When Should We Start Looking If We Want to Purchase in_____???
This question is so common I almost hate to blog on it. But, it is asked so often I wanted to share my answer.
In Ann Arbor their are plenty of homes to buy. Purchasing a home is not the problem, selling one is.
In Ann Arbor our typical closings take 30-60 days to close. The majority close in 45 days, that gives your lender time to gather the documents, order the appraisal etc.
If a purchaser wants to be in by June, we advise looking in late March or early April. If they want to be in a home by August in time for school, then we advise starting to look in late May, early June.
If you start looking too soon, and find your dream home, then the chance of a seller waiting over 60 days to close is slim. So you will be disappointed in not being able to purchase the home you will in love with.
My daugher came up with a great rule, she uses with her buyers that many on my team have adopted. It is called THE TALK.
Pick out your Top 10, we will look at all of them. Then we will narrow it down to 3 and go back and look at those 3 again. Then we will write an offer.
Of course this "assumes" they are moving here and need to buy.
For local folks moving up, they can take a longer period as they wait for the home they want to buy to pop up on the Ann Arbor Area MLS for sale.
So what do you tell your buyers in your communities for when to begin their home search?
What is typical?
***************************************************************
Missy Caulk & Team can be reached at 734-216-2822 or email: Missy@MissyCaulk.com
Our TEAM of 6 buyer associates are available to help you relocate to Ann Arbor, Saline, Dexter, Chelsea, Milan, Ypsilanti Township, Clinton, Manchester, Whitmore Lake, or throughout Washtenaw County, MI.
- Search the Ann Arbor Area MLS.
- Market Reports in Real Time Updated Weekly
- Profit from Technology for Realtors and Lenders
Missy Caulk & Team can be reached at 734-926-9797 or email: Missy@MissyCaulk.com
Our Team of 6 agents are available to help you relocate to Ann Arbor, Saline, Dexter, Chelsea, Milan, Ypsilanti Township, Clinton, Manchester, Whitmore Lake, or throughout Washtenaw County, MI.
Find Homes for Sale in Ann Arbor
Find Homes for Sale in Saline
Find Ann Arbor Real Estate Information
Get a FREE Home Evalutation of your Homes Value
Missy Caulk Ann Arbor REALTOR® Google Profile
Stay strong, stay faithful, stay honest, stay loving, stay true to who you are, most importantly stay true to who God is as you'll be who you are, and you'll be happy, you'll be you, you'll be free. -Jamie Caulk
Very good advice Missy. I think sometimes people start looking too early and then lose out when they can't buy.
Happy New Year Missy! With rates being as low as they are, a 30-60 day close time is typical. A buyer can always close to take advantage of rates and have a seller do a rent back if the math works!
Thank you for being so helpful here on Activerain. I have learned a lot from your posts and your referral of Dakno for my website has been a real homerun!
Thanks,
Betsy
Very smart that daughter of yours. I follow a similar process. Unlike most agents, I do not "send listings to buyers". If I do, I review them first to make sure they're viable and appropriate for their stated needs and qualifications. If time permits, I preview the homes first. I do not like ot show homes to buyer with surprises like pet odors, smokers, money pits, etc.
I show the BEST house first, then all the rest. The best house is the one to beat. Once we have seen everything on the tour, we review and revisit the ones they prefer. Of course, "the best house" is always in the mix.
They are ready to write.
If the buyers don't write then, I warn them that it will sell. Clearly it will because it's the best house. If they still need to "think about it", fine. They go home to think and I go home
hoping the house sells while they're thinking.
Lenn, yes you snooze you loose right. Always best to show the Best first then everything else never measures up.
Thank you Betsy.
Debra, true and then it is hard for them to not feel they are settling.
Missy, I absolutely love the new profile pic! You look younger, smarter, wiser, ........ :)
Happy New Years eve Missy; Thanks for the post. We always start our buyers off with an hour in the office to discuss their wants and dreams and the consumer protection that the standard offer covers. We review their criteria and go over quickly the contract that they will be signing. By the time we get to the 3rd page of 14 or so their eyes are big and sleepy and they start to develop trust in our competency. We also are licensed through NMLS to broker loans so we take that time in the office to get their pre-approval taken care of.
Once the pre-approval is ready, their cash is verified for the down and closing costs, they have been window shopping through our MLS auto listing feed and they have sampled the contract with us they are ready to buy. This is when we start showing them properties and normally they buy quickly due to the preparation they went through. I agree with Lenn about the best first. We always ask them to take notes on the listing but we have found that if we ask them to rate them using the 1 to 10 rating that it is easier for them to relax and enjoy the emotional act of shopping and of buying. WE always preview the higher priced properties. The clients respect that and we can do our job better. Thanks for your posts in AR.
Have a very prosperous New Year.
Missy: This is great way to encourage the Buyer to make their decision. Many buyers are waiting for the market to reach the button,but it may be a little too Late. When working with the buyer, I give them a BEST LIST to help them make their decisions. After all this they like to wait it out... I sorry to say that they loose out when someone else comes by and buy the home they had their eyes on.
Happy New Year Missy.. And I pray that 2011 would be a year of much Success and happiness.
I agree with Lenn. I like to avoid sending listings to buyers. There is so much more to the process than what meets the eye.
Wishing and all the commenters here a very Happy and Prosperous New Year!
Good post for sure. Thank you!
I enjoyed the read. Meeting with buyers at the office first off is the way to go.
Patricia/Seacoast NH &ME
Good post for sure. Thank you!
I enjoyed the read. Meeting with buyers at the office first off is the way to go.
