How to Land Your Dream Home in Austin
Owning a home in Austin, at the edge of Texas Hill Country, has many perks.
There is so much to love about this city. An eclectic music scene, amazing parks on the Colorado River (fondly referred to as Lady Bird Lake), and fantastic food choices, including some of the best award-winning Texas BBQ you’ll ever find, are just a few reasons setting roots in Austin is worthwhile. Whether you are buying land to build a house or want to find your dream home among properties for sale, you can find it in Austin.
Yet the journey to finding the perfect home can be daunting, especially if you are new to the area. To help put buyers on the right path, the team at Prevu Real Estate put together a guide on how to land your dream house in Austin.
Save early
One of the best ways to win your dream home in Austin is to start saving early and often. A strong savings account gives you the financial stability to make a powerful offer.
Aim to cover the down payment and closing costs, and make sure you save extra money for several months of expenses. The extra cushion can be the difference between making the winning offer and losing out on your dream home. If you are building a home, you can save money as you search for a piece of land where your future home will sit.
Start by making a budget that works for you and set aside income for a home-buying fund. You can also explore down payment assistance programs to help you prepare for costly down payments.
Folks looking to purchase a newly built home will find good inventory to choose from as well as occasional builder incentives to help with closing or upgrade costs.
Get pre-approved for a mortgage
Getting pre-approved for a mortgage shows sellers you have financial backing from a lender and can move quickly through a sale. You will want to shop across different lenders, figuring out which one can offer you the best terms on monthly interest payments.
Lenders will want to see your financial history, so get your W-2s and lists of assets ready. While the lender combs through your background, you can search for homes and find an agent to partner with.
Hire an agent that provides a commission rebate
When you are out to buy a resale or a newly built home, you want an expert buyer’s agent at your side as you explore homes in Austin.
Many will have years of experience working in Austin, but only some agents can also offer you a commission rebate.
Sometimes called a commission refund, this practice allows your broker to provide you a portion of their broker commission. For instance, buyers working with Prevu can receive a rebate of up to 2% of the purchase price when they get the keys to their new home.
In addition to helping you prepare an offer on an East Austin home, agents that provide a commission rebate can help you rebuild your savings when you close.
Property alerts help you make the first move
When that perfect Hill Country home near Lake Travis hits the market, you want to know first. Luckily, in today’s age of technology, it has never been easier to track when new listings hit the market.
For example, Prevu’s digital buying platform lets you set up automated property alerts. By entering your preferred home criteria and neighborhood, the platform does the heavy lifting, letting you know when matching homes are for sale.
You can then use the platform to connect with a local agent and place an offer, all from the convenience of your smartphone or computer.
Act quickly when you find a home
While there are plenty of tools to streamline buying a home, the most powerful one is acting fast.
When you find that picture-perfect home in East Cesar Chavez, you want to place an offer before the competition. The longer you put it off, the higher the chance another buyer slips a deal in, forcing you to make a higher bid.
Plus, if you quickly place an offer and have a pre-approved mortgage in hand, sellers will know you can move fast on a transaction.
Interested in buying a home in Austin? Browse listings and see how much you can save with Prevu’s Smart Buyer Rebate.
