Main Content
Blog
Blog Details
Plan A Staycation!
Figuring out where to move?
Looking for a home can be a frustrating task. Let alone having tons of options sometimes. Living in LA you have a variety of neighboring cities that are all very different and unique, so figuring out which one fits your lifestyle can be a challenge… Especially if some of these cities are unknown to you.
Let’s be honest,
Typically when you find a home you love, the process goes by pretty quickly. Chances are, you love it, so do 10 other parties. You submit an offer right away after seeing photos, a video if you’re lucky, and 10 minutes spent at an open house. Then Bam, you’re the lucky winner and your offer gets accepted! During the time of Escrow you get to see the property a couple more times for inspections and walk through’s, then here are your new keys.
What a rush, but what did you get your self into, did you really get a full feel of the home or what it’d be like living there before buying it? Or were you just rushed into a situation where you’ll make it work?
Being experienced in working with lots of first time home buyers, we are very much hand holders throughout the process. We start by giving our clients a heads up before the home search, a property may pop-up that you love and you have to ask yourself are you willing to quickly make a move on it or do you want to do your research and take your time? How do you want the process to go. That is important before moving forward so we can be on the same page.
Second, we recommend visiting desired prospects a few times, during open houses, scheduling 2nd or 3rd appointments at various times of the day, driving by the house during the morning, afternoon and night to get a feel for the traffic, the lifestyle, etc.
These will give you a better understanding of what is in the neighborhood is like, what is in the community, how the drive would be to and from your potential new home. Things buyers often don’t think they have the time to research before submitting an offer.
Would you get a tattoo after only seeing the photo once? Probably not. You’d probably screen save it on your phone to look at it every day before permanently adding it to your body. Would you buy a car just by driving pass a car lot? Likely you’d want to test drive it, check out other options, take your time.
A home is one of the most important and valuable purchases you’ll make in your lifetime, so do the same and take the necessary pre-cautions as well.
Say you know you want to buy your first home on the West Side of LA. You love the beach, buy you live in Santa Monica and everyone knows if you live in Santa Monica you stay in your bubble and don’t venture out because frankly it has everything you need locally. But you can’t afford it. So you search neighboring cities like Playa Vista, Marina Del Rey, WestChester, Venice even.
One tip we give our clients when they are deciding which city to move to is this… if you have the opportunity do what we call a staycation in a city of interest. Take a weekend and AirBnB a house in the area you are looking to move. You don’t need to break the bank, but look at it as an investment. That way you get to stay in a home in the neighborhood, live in it, come home to and leave from it, all for more than 10 minutes. During that weekend you will be live in the hustle and bustle of the town. Walk around, explore, check out shops, and eat out. You will feel the morning vibe to the nightlife craze.
You will get a full experience in a weekend and I can promise you that you will 100% have an idea if you do or don’t want to live in that neighborhood.
This even bodes well for foreign investors. Why stay in a hotel, AirBnB lists multi-million dollar properties as well. Stay in an amazing Malibu beach house or a home with a view in the Hollywood Hills.
Test drive is the key.
Login With
Or Sign Up With Disqus