Practice what you learned

Imagine a friend of yours, Samina, would like to begin searching for a home. She has been pre-approved for a mortgage, and has found a realtor and lender, both of whom she trusts. She has some ideas about how she would like to proceed with her home search.

Decide what you think of her ideas and select your response from the options provided – “Good Idea” or “Bad Idea.”

“There is a house just down the street that I’m interested in – why should I even bother looking? Do you think I should skip the home search and just put in an offer on it?”

Correct! Omitting the home search from the home buying process is not a good idea. We have all heard of bargain shopping. Would you ever walk into a car dealership and buy the first car you saw? Of course not. You would probably compare prices at different dealerships, look online, look at different features, mileage, safety, etc. The same should be true of home buying. Buying a home is often the largest financial commitment a person will make in their lives – shopping around is more than worth the effort. When buying a home, you want to feel confident that you got the best deal for the best price.
Incorrect. Omitting the home search from the home buying process is not a good idea. We have all heard of bargain shopping. Would you ever walk into a car dealership and buy the first car you saw? Of course not. You would probably compare prices at different dealerships, look online, look at different features, mileage, safety, etc. The same should be true of home buying. Buying a home is often the largest financial commitment a person will make in their lives – shopping around is more than worth the effort. When buying a home, you want to feel confident that you got the best deal for the best price.

“I don’t think I really need to make a list of what I want in a home – why do I need to write down what I already know? I’m just going to go with my gut feeling when looking for a home.”

Correct! It can be difficult to remain objective when you are home hunting. You might find a home you fall in love with for one reason or another, and get carried away by your emotions. Keeping a list of “top priorities” and “nice to haves” close at hand will help you stay level-headed when searching for a home.
Incorrect. It can be difficult to remain objective when you are home hunting. You might find a home you fall in love with for one reason or another, and get carried away by your emotions. Keeping a list of “top priorities” and “nice to haves” close at hand will help you stay level-headed when searching for a home.

“There’s no use searching for a home online. I’ll just have to go see it in the end anyway. I’m not going to use the internet to help with my job search.”

Correct! While it is never a good idea to buy a home without seeing it in person, the internet is a great source of information when searching for a home. You can narrow down the field, and choose only to visit those homes that you think have potential. In addition, you can use the internet to estimate the value of homes in the area in which you are looking, which can help you spot overpriced offerings.
Incorrect. While it is never a good idea to buy a home without seeing it in person, the internet is a great source of information when searching for a home. You can narrow down the field, and choose only to visit those homes that you think have potential. In addition, you can use the internet to estimate the value of homes in the area in which you are looking, which can help you spot overpriced offerings.

What, Why, How Check your understanding

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