Do your home work before you do your leg work.

Hello everyone, it has been a great summer if you where a buyer in the market for real estate here in the Poconos.  I have worked with many buyers in all diferent price ranges.   These buyers have a wide range of price, style of home and location, but all have one thing in common.  They weren’t sure the proper questions to ask themselves before actually putting time, energy, and leg work into the home hunting process.

With this in mind I decided to put together some tips to help potential home buyers in the Poconos (or anywhere) to reduce the time commitment of seeing homes that just aren’t what they are looking for and to make sure they know what order to use once they begin.  This list pertains to mostly secondary and vacation homes but can apply to full time homes as well.  So here goes:

1.    Get Pre-Qualified and Choose your price range.

Nothing worse than finding the house of your dreams putting together an offer and finding out from the lender you are not qualified for a home in that price range.  

Always do your financial research first.  Paying cash?  Using equity from your main home?  Or getting a traditional mortgage?  If a mortgage is the route you will go, as it is with most, I would always suggest getting a pre-approval from your bank or lender of choice before you even start looking for homes online.  Your REALTOR (cough, me) should be able to point you in the direction of a great lender that can pre-qualify you.  Talk to the lender about how much of a downpayment you will need, 10%? 15%? ect.  be sure you are prepared for the downpayment and closing costs associated with purchasing real estate.

This step is crucial, you may have a great grasp on your financial situation, but the bank may see things a bit diferently.  Before you put any leg work into the process, let the lender tell you what  you will qualify for then decide up to what point of that you want to go.  Just because they tell you your qualified up to $250,000 doesn’t mean thats what you should spend.

2.    Drive Time (Location of home):

If the home you are looking to purchase is a second home then you may want to consider the travel distance from the area you live full time.  Some areas of the Poconos could add thirty minutes or more to your drive time.  Some buyers don’t consider this at the onset of home hunting.

You have already chose the Poconos for your location, but what area?  If you decide early on what the maximum drive time you want you can eliminate driving to certain areas of the Poconos that may be to far.  Do you already have a particualr area of the Poconos in mind?  Maybe a community a family member or friend already has a home in?  If so, great, that takes a huge part of the puzzle out early on.  

If you don’t already know which area of the Poconos you want to focus your search on it is important to try and narrow your search a bit.  The Poconos span four counties that are dotted with literally hundreds of communities and neighborhoods.  When you find homes or communities you like, map out the route and drive time using Google Maps or an equivelent software.  This step can save you from taking time to see homes that are just to far if travel time is important to you.

3.     Community or no community:

Many of the communities the Poconos has to offer are what we call “gated recreational communities” which offer things such as gated entrances, security, pools, beaches, lakes clubhouses, tennis courts, ect.  Lot sizes in these types of communities are generally small ranging from a quarter acre to half an acre but they are generally very wooded and still give a scense of seclution and that feeling of being in the Pocono Mountains.  Here are a few communities that match this description:  The Hideout, Wallenpaupack Lakes Estates, and Hemlock Farms.

The next type of community are usually more private feeling, less homes and usually less amenities.  They are usually focused around a private, pristine mountain lake.  These types typically have a little more open space, larger lots and less homes.  Some communties that offer up this type of setting are, Panther Lake, Paupakan lake Estates, and Pocono Springs.

Then there are the homes that are not in a community setting at all.  These will look and feel more like full time homes, will still give the feeling of being in the Poconos, but generally offer no ammenities.  As with all homes in the Pocono region you are just a short drive to skiing, shopping, lakes and other Pocono activities.

Then of course I would like to talk about Lake Wallenpaupack real estate.  This is an area I specialize in and it should be a huge consideration for anyone looking for Pocono real estate.  Lake Wallenpaupack is a huge, man made lake that is 14 mile long and has 52 miles of shoreline.  This lake was created to generate electrical power for Pennsylvania Power and Light.  This gigantic lake offers up some of the Poconos best recreational activities.  Vacationers here enjoy power boating, water skiing, jet skiing, and sailing to name just a few activities.   With over 35 commuites dotting the shoreline and providing lake rights to this rare find, there is a community and location to match anyones taste.

As you can see, if you narrow down the type of community you are hoping for you can eliminate looking at homes that are in areas that aren’t right for you.  It is very important for you to decide which of these options sounds like a good fit.

4.    Home Features:

Once you have decided on the price range and the areas of the Poconos to focus on, the next step is to pick the size, style, and features you want in a home .   

Lets talk about the size fo the home.  Square footage is still king when  it comes to a homes value so there may be some limits depending on your price range.  You can get a 3 bedroom 2 bath home that is 1000 square feet or you can get a home that is 3 bedroom 2 bath and 2500 square feet.  Do you need more wiggle room and entertaining space?  Check the size of the family room, living room, and bedrooms.  Is a 11x10 bedroom large enough for you or do you need something more like 12x14?  Deciding what size of a home may be too small for you before you begin searching will eliminate time spent on homes that just don’t provide the space you need.

Would you like a full basement with the potential of creating more family space or is a home on a crawl space good enough?  Crawl spaces are generall tall enough for stotrage but not high enough for living space.  This can be a important decision.

Do you need two full bathrooms or is one full bathroom and one half bathroom enough?  A full bath has a commode, a tub with shower, and a vanity (sink).  A three quarter bath has commode, vanity and a shower stall.  While a half bath only has a commode and a vanity.  Some larger families or those that plan on having friends up for the weekend prefer two full bathrooms or atleast one full and one three quarter.

Do you prefer to have an official laundry room or is a laundry closet enough?  Most people buying a vacation home don’t mind having just a laundry closet, but everyones preference is unique.

Is having a garage of great importance?  A lot of secondary homes don’t have a garage, but of course there are plenty that do.  Keep in mind as a general rule.  Each bay of a garage can add approximatley $10,000 of added cost/value.

How about a fireplace?  Many vacation home buyers think a fireplace is a must.  is it important to you?

There are very few vacation homes with central air conditioning, will this be of importance to you?  Most people feel that these homes nestled in the woods stay cool enough, but it certainly is a matter of preference.

Do you prefer a newer home that feels modern or does a traditional cabin feel work for you?

As you can see, when it comes time to look for homes in The Poconos there are alot of things to consider.  This informastion should help take some unnesesasry leg work out of the process and help to keep you from looking at homes that aren’t right for you.  

I hope this information helps you going forward the the procpect of finding a Pocono home be sure to visit my website for a complete Pocono and Lake Wallenpaupack real estate experience.

• Rate this Post!

  Select Your Rating:

  • 5 Stars (Excellent!)
  • 4 Stars
  • 3 Stars
  • 2 Stars
  • 1 Stars (Poor)

• Share this Post

  Share With A Friend:

  Your Name Your Email

  Friend's Name Friend's Email

  Optional Message

  Send

• Print
• Social Bookmarking

  Add to Bookmarks: