At 4 Buyers Real Estate, we practice the Stress Reduction Method of house hunting.

Make the decisions that can be made ahead of time. It saves you time and stress. The least stressful way to buy a home is to check out the community, the commute, and your finances before ever stepping foot into a property for sale.

(If you are already house hunting, take a breath, then get to work on this.)

The Community and the Commute

Figure out what locations work, so you can limit your search to your favorite areas. That saves you time and keeps you from finding a nice house in the wrong place. Using on-line sources, a phone, and some shoe leather, you can answer some of the bigger questions that come up before you are faced with deciding about a particular house.

  1. Check out the town services and community events.
  2. Check out the transit, walking and commute.
  3. Check out the schools.
  4. Spend time “test driving” towns you think you may want to move to, if you are not familiar with them.

Your Finances

Determine your spending limits and acceptable monthly payments. That will help you assess your chances for finding the house you’re looking for in your price range.

1. Talk to two local lenders. Find out what you can borrow. Use this to calculate the expected monthly payment based on that loan, including tax and insurance. (Vision impaired buyers, use this calculator).

2. Calculate your price range, based on your monthly payment goal.

3. Use the MLS to determine where your budget will match with properties that suit you and your family. We can sign you up to search with us. We can also send you an email with properties which have already sold in your range.

4. If your spending power is enough to succeed, and you are looking where we work, what are you waiting for? Call or write us!

5. Choose one or two lenders and complete a full pre-approval. A good pre-approval will have only a few conditions in it. Acceptable conditions include a signed Purchase and Sales Agreement, a property appraisal, review of condominium documents and budgets and final verification of employment. A pre-approval that says it is subject to verifying your assets and income is not a real pre-approval.

Find out more about the buying process »