Finding the Perfect Home
From price to location, layout to style, we all have our own needs and even desires when it comes to finding the perfect home. We have helped 100’s of clients throughout the Lake Charles, Louisiana area move into their dream home. We work tirelessly until we discover which home best fits your dreams.
Deciding on a home is one of the biggest decisions we make in our lives. In that home we raise children, entertain friends, make holiday memories, and just live our lives. We sit down with you and have a discovery meeting, where we determine all of the features you are looking for in a home. We are then able to provide the details of each home that matches your desires. You’ll also be notified immediately of any new homes that come on the market and are a fit for your family. You will be one of the first people to know about that home as it is placed on the market in real time. As homes come available, we will be communicating throughout until you are sleeping in your new home.
Take the Stress Out of Buying Your Home
Buying a home is a wonderful life event. Yet, as wonderful as it is, it can also be a stressful process, but it doesn’t have to be. Here are a few tips that we always give our clients.
First: Call Us
(337) 884-4553
We are here to make this one of the most enjoyable times of your life. It shouldn’t be stressful. When you have questions, need advice, or even lose the documents you are supposed to bring to the closing, call us at (337) 884-4553. We are here to guide you through this process.
Third: Get a Home Inspection
Before you make your final decision and sign the deal, you should have a home inspection performed by a professional, licensed home inspector. Inspections are the best way to insure that the home you are buying is not going to be a money pit.
Fifth: For Sale by Owner Properties
It is possible to find a great home being sold directly by the owners. There are a few things to be aware of when considering for sale by owner homes. There is a common misconception that you will always get a better deal by purchasing properties directly from the owner. In some cases this may be true, but it is important that you make sure that you base your offer on a Comparative Market Analysis and not simply on the asking price of the owners. Also, because of the issues mentioned above, do not trust the valuation as indicated by sites like Trulia and Zillow, except as a preliminary valuation. We’ve seen cases where the values indicated on homes from these sites were not at all accurate.
Most importantly, make sure you are properly informed when considering any property. When in doubt, reach out to us.
Second: Get a Pre-approval Letter
Before we ever start searching for your dream home, we always recommend that you get a pre-approval letter from your lending institution. This is essentially an acknowledgement from a bank or other lending institution which states the maximum amount of money you are approved to borrow. Acquiring a pre-approval is key. By getting pre-approved before you begin your home search, you can save yourself a lot of heartache. It’s not uncommon for potential buyers to make an offer on a home, but miss out because there was a 72 hour delay in their financing approval. Now, someone else has made an offer, and the home is sold.
One other point on this, it’s disheartening to begin your search by looking at $200,000 homes only to find out later that you are only approved for $150,000. There is a significant difference in a property listed for $150K vs $200K. It’s always better to know the amount you are approved to borrow early in the home buying process.
Fourth: Use the Right Search Tools
We generally caution our clients when they ask about using sites such as Zillow, Trulia, and Track Realty. Many times, We’ve seen that these sites contain outdated information. Unfortunately, many buyers have called me asking to see a certain home that they found on Zillow. After researching the home further, we have discovered that it was sold over a year ago, and is incorrectly showing on Zillow’s site for unknown reasons. Though these sites do make it easy to search for and find homes, it’s important to recognize that the information may either be outdated or even incorrect.
We recommend that you use the search tools that we provide so that you know that the information is always current and accurate.