Patricia/Seacoast NH &ME
Missy, great Blog. Buyers often want to be "Lookie Loos", your process definitely weeds them out.
Missy - that's a good rule of thumb for us, too, as our time frames with lenders and such is about the same. Cash buyers need less than 30 days start to finish unless the seller cannot move that quickly. REOs are 30-45 days typicall. I wouldn't even venture a guess with short sales.
Happy New year! Wishing you a fabulous 2011.
Jeff
Missy
I enjoyed the post, all local market are difference but once they know the target date to move into their new home the real estate professional can give them the best advice.
Good luck and success.
Lou Ludwig
Missy... I agree, some good advice and I like what Christa had started and that you got your team to do the same. For some reason, I still see some people rush into wanting to buy a house. Especiaslly when their credit is less than perfect. I just wrote about credit the other day. Where were you? lol Seriously.. good post as usual and Happy New years.
Christa has a great method for helping the buyers to pick the right home. I also think Lenn has a good idea as well, and sometimes the buyers do need to lose a home before they're ready to make a choice.
Any time you can develop a plan to help people focus, you are going to get better results. Great idea. And I like setting the stage up front.
I like your marketing of "The Talk"
And I like your new pic.
Sidney Kutchuk
www.aShortSale.com
We used to be able ot close anything in 30 days... Now we are closer to that 45... I tell people that they need to look when they are ready to make an offer. 60 days out... 90 if they are super picky. But, regardless, they have to be ready to make an offer and close it in 60 days or less.
Hi Missy... a couple of years ago we could manage 21 day closes here in Dallas. These days I advise my agents not to count on anything less than 30 unless it is a cash deal!
Dear Missy,
For common needs like condos, townhouses or houses that are in ample supply, I recommend to start about three months ahead of time, just in case it takes a little while to find "the one." For people, who have more constraints (unique homes, tight budget) they may need to start a little earlier, sometimes a lot earlier and be much more flexible about settling on a certain date. You may loose $1,000 on your rental but save $20,000 on that super good deal of a home.
Good advice. It is smart to have a system to help buyers stay focused on which house is best. Otherwise, they can become overwhelmed and never make a decision.
I have found that people who say they want to buy in six months actually want to buy whenever they find the right home. However, if their goal is really to buy a home in six months I will advise that they start to look two months into that. It takes some time to find the right home - then the financing and closing is a two month window.
Yup....a great rule indeed. 10 and then out of the three. Weed em out and decide :)
Funny, this just came up tonight. Buyer wants to go out looking at homes tomorrow but won't even be bale to get pre-qualified for a month. I told him there is no sense in that, everything he sees will be gone by then.
Good advice...no since looking to soon
Happy New Year - thank you for touching my life with your blog in 2010. Wanted to share this quote with you on this first day of 2011 - " We will open a book. the pages of the book are blank. we will put words on the pages ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and and the fist chapter is New Years Day" Edith Lovejoy Pierce
Happy new years Missy. This is something we are asked all the time! You have a good time line mapped out. I also flipped over to your daughters blog, which is well written Thanks!
PS. GO BLUE!
Happy New Year. I agree with Lenn, nothing clarifies buyer motivation better than losing the best house. If I have been effective in clarifying their needs/interest/motivation, then house #2 should be next on their agenda in preparing an offer for contract. If they are not keenly disappointed and ready to move forward, I have missed a signal or two along the way While I show 12 to 16 properties over the first two appointments, I have found that keeping a top 4 or 5 properties to compare others against works best. When they try to remember 10, it just doesn't happen and, it's harder to move toward a buy decision.
Missy,
Thanks for starting off my year with a good approach!
Missy, this is a great approach for closing in a timely manner. Your Daughter's method is also a great way to narrow down the good properties. I usually keep it down to five properties and go from there. Thanks.
I follow pretty much the same timeline as you do.
I'm speaking to a college class next week about home ownership and purchasing their first home - will definitely include some of your post in my presentation!
Happy New Year from Tulsa!!!!
The best time to shop is when the lender gives a green light. I send a list of homes that fit their criteria. We pick out the top ones and go hunting. Then, we write the offer on the best home. Done Deal.
Happy New Year and like the happy house out shopping in the graphic. I find videos really help save time, whittle down the list of which properties to tramp through.
Missy - This is a great timetable and a great way to to get focus amongst prospects. It is important as agents to find out which buyers are MOTIVATED and which ones are not. You certainly do not want to spend all your time showing properties to folks who have no intention on purchasing until next year all the time. Of course, you may need to do this from time to time as you are building and harnessing relationships. But it is important to prioritize your time by the motivation of the timeframe of your buyers... that rule of thumb and that 45 to 60 day time-frame is a great time-line to go by.
Such clearly thought-through strategies, that I appreciate! Thank you (and your daughter!) for sharing your methods and insights. Happy New Year!
Missy, I am compiling a list of blog topics for 2011 and this made the cut. This is excellent information for buyers and sellers to consider.
Thanks for all the comments, was busy with family all day yesterday.
i got new frames and decided to update my photo. I miss my old ones, but the puppy chewed them up. Seriously...
While your advice is very good, what I was most taken with is that your daughter works with you and also blogs! I think that is wonderful, Missy!
I envy you!
Great post by Christa. That gal should post more often.
I like your approach and would deem anybody pretty darn lucky to work with a common sense way to buying a home. Not a task to be taken on lightly.
Missy - I love Christa's thinking. Helps to limit the homes. We've all had those buyers who want to look at every home on the market. Like a kid in the candy store they can't make a decision. I also like Lenn's show the best home first.