How to buy a house fast: Tour, then transact

Suppose you’ve agreed to relocate to a faraway community at the request of your employer. You’ve researched your destination, chosen a REALTOR®, identified some homes that might meet your needs, and made a checklist of your home-shopping priorities. Next, you’ll be ready for your house-hunting trip, during which you’ll tour for-sale houses, select the one that you want to purchase and try to make an attractive offer to the seller.

Be ready to act

One of the biggest challenges of buying a home in a hurry is being ready to transact when you embark on your house-hunting trip. You’ll want to know your budget, be preapproved for a mortgage, be familiar with the basics of a typical real estate transaction, and be willing to trust your Realtor’s advice about the local housing market. You won’t have time to waffle, hesitate, dilly-dally or even sleep on your decisions.

Having to act in a hurry means you might feel a heightened sense of remorse or start second-guessing yourself after you’ve made your decision. Those responses are natural and don’t necessarily mean you made a poor decision or bought the "wrong" house.

Take your time

Even savvy and experienced home buyers can become exhausted and overwhelmed if they try to tour a dozen houses in one day. Limit yourself to no more than, say, half-a-dozen properties on each day of your trip, and be sure to allow plenty of time before you leave town to decide which home you want to buy and make an offer. If you’re house-hunting with your spouse, stow your temper and bring along plenty of patience.

If you find a house that fits your budget and meets your needs, it’s okay to forgo your tour of other properties and focus on that house. Don’t keep looking just because there are more possibilities on your list.

On the flip side, if you don’t find any houses that meet your needs, you might want to rent a home when you first move to your new community. Remember, it’s easier to exit a temporary rental than it is to sell a property that wasn’t suitable for your needs.

If no one house is the obvious choice, but you still want to choose among a number of possibilities, focus on your priorities and your must-haves checklist: Is a certain school district a requirement? Which properties are closest to your workplace or convenient transportation routes? Which house would best suit your lifestyle? If you plan to relocate again within a few years, you might want to consider the likely resale value of the properties as well.

Make a strong offer

Make an attractive offer for the house you’ve selected because if the seller doesn’t accept your offer, you won’t have time to start over and negotiate another deal. Offer a fair price, avoid unnecessary contingencies and don’t nitpick over defects you can repair after you’ve bought your new home.