How to Minimize Stress When Buying a Home in Boston

Things can get stressful quickly when buying a house in Boston.

To minimize stress, you should figure out your budget, find a home to match your needs, and prepare for negotiations. Buying a home is one of the most expensive purchases a person will make, so it makes sense the process can be fraught with worry.

First-time buyers and experienced homeowners alike can experience stress, but with the proper preparation, buying a home can be a fun and memorable experience. To help buyers get into the right mind space, the team at Prevu Real Estate put together some tips to reduce stress when buying your next place in Boston.

Refine your search

Don’t start a home search without narrowing down some neighborhoods first.

Boston is a diverse city, and each area has a distinctive flair. If you’re working in Back Bay and love the historic side of Boston, check out homes in Beacon Hill. But, if you love going out with friends for Italian food, check out condos in the North End.

Folks looking for quaint rowhomes that are removed from Downtown Boston can check out properties in Jamaica Plain. The number of options can seem endless, and if you set up a bunch of property tours all over Boston, you will likely stress yourself out trying to make it across the city.

The best option is to set up tours in a single neighborhood; that way, you can get a sense of what it would be like to live in the area as you travel from home to home.

Get pre-approved for a mortgage

The last thing you want is to realize you can’t afford to bid on that perfect Charlestown home.

Locking in your target neighborhoods helps get you started, but one of the best ways to reduce stress when buying your dream home is to identify your budget range. Speaking with a mortgage lender about financing your home purchase can help you do that.

Getting pre-approved for a home loan helps you set a budget, showing you your borrowing limit and how much you can afford in monthly payments. A pre-approval letter helps when dealing with sellers as it shows you have a financial backer at the ready.

A mortgage broker will review your income, look at your credit score and credit report, existing debts, list of assets, and general savings to determine your creditworthiness and decide how much they will loan you. They will also provide you with an estimate of closing costs—so you know what you’ll need to close.

It can be a good idea to meet with several lenders in Boston, as some may provide a higher loan amount or a better interest rate than competitors.

Work with an agent

If you are looking to shed the stress of finding a perfect house, it can be helpful to consider partnering with a local buyer’s agent. Their market expertise can help you narrow your search, potentially adding new neighborhoods to the mix you did not consider.

In addition to knowing about Boston home prices, a dedicated agent can provide info about the best ways to commute from your target areas, where the nearest grocery stores are, and where you can find a great cup of coffee.

When making an offer, your agent can do a comparative market analysis to determine the right price and terms to woo sellers—even in a bidding war. One of the best facets of working with an agent is having someone to streamline the paperwork and keep your deadlines in order from offer acceptance through closing.

Secure a commission rebate

Money can be a big source of stress throughout the home buying process.

But what if you could get money back from your agent when you get the keys to your new Boston home? Home buyers that work with the right buyer’s broker can get part of their commission refunded to them at closing.

Just as you should interview multiple mortgage lenders, you should meet with several real estate agents before choosing whom to work with. Ask about their local expertise, the deals they’ve done in the areas you’re interested in, and if they can offer you a commission rebate.

Sometimes called a commission refund, this tool enables a brokerage to provide a portion of their commission back to buyers after closing. Prevu offers the largest commission rebate in the Boston area with the company’s Smart Buyer Rebate.

Knowing you stand to receive money at closing can alleviate the stress of putting so much money into a transaction when house hunting. The extra funds can go towards rebuilding your savings or furnishing your home.

Don’t wait to make an offer

While touring homes can seem exhausting, waiting too long to make an offer can mean losing out on the deal. The longer a buyer waits, the more opportunity competition has to swoop in. The last thing you want in the homebuying process when you put an offer on a home is a bidding war.

Ideally, you want to get your budget in order, have your financing ready, and get an agent to work with so that when you find your perfect Seaport condo, you can act fast and get an accepted offer before another buyer shows up.

Interested in buying a home in the Boston area? Browse listings and see how much you can save with Prevu’s Smart Buyer Rebate.