Are you ready to get serious about house hunting? Once you’re past the stage of casually popping into open houses on your way home from the supermarket, it’s important to have a plan to keep you on track. No two home buying experiences will be exactly the same, but there are three general phases.

Just Dream a Little

When you’re starting out, it’s okay to picture your dream house. This can serve as a baseline for your ideal home that has everything you want. However, it’s important to remember that this dream may not come to life and you may have to compromise a little here and there. Once you have your dream home in mind, do a mental walkthrough and figure out what is a need and what is a want. Making this distinction will help you move to the next phase.

Get Realistic

With your list of needs and wants in hand, you can figure out how much you can afford. Getting pre-approved for a mortgage before you put an offer on a house will help your offer seem more legitimate, and hopefully speed up the closing process. You’ll need to get all your financials in order before you head to the bank, so make sure your credit score is looking good and you know how much of a monthly payment you can afford.

Open Season

Now that you know your needs from your wants and how much you can afford, it’s time to house hunt with confidence! If you’re looking for a used home, it’s best to get in contact with a local realtor. But if you’re looking for a new construction home that can be customized to your liking, call Perry Hood Properties. For almost 40 years, we’ve been turning dream homes into real homes. Give us a call to get the process started!

If you’re looking to upgrade your starter home to a new construction home, you’re probably on the hunt for easy ways to make your home sell fast. One of the easiest ways to boost your home’s value is by improving the curb appeal. Whether buyers are shopping online or showing up to an open house, the front elevation will likely be their first impression. So why not knock their socks off with some amazing curb appeal?

Here are some quick and easy ways to give your curb appeal a boost.

Give it a Wash

You’ve likely already thought to pick up sticks, limbs, and leaves from your flower beds and give the lawn a fresh mow, but spending an extra hour to wash the windows and spray down the exterior of the house will really be helpful. For the windows, a basic garden hose and some Windex will do the trick, but you may need a power washer to take care of dirt caked on to the brick or siding. If you go the power washer route, make sure to avoid washing away the caulking around windows and doors.

Do Up the Door

Your front door can be used to make a real statement that welcomes buyers and gets them excited about your home. Painting is always an option, but it isn’t the only option. Adding molding, house numbers, a decorative knocker, or even just a wreath can transform a boring door into the little nudge house hunters need to place an offer.

Shutter Up

Adding shutters to your windows will make the windows look bigger and helps break up an ordinary home exterior. Go with a color that really pops against the exterior wall to make the shutters stand out and draw the buyers in.

Keep it Simple

When it comes to front porch décor and furniture, it’s best to not overdo it. Keep things simple and avoid clutter. This lets buyers feel like there’s still room for them to put their own personal touch on it, while still showcasing the potential of the space.

While house hunting and building a new construction home can be a fun and exciting process, packing everything you own in boxes and loading up a moving truck isn’t that exciting. You have lots of options when it’s time to move, and the costs associated will depend on which options you go with. If you’re trying to crunch the numbers on how much a move will cost, here’s a list of typical moving costs.

Rental Truck- Flat rates start at $20 and go up from there depending on how big of a truck you need. There may also be charges for mileage driven.

Movers- There are two options here: loaders and full service. The first option will cover loading and unloading the truck, but you’ll have to pack everything in boxes. Rates for this service can range from $200-$2000 depending on how big your home is. Full service movers will do the packing and the loading for you, all you have to do is point where things go. Rates go for $25-$50 per hour per mover.

Storage- In a perfect world, you would close on your new house and sell your old home with no awkward in between time. However, there’s often some overlap and you may need to store some item temporarily.  Storage facility rates start around $50 per month for a small unit, and go up to $300 or $400 for larger units.

Moving Supplies- Finally, you’ll need to account for the cost of boxes, tape, and packing supplies. You can normally scavenge spare boxes from friends, liquor stores, and big discount stores, but you’ll likely end up buying some new boxes as well.

Trying to find the perfect home in the city you’re currently living in is hard enough, but if you’re looking for a home in another town or even another state, the problem gets even harder. Although difficult, this task isn’t impossible if you know what you’re doing. Here are a few quick tips you can use if you’re doing some long-distance house hunting.

Don’t Just Research Homes

You’ll obviously spend a lot of time looking at home online, but that’s not the only thing you should look at. Once you find some homes you like, start checking out what’s around those neighborhoods. Are there stores, restaurants, and activities close by? What’s the crime rate like? Are the schools any good? These are all questions you’ll want to answer before you get the keys. Online research is helpful for this phase, but using a local realtor you can trust will be your best bet.

Budget for Travel

As the move gets closer, you’ll need to budget some money and time for travel. This gives you a chance to verify all your research and get a feel for your new city and house first hand. With some careful planning, you can line up several home tours in just a few days to really maximize your visit.

Know Your Needs from Wants

Getting together a list of needs and wants is helpful for any buying situation, but when you’re shopping long-distance this list will be invaluable to your realtor. With that in mind, it’s important to put a lot of thought into this list. Really consider what the essentials for your next home are and what’s just nice to have.

Buying a home when you’re shopping long distance can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. If you’re looking for a new construction home in the Tulsa area, call Perry Hood Properties.