As one of the fastest growing areas in America, Metro Atlanta offers a bustling real estate market with a wide range of neighborhoods. If you’re not personally familiar with the area, it is easy to get overwhelmed by the choices. If you’re thinking about purchasing a home in Atlanta, whether for your personal residence or as an investment property, you can make the process go more smoothly by preparing ahead of time. Here are some important first steps to take when planning to buy Atlanta real estate.
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Get Pre-Qualified
Due to the large area of coverage and the sheer number of properties available at any time in Atlanta, you’ll save yourself a lot of time and energy by knowing in advance how much home you can afford. If you’re planning to take out a mortgage for your new home, getting pre-qualified by a lender is a fairly simple process that helps you narrow your search down to properties within your budget.
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Make A Wish List (or two)
The next step when planning to buy Atlanta real estate is to list the specific features you’re looking for in a home or property—for example, how many bedrooms/bathrooms do you need? Are you looking for an urban townhouse, or a home in the suburbs? Are there any features you can’t do without (e.g., fireplace, attached garage, big yard)? It often helps to make two lists—one that consists of “must-haves” and one that consists of optional extras—to help you narrow the search criteria down when house hunting.
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Research Atlanta Neighborhoods
Atlanta is a diverse metropolitan area with many neighborhoods, each with its own distinct personality. You’ll want to do a bit of research to figure out which parts of town are best suited to your needs and wants, and begin scoping out possible properties in those neighborhoods. Do you want to live “Intown” in one of Atlanta’s more established neighborhoods, or are you looking for someplace “Outside the Perimeter” (OTP)? As a basic rule of thumb, the further out you get from Downtown, the more home you may get for the money; however, that trend can be overridden by some of the metro’s more popular areas (for example, Buckhead).
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Hire An Experienced Atlanta Real Estate Agent
Finally, when planning to buy Atlanta real estate, it’s a good idea to hire a real estate agent with plenty of experience in the Metro Atlanta area, someone with intimate knowledge of the neighborhoods who can help steer you toward homes that tick the boxes on your wish lists while staying within your budget. At Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty, our agents are extremely knowledgeable of the housing market in Atlanta, and we’d love the opportunity to help you find your dream home! When you’re ready to start your search, give us a call at 404.237.5000.