Is Your Knoxville Home Search A Complete Waste Of Time?
We all hate to have our time wasted. Whether it’s going on a fool’s errand or waiting in line forever, our time is one thing that we can’t get back. This is why people often get so frustrated when their own time is wasted.
There are certain scenarios where you can’t really prevent wasting your own time. But, when it comes to buying a home, there’s a pretty good chance if you go about it the right way you won’t waste anybody’s time, including your own.
In this post, we’ll help you answer the question: is your Knoxville home search a complete waste of time?
A Quick Definition: Waste Of Time
When it comes to buying a home, you’re only a waste of time if you’re not qualified to buy a home or don’t intend to buy a home. There are certain times where buyers just want to window shop to see what is out there. Or, where buyers don’t have any intention of buying for a long time. When you’re not seriously looking you’re wasting your time, your realtors time, and the sellers time.
You’re Not Pre-Approved
A pre-approval is the first step to buying a home. When you skip this step, you could very well be wasting your time without evening knowing it. Without a pre-approval, you don’t know what you can afford and if you can even afford a home at all.
It’s important to start your home search off with a pre-approval. A pre-approval lets you know what you can afford. Price is the single most important factor in your home search. Without knowing this information, you’re starting your home search off blind.
A pre-approval is something very quick and painless that you’re able to do before you start looking at homes.
You Have No Clue What You Want
There are also times where a buyer isn’t sure what they’re looking for in a home. This makes them look at anything and everything.
It can be awfully hard searching for a home when you’re not exactly sure what you’re looking for. Oftentimes, this will cause a buyer to pursue all possible homes, only to quickly change their mind.
Before you embark on your home search, it’s helpful to have some idea of what you’re looking for. A general list of price, area, home type (single family or condo), along with any other key items.
You Don’t Intend To Buy Now
There’s no use in looking at home until you’re ready to buy. With the market being a seller’s market, homes last a matter of days not weeks. So any homes you’ll see now won’t be there in a couple of months.
When you don’t intend to buy for a while, there is no use in looking at homes. You may be waiting for a raise, to pay off some debt, or to get married before you buy. There’s nothing wrong with that. But, there’s no use going out and looking until you’re actually ready to buy.
You’re Looking Out Of Your Price Range
Finally, if you’re looking at homes that are out of your price range you’re wasting everyone’s time. When a home is out of your price range, you shouldn’t be looking at it. You’re just wasting your time, your realtor’s time, and a seller’s time.
There are many times that buyers want to look at homes that they cannot afford. It’s a fun way of window shopping with zero commitment. The unfortunate thing is that you’re taking time out of a realtor’s day and a seller’s day to look at a home that you have no intention of buying.
In addition, when you look at homes you cannot afford, you run the risk of falling in love with a home that you can’t buy. This can make shopping for homes in your price range difficult when you have unrealistic expectations.
Bottom line: leave your window shopping to looking at photos online. There’s no use in falling in love with a home that you cannot afford.
Are you thinking about buying a Knoxville home this year? Please let us know if there is any way that Knoxville Home Team can assist you. Rick can be reached at 865-696-9002 or via email at [email protected]. Kati can be reached at [email protected].
