When it comes to buying a Chicago home, the time of year can affect your entire experience! Sure, it’s more fun to look at homes when the weather is nice and the flowers are in bloom. But if you bundle up and brave the cold, you could save time and money in the purchase process. You can also spot weather-related home condition issues that could escape notice during warmer months. Here are winter home buying advantages you should know about!
1. Motivated sellers. Winter sellers are serious about getting a deal closed! They are less likely to experiment with asking prices. With fewer buyers in the market during the winter, sellers are more receptive to purchase offers and negotiations.
2. Home prices trend lower overall during the coldest months of the year. Home demand is lower due to fewer buyers in the market, which helps soften prices.
3. Homes spend more time on the market during winter. This gives buyers breathing room to consider their options.
4. Industry professionals have more time to help you. Mortgage companies, title companies, real estate attorneys, home inspectors, appraisers and real estate agents have more room in their schedules during the winter months. This means quicker response times in the home buying process, and less chance of closing delays!
5. You will see how a neighborhood responds to winter weather. How bad is the street when it snows? What’s the parking situation like? Do people clear their sidewalks? You can learn a lot about a neighborhood and the immediate block by looking at homes during winter!
6. You will see how homes handle winter. Cold, snowy weather is a reality of Chicago winters. Any house can look pretty in the summer, but winter reveals the warts. For example, when you walk through a home, verify if all of the heat vents are working. Are some rooms colder than others? Can you feel a draft by the doors and windows? Does the furnace behave itself? Check the home exterior, too. If there are large icicles hanging from the roofline, that could indicate a problem. If snow is melting off the roof in random patches, there could be a problem with the attic insulation, etc. You’ll want your home inspector to check everything out, but it pays to be observant while you’re there!
Get a Home Buying Education from StartingPoint Realty!
StartingPoint Realty has served the Chicago area since 2004! We offer free, first-time home buyer seminars every month, without any sales pitches or obligation. We offer free home selling seminars too! Contact us for your free home buying or home selling consultation!
Ryan Gable Broker/CEO Starting Point Realty
Phone: 847.348.1154
Email: RyanGable@startingpointrealty.com
https://startingpointrealty.com/
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