BIGGEST PAIN POINTS FOR HOMEBUYERS
If you are in the real estate business in any aspect you should care about pain points for home buyers, WHY, because it matters. It matters because there are so many industries that can be affected positively/negatively depending on how the market is and how active buyers are if buyers are not feeling confident and not buying up properties that could severely hurt the market and cause many issues with; jobs, values, amount of transactions, affordability, cash flow, selling and buying properties, and many more items.
Below are 5 of the most common pain points that I see and I threw in a bonus # 6 because I think it was needed. Recognizing these issues and making sure we are doing everything we can to help, educate, and provide confidence to buyers is very important and part of our job if we work in the real estate business. We want home buyers to be empowered and feel confident in their decisions.
Affordability and Budget
Home prices rising, rates high, insurance high, and cost of living higher are many items home buyers are seeing, feeling, and dealing with when buying a home. It is hard enough to save up money for the down payment, but getting prepared to buy a home and having a monthly budget plan is important upfront. Here are several ways to approach this and helpful tips you can do.
Go through bank statements/credit card statements and eliminate anything you don’t need, see where you can cut spending, like eating out/travel/bars, start living and acting like you are making a mortgage payment, paying those bills for owing a house and practice what it would be like, so you are prepared when you buy.
You can also run different rates/scenarios with your lender for what a future refinance would look like to save money.
Limited inventory and competition
Low supply means more competition, bidding wars, overpaying, not getting deals, and more stress.
Here are several ways to deal with this; make sure you work with a great team that can help guide you and make deals happen.
Be prepared to close in 10 to 15 days, remove or shorten contingencies, pay over the asking price, give free rent back to sellers, be flexible, and find out what motivates the sellers so they will accept your offer.
Your lender should be calling the listing agent and helping bring confidence to the deal, answer questions, make sure they understand your lender can perform, close fast, and have a track record of getting deals done with no BS.
Loan approval and paperwork burden
If you are buying a home you will have to provide paperwork, sign disclosures, answer questions, wire money, be available and yes, the process can be NOT fun.
Here are several ways to deal with this; make sure you are working with a lender that is organized, uses technology, has a team, is available 24/7, is educating you, and can move quickly. Get everything the lender asks you for upfront so it’s less paperwork, questions, and info they need once the loan is submitted. If you work with a good team the process should NOT be that much of a burden unless you have a very complicated file, tax return, or situation, then you need to be prepared for more items needed.
Home inspection surprises
Home inspections can be a good or bad thing. They can let you know the property is in good shape and make you feel more confident about buying this home. It can also bring up issues, problems, small or big that need to be dealt with or maybe it is a deal killer.
Never skip an inspection, be willing to walk away if an issue is too big, and get ready to renegotiate if needed. Working with the right agent is very important during this part of the process. They will guide you, provide ideas, and solutions, and give you confidence on what is possible and how to deal with any issues that pop up on the inspection report.
Often issues can cause a price reduction, fix the issues, or a seller credit to help offset the burden.
Closing process delays or issues
Things can happen, come up and it can cause delays. Welcome to buying and selling real estate, nothing can go 100% right all the time and you cannot expect that.
Be prepared for issues, trust the process, and your team, and call your team if you are freaking out. Don’t panic and don’t stress, delays or issues can be part of anything in life, you will deal with them and get through it. Working with the right team when it comes to issues or delays makes a world of a difference and this separates the procs from the armatures in the business.
Balancing work, life, and the home buying process:
Buying a home and moving can be a very stressful process for most. You don’t do it often and you are literally moving all the stuff you own from one house to another. Then on top of this, you have your normal life you must deal with, kids, work, life, events, sports, business and the list can go on and on.
Here are some helpful tips and things to think about when you are going through this process.
Plan on it being hectic, stressful, and overwhelming, and have a talk with your family about what the process could look like and how as a family you will deal with it. Be proactive with getting movers earlier in the process, and make a detailed list of all the stuff you must move from one house to the other house. Divide the list up and have family/friends/others help where they can. Let your agent and lender know what times work best for you to chat, handle paperwork, meet, and handle any items that are needed to close on the new house. Communicate, ask for help, and remember your agent and lender have done this 100s, 1000s, and even 10,000 times so they are a good resource and soundboard for you.
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