You may be coming up on the end of your apartment lease. Or you may be years out from even thinking about buying a home. Or you may have lived in your own home for quite some time now. No matter where you are in your housing journey, the question of when to talk to a real estate agent is one that you’re likely to ask somewhere along the way.
If You’re Renting
If you’ve browsed my web site at all, you’ll notice that I am not anti-renting. I rented while I was in college and in the first year of my marriage. So, on this real estate blog, there is #noshame in your renting game. 🙂 But maybe you’re considering making the transition into home buying. Where do you even start? And when?
Well, I personally would say that at any time in your tenancy, you can start talking to an agent. A good agent is not going to ask you to break your lease early, so it’s never too early to talk to an agent. An agent can connect you with a lender if you will need home financing (AKA if you’re not an all-cash buyer), so if you are not currently in a financial position to buy a home, the lender can give you some steps to take so that by the time your lease is up, you will be in a better position to buy a home.
The same goes for if you are just a month or two away from the end of your lease. Buying a home is rarely a quick process. Many times, after you’ve gotten under contract (which can take months in a competitive seller’s market), you will still need about a month to get to closing. So, starting the conversation about buying benefits you if you start at least several months out from the end of your lease.
If You’re Needing to Sell First
Well, maybe you’ve bought a home before, and you’ve been living in it for a while. But now, it’s time for a change. You’re thinking about buying a new place, but you know you need to sell first. How do you go about this process? And when?
There are so many different options for how to go about selling your house while concurrently buying a new one (we’ll save that for another blog post!). But ultimately, a good time to start talking to a real estate agent at this stage is when you first start thinking about it. A good agent will likely advise you to talk with your lender about your options (if you have a balance on your mortgage). They may go over different options, such as a home equity line of credit or what a contingency contract would mean for you financially. After you and your lender talk about what is best for your financial position is a prime time to have that serious conversation with an agent to discuss a plan.
The Bottom Line
A good agent will not force you to buy a house before you’re ready. So, if you are unsure about the entire process but are just curious about what it would look like, still pick up the phone and contact your agent! I know I personally am always up for a good ol’ real estate conversation, even if it means you’re not ready to buy for months or years from now.
So where does that leave you? Are you ready to have a noncommittal, enlightening conversation about buying a home? Fill out my contact form below, and I’ll chat with you soon. 🙂
