It’s hot. I mean bad attitude, fry egg on the sidewalk, A/C goes out hot! The kind of hot we talk about 20-years from now. So if we are smart we prepared for it once we saw the forecast. Side note…You are welcome heating and air company who I will have to call when my A/C goes out, because I did not call to get my system checked BEFORE the heat wave rolled in. Now back to the blog…What does preparing in-tell?

• Getting A/C system checked
• Maybe going to get a few fans
• Remind family to keep lights off, conserve power because power usage is going to go up, keep blinds/shades down, NO DOORS LEFT OPEN
• Have a plan for your pets and elderly family members

Preparing makes sense (just ask the Boy Scouts). That way when the heat got here…you were ready! If we stop to think about…we prepare for a lot of things in life:

• Vacations
• Retirement
• School
• Meetings
• Colonoscopy (that’s just inappropriate…I should NOT have mentioned that…I actually saw you all cringe when you read that)
• Presentations

You get it…we are used to preparing AND if we don’t? Well…things may not go as smoothly as we would like. So why, oh why do we start house shopping BEFORE we know what we can afford? It saves time, it helps manage expectations, it can open up possibilities and options, it can save frustrations, etc… Knowing what you can and cannot afford is never a bad thing.

Getting pre-qualified is almost like…well…being PREPARED!

Once you have done that you and your Realtor will know what part of town to look in, what square footage is appropriate, what features you can look for and how to prioritize them. Nothing worse than going to look at a house, loving it, the neighborhood, the location and then realizing you can’t afford it. AND how exciting it is to have a price in mind and then to find out you can afford that upgrade, that neighborhood near the school you like, etc… Being prepared gives you focus and makes the process better.

If you are working with a good real estate agent or Realtor they will tell you….let’s get you pre-qualified. It helps everyone. So the moral of this story….colonoscopies are NO fun! Wait…sorry…it’s being prepared.

Peoples Home Equity helps folks and families just like yours every month get ready to start the house buying process. See if they can help you too! 6650 East Brainerd Road * 423-591-9801 * www.chattmortgage.com * ‘The Buyers Market’ radio show WGOW Talk Radio 102.3fm Mondays 7pm * facebook at Peoples Home Equity Chattanooga.