This post is sponsored by Northwest Bank. Northwest Bank is Member FDIC
All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting companies that support Zoë With Love!
If you’ve been following along on my instagram, you may already know that we have been in the process of selling our current home and building a new custom home in the near future. Today I wanted to share some important tips with you if you are planning to, or wondering about, making a big move like this yourself!
We originally built our first home about 6 years ago and it was a good introduction into construction loans and building timelines. One thing (well actually two things) that made this time around a lot different was having to sell our current home (we were renters before) and having to juggle just having had a baby and now having a preschooler! I knew it was going to be hard, but WOW, the last 3 months have been some of the hardest I’ve ever dealt with and I’m so happy they are behind me. In the end we had 4 total offers, and went with the one that ultimately worked the best for us.
This having been our first home selling experience really taught me A LOT and opened my eyes to what can happen in this process. I have to commend people who buy/sell/move frequently because it is an understatement to say it’s a lot of work. That’s why it’s so important to have the right lender working with you. There will be so many other things going on that you need the financial process to go as smoothly as possible and Northwest Bank understands that and will help get you through it! No matter what your buying situation is, whether you’re a first time buyer, downsizing or building a dream home, they will help you make it a reality.
When building our first home, every decision I made, from the fixtures, wall colors and cabinets, to the floors and sinks, I thought about resale. The boldest decorating risk I took was with our wallpaper, and I knew this going in. The worst case scenario would have been having to remove it but THANKFULLY that didn’t happen, and not to pat myself on the back too much, but 6 years ago some people looked at me strangely for putting up wallpaper, if only they could see the comeback it’s having right now! One of my favorite quotes is “fortune favors the bold” and I really believe that those touches brought more people in the doors to see the house because it was interesting and unlike other things in our area.
These decorating decisions, attention to curb appeal and some really great listing photos (plus a great realtor, of course!) helped get people to come and see the house and let me focus on keeping it in show ready condition.
Tips if you are planning on buying soon:
Get Pre-Approved- I learned first hand what could happen if you aren’t and you could really end up losing a house you love if everything isn’t in order! Northwest Bank has dedicated customer advocates who will guide you through the entire mortgage approval process, staying accessible, communicating often and helping you understand what’s happening every step of the way.
An experience we ran into with one of the offers on our home was someone who wanted to purchase it found that they had a financial issue they weren’t aware of that could have easily been resolved. This unfortunately lead to a delay, and in that timeframe another offer came in on our house that we ultimately took. I know if I was in that situation I would have been so upset on losing a house I wanted, especially since it dragged out for awhile and was a bit of a stressful situation. Getting pre-approved before you start looking makes it possible to put in an offer right away if you find a house you love instead of missing out on it because of unforeseen issues.
Know Your Budget- For about two years before we ended up purchasing our current property to build on, we were house hunting in the areas we liked. Getting pre-approved and therefore knowing your budget beforehand will save you lots of time and disappointment from going to see (and falling in love with) houses that you know will be out of your budget. We were on the fence between buying a fixer upper vs. new construction and came to the conclusion that it would be better for us in the long run to build. Knowing our budget going in and looking at houses that fell within that amount was very helpful, and when we looked at older homes we had an idea of how much our budget would allow to attempt to restore the home. If you are looking at older homes and would like to get an idea of costs to remodel or restore, you can contact a structural engineer to help figure out what your costs would be.
Invest in Your Current Home Wisely: If you own your current, have purchased your home, or if you are building a new home, it’s time to figure out how you will invest in it. When we did this with our first home, I wanted to create a lot of character for a new build, yet use neutral finishes that would appeal to more people because I knew we wouldn’t be staying here forever. If you are looking to remodel or take on a larger project in your current home, Northwest Bank offers Home Equity Lines of Credit (HELOC) which can help you love your home now but also help with resale value in the future. So whether its a kitchen renovation or an outdoor patio, you could use your build up equity to complete these projects with affordable fees and low rates.
I hope you’ve found these tips helpful! There is so much that goes into home buying and selling that it can be a stressful time, but remember that it’s also an exciting and hopeful time for you and your family! Sometimes with everything going on that could get lost in the process, so just remember it’s all worth it and work with partners who will be there to take on some of that burden.
