoreline or be limited to the boat dock itself. Before purchasing the property determine if the shoreline is part of your ownership or a public/community-controlled strip of land.

Owning a boat-accessible property is a wonderful lifestyle choice but it can also be an expensive one. Before writing the offer, it’s important to understand exactly what is and is not included in the title.

Buying or selling a home can be stressful, even in normal times. Right now, when the housing market is moving at a frenetic pace, both buyers and sellers are making quick decisions and are feeling extreme pressure. As the tension rises, it can be easy to overlook the end goal; right-sized home, relocation, dream home, etc. Try not to lose focus!

Buyer Challenges

Facing a very tight inventory of available properties, buyers have limited time to arrange to tour homes and knowing they must make a quick decision once they have. Buyers do not have the luxury of a second look or hesitation and often are competing against multiple offers, adding to the pressure.

Seller Challenges

Sellers are also feeling the challenge of the frantic pace. While it is nice to have multiple offers from which to choose, the fact that the offers are at times being made sight-unseen means that some of the offers may not be the buyer’s first choice and they could lose a “real” offer by choosing to work with the wrong one. In addition, if the seller intends to buy another home, then they will be in the same position as the buyers once they enter that side of the competitive market.

The bottom line in each case, however, is to stay focused on the end goal. Why are you looking to buy or sell? Working with your agent, and relying on their experience, keep your eye on the prize and recognize that the goal will be worth the effort.