5 Tips For A Great Home Search

ARE YOU READY TO START YOUR HOME SEARCH?

We Would Love to Help You!

Searching for your new home is one of the most important (if not the most important) part of the buying process. It's important to make sure that you understand the market and that you've explored all of your options. If you follow these 5 steps, you will feel very confident in your decision.

Set Your Price Range
Arguably the most important criteria for your home search is your price range. The best way to determine how much you would like to spend is to speak with a lender, who will tell you how much you can purchase based on how much you will put down and what you want your monthly mortgage payment to be. Once you know your price range, we recommend only viewing properties that you can realistically purchase at or under that price.
Define Your Home’s Criteria
We recommend creating a list of “must haves” and a list of “nice to haves”. When you look at homes online, only consider homes that have 100% of your “must haves” and find homes with as many of your “nice to haves” as you can. “Must Haves” are criteria like size, bedrooms, bathrooms, & year built. “Nice to Haves” are usually things that can be changed like type of flooring, paint colors, and other finish out.
Consider Different Areas & Neighborhoods
We like to cast a wide net at the beginning of your search and look at as many neighborhoods that fit your criteria as possible. We will usually set your geographic criteria based on commute, distance to entertainment, and/or schools. As your search progresses, we can usually take some areas/neighborhoods off of your list and focus only on your favorite neighborhoods.
Organize Your Search Online
It’s great for you to search online on your own, but we will also set up detailed searches for you through the MLS. The MLS is a central database of every listing any agent in Austin has on the market. It gives us a powerful search that allows us to set very detailed criteria and is the most accurate & current source for listings (and sold data) available. We will set up an online portal where you can save favorites & possibilities, make notes, and share all of this with us and/or your partner. This will help us organize your search and be as efficient as possible when we go out to physically look at properties.
Take as Much (or Little) Time as You Need
Most people spend 1-3 months searching for their home, but that’s not a hard rule. We’ve worked with buyers who have picked out their new home in a weekend, and we’ve worked with buyers who have taken 6+ months to find their new home. You want to make sure that you are confident that you understand the market and that you have explored all of your options. As soon as you feel that way, you will be ready to make an offer on the right home.

AFTER YOU’VE FOUND YOUR HOME, IT’S TIME TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE BUYING PROCESS.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BUYING PROCESS

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Buyer Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

Contract to Close

The Buying Process

The Mortgage Process

The Seasonality of the Market

Why Bramlett Partners?

Is Austin Real Estate Overpriced?

Why did the Austin Real Estate Market Boom?

What Happens to Austin Real Estate in a Downturn?

Contract Considerations When in Multiple Offers

Texas Escalation Clauses & Austin Real Estate

Common Repairs Found During Inspections

Moving to Austin: Housing Guide

New Home Warranties: Potential Problems

5-Star Service

JC was very helpful during the process of buying my first home. He directed me to lenders that truly had my best interest at heart. I almost made a few bad decisions that JC was there to wave off for me. I truly appreciate JC's responsiveness to ALL of my many questions and his willingness to be a sounding board for my frustrations in the process. I still hear from JC from time to time ensuring that I am happy with my home and letting me know of up and coming business in my area that might affect my property value. I will absolutely be using JC to purchase my next home.

Christopher Penaloza

JC Adams

JC does a great job with attention to detail and ensuring he has answers to your questions as you navigate the process of a home purchase. JC understands the process of the transaction in a home purchase and makes sure the details are covered.

LanceLunsford

JC Adams

Ruth helped us to view many houses and (over months) to make multiple offers in a really, really tough market for buyers. Our low bids were our own fault! Ruth's guesses are always spot on. We finally had a bid accepted last month, and Ruth helped us re-negotiate after significant problems were discovered. Ruth has gone above and beyond for us, giving us far more time during this long search than we could reasonably have expected. She even helped us look for a rental when we'd basically given up. Her advice has always been immensely valuable and brutally honest. She is the most knowledgeable agent I've met on the Central Austin market. She also handled our stress well, and believe me, buying in Austin right now is stressful!

Christopher Dunn

Ruth E. Powers | Buyers

Excellent service and follow through. Very professional!

Jerry Nash

Kristen Balke

I highly recommend Kristen for all real estate needs.

Steve Sanders

Kristen Balke

I had a great experience working with Bramlett Partners Real Estate. Jean Holm was my agent and she & her team made the whole process very simple. She explained everything very well, was knowledgeable, had great advice, and got our home sold. Definitely reccomend!

Danielle Hughes

Jean Holm | Buyers

I worked with Jeremy Vandermause to buy my first home. Jeremy was so patient throughout the process (which I definitely dragged out as I gathered all the facts). He consistently sent me homes I was interested in and was eager to show them off, and on the odd occasions where I found one he hadn't already seen he always made himself available to walk through with me. He was very helpful in those walkthroughs pointing out home features I would have missed, or providing context on neighborhood. As a native Austinite, he definitely knows the history and cultural fabric of the city and each neighborhood. I started with close to zero knowledge of the home-buying process and Jeremy walked me through every step with clarity and patience. So excited about the home I now own! Plus, he's just a legit cool dude. I always really enjoyed our conversations and could tell from the start he was someone worth knowing in Austin

Jeremy K

Jeremy K |

This review is about Joe Gage, their real estate agent. I'm based in Sam Francisco and was looking for investment property in Austin. I tried out three different agents based on recommendations from different sources, including Yelp. Joe clearly stands out. He's very patient and responsive. I'm not familiar with the area at all thus had a lot of questions. His email reply contains detailed information of the neighborhood, including shops nearby, schools and so on. He regularly screen houses and give recommendations once he sees a good fit for investment house offered at reasonable price. He's very knowledgeable about the area. All his recommendations comes with details around why he thinks it's a good investment and sales/rental data in the neighborhood to justify the price he thinks it's worth as well as the expected rental income. I found him to be very methodical and organized. He's not a typical sales person. Maybe this is because he used to be an accountant. Needless to say he earned our trust and we went with him to make the purchase. I was very impressed through the whole process. He's very calm and never pushy. His recommendation on the bid price was right on and he was very good at following up with various parties to push things through. The process went through very smoothly. If anyone is looking for a good real estate agent in Austin, I'd recommend Joe whole-heartedly. His professionalism and calm personality make him a real pleasure to work with.

Jian M.