Pre-Existing vs New Construction Homes: Which Is Right for You?

Are you looking to move to Fredricksburg from maybe one of the major cities within Texas, or maybe even from out of state? Well, this video will help serve you as a guide to help navigate you through this major life changing event. I have helped out tons of people relocate to Fredericksburg, and these are some of the tips, tricks, and best practices that these folks have found to help make their move go a little bit more smoothly. Ryan Rendon, Rendon Realty Group, your favorite realtor right here in the Texas Hill Country. We all know that making a major move across the nation or across the state can be very stressful, and more than likely, it always will be. But there are certain things that you can do that can help make that process just go a little bit easier with a little bit less stress. Okay, so there are four things that we are going to be discussing today. Number one is going to be the research phase. Number two is going to be determining the neighborhood or the area that you want to buy your ranch. And don't forget I do help people buy ranches. Number three is going to be the virtual tour and offer stage. And then the fourth phase is going to be the buying process, all of which are going to be very unique when doing it from afar. Okay. So number one like I said is the research phase. So typically this starts 4 to 12 months in advance before making that big move. And in some cases some people even start this 24 months in advance. That's not super uncommon, but just know the further out that you start your research phase, the higher of a chance that things change, that will change within the market. So just keep that in mind when you start your research that far in advance. And then the first part of this research phase is going to be your online research. You want to start this phase by exploring different websites online like mine. Reardon Realty Group, dot com, online forums and social media platforms to gain insights into our local housing market and what it's like to live here. Also, make sure you check out some of the other videos that have put on my YouTube channel about here in Fredericksburg. I have done pros and cons videos. I have done updates about new developments coming in Fredericksburg and other videos about wineries. If you start watching some of these other videos I've done, you'll definitely get a better sense of what's going on here in Fredericksburg before making this big move in. The second part of the research phase is really determining what your budget is going to be, and to do this, you'll need to evaluate your financial situation, including your savings, income, and expenses. This will help you determine your budget for buying a home and assess your eligibility for a mortgage loan. And then after determine your budget, it's best to create a wish list. This list will consist of your must haves and would like the haves for this future home. Consider factors like the number of bedrooms you want, the square footage, location, amenities, and proximity to our schools and workplaces. And one of the other pro tips I like to give is if you're on Realtor.com or Zillow and you find a home that is seems to be too good to be true, it's priced well below a lot of the other homes in the area. What you can do is get on to Google, type in the address, get on the Google Street View and then from there you can get a really good sense of what that neighborhood and what that street looks like. Because if it ends up being right across from an eyesore, maybe that is the reason why it's priced so low. And the final step of the research phase is putting together your dream team. This may include your friends and families who have some insights on what's happening here in Fredericksburg. Also, professionals like myself on the real estate side. But this may also be a financial advisor and of course, a local mortgage lender. And there is several different reasons why I suggest using a local mortgage lender rather than a lender. With one of these big companies on the Davis record, I actually had an offer get accepted in a multiple offer situation, and one of the reasons why our offer was accepted is because we're working with a reputable local mortgage lender that was able to help ultimately seal the deal for us. And at this point, I would say it's extremely important that you put boots on ground in, get here to Fredricksburg and start driving around some of these neighborhoods that make sense on paper just so you know how they look, smell, taste, etc. you want to consider your lifestyle preferences and what amenities are important to you. Do you prefer a neighborhood within walking distance of Main Street, where all the restaurants entertainment is? Or a peaceful ranch setting with open spaces and nature trails? It is very important that you're actually here for this phase so you can drive around the neighborhoods like I said, or maybe even go on walks. You can visualize yourself living here. And again, it may not be your ultimate goal to find the perfect house during this phase, but what you want to do is really narrow it down to the last 1 or 2 neighborhoods that you really, really like that fit your needs and eliminate and get rid of the ones that you just don't like. Once you have finally narrowed it down to the 1 or 2 neighborhoods that really fit your wants and needs, it is now time to move on to the virtual tour phase. And at this point, you should have already picked your dream team is. And who's going to help guide you through the rest of this process. And maybe you're only an hour away from Fredricksburg and can drive here over the weekend, but for a bunch of you, you live out of state, and that's where the virtual tours is going to come into play and really are quite effective. So this will actually be done by me with my smartphone. And typically I like to start out on the street in the driveway so you can get a good sense of what the curb appeal looks like, but also what your neighbors look like. And then from there, I'll work my way into the home, where I'll point out any types of smells, deficiencies and moralities, but also point out any positives. But some of the other benefits of virtual tours are convenience and efficiency for you. My recorded virtual tours are available 24 over seven, which allow you to view the properties at your convenience. You're not limited to specific open house hours, making it easier to explore a wider range of options. Okay, so this leads us to the last phase, which is the home buying process. So if you do find a home virtually that you really like, here's what you should do. Especially in competitive markets, which we're finding ourselves in right now. More often than not, the best thing you could do is put in an offer and then come here to Fredericksburg during the option period. This is the period where you get your home inspection done. And just for your information, you're looking at anywhere between 300 and 70 5 to $500, depending on what all your getting inspected, but also how big the home is. So in this state of Texas, the option period when buying a home is a negotiated period and last anywhere between 7 to 10 days, during which you, as the buyer, can terminate this contract for whatever reason at all. If it's something you don't like on the inspection report, or maybe you can't come to terms with the seller on fixing something, or maybe even dropping the price. In lieu of these repairs, you can really just terminate this contract for whatever reason at all. We also call this your due diligence period. The biggest hurdle you'll have to get over during this entire process will be this option period. Because again, this is going to be the best time for you to actually get here to Fredricksburg. Do a walkthrough of the house, do walkthrough with the inspector, negotiate any repairs that need be done, and once you finally get past your due diligence, pretty much everything from here on out can be done virtually. Even when it comes to signing your closing docs, we can line up a mobile notary for you through the title company, which you can sign all the documents right there at your kitchen table no matter where you're at. For any of you who have bought a home here in Fredricksburg or anywhere around the Texas Hill Country, virtually, we all know that this process can be very stressful. So it's extremely important that you make sure that you have the right people on your team to help guide you through this big move. As always, if you're thinking about buying or selling anywhere around the Texas Hill Country, I would love to be your realtor of choice. All my contact information is above and down below in the description, and if you've already started this process, make sure you watch my next video, which is the Pros and Cons of Living here in Fredricksburg. We'll see you in the next video.