9 Keys To Buying Your First Luxury Home

When it comes to buying your first luxury home, whether it's a home on a lake or golf course, or a high-end condominium or townhouse, this is a chance to live your best life, to showcase your tastes and vision, and to live in high style and comfort.

And if you're buying your first luxury home, you undoubtedly have a lot of questions and concerns that you want to address before you start the home buying process.

If you're like most first-time luxury home buyers, you've already been through the home buying process once or twice. This may be your first luxury home, but it's the second or third home you've ever bought. Maybe you're expanding your family, or you want a home that better reflects your style and standards.

A luxury home is generally a long-term property. It's a place for your kids to grow up in and go to school. Or it's the place you buy after your kids have moved out, and you want to spend the next 20 years here.

Like most home buyers these days, you've started your research and you know what you're looking for, but you still need some help and guidance through the process just to save time, to find the right type of house, the right neighborhood, and to dot the i's and cross the t's.

So here are a few suggestions to help you as you're buying your first luxury home.

1. First of all, finding the ideal home often comes down to school districts. Most luxury home buyers have children, so being near good public schools or their private school is important. if you're going to home school, it also helps to be in an area that has the fastest possible Internet speeds, like a Google or AT&T fiber network.

Even if you don't have kids in school, it helps to find a luxury home in a good school district because that helps you with resale later on down the road. Homes in good school districts tend to appreciate higher and faster, and a knowledgeable realtor can help you find them.

2. Yard size is also a consideration. Families with children and animals often want a larger yard so their kids have space to run and play, while others may not want any yard, and will instead opt for a townhome or a condo so they can forgo the yard work and maintenance. And for some, having access to a lake or a golf course makes your yard feel so much bigger.

3. Location is another factor. Some people want a luxury home downtown so it's close to work and the cultural attractions a city has to offer and others want the quiet of the suburbs. Some want a place on the lake and others want to be on a golf course. And still others may want a place out in the country away from everything.

The location of your luxury home is just as important as the actual home itself, so it's important to talk to your realtor about your location as you begin your decision making process.

4. Be sure to take your guests and entertainment into account. Are you going to entertain a lot? Will you have frequent guests and overnight visitors? We have a lot of clients who come to us because they're empty nesters who want to move to Central Florida because of the attractions. Having a larger home can encourage kids and grandkids to come and visit for a couple of weeks.

5. Do as much research as you can. We have home buyers who, in addition to their online research, will go to open houses to look around. Of course, that's harder to do these days without taking proper precautions, but if you can make it to a few, it doesn't hurt to visit a couple, even if it's only to get a few ideas about the features and amenities you want.

6. Remember that luxury is more than just trendy. Luxury homes tend to be more subtle and understated, but the quality of the fixtures and appliances shine through. For example, the kitchen cabinets are usually custom-made by a local cabinet maker, not bought from the big box stores. The appliances aren't usually found in an appliance store — they're often European or gourmet kitchen-level quality, with names like Viking and Thermidor. There's a lot of very high quality flooring, bathroom fixtures, and granite or onyx countertops that are higher quality than just a builder's grade home.

A lot of luxury homes even have smart systems that can control everything from your music to your garage door opener to your grocery list. They have the latest in home audio and home theater equipment. And they have gourmet kitchens and resort-quality bathrooms.

7. Find an agent you can trust early on. If you haven't found an agent yet, talk to your friends and family. Ask them who they used and who they trust. You can also talk with people who are already consultants in the luxury field. For example, you probably already have a CPA you've worked with, and they're often connected with several luxury realtors. or an attorney, especially an estate planner, who is connected with several realtors. (And of course, your realtor can make those same kinds of recommendations to your service providers.)

Further, make sure your realtor is a luxury home buying expert. This is not just any regular house you're buying. There are details and issues that a regular realtor may not be aware of. For example, if your agent has never dealt with boat docks on lakefront properties or a media room with $100,000 in equipment, they may not know what kinds of questions you should be asking.

Luxury home agents are actually certified in luxury and have certain designations. They have to have the experience in order to qualify for those designations. At Keller Williams, Steven and Linda had to qualify to be a part of the luxury homes international division. So be sure you're working with a designated and certified luxury home buyer.

8. Get your pre-approval early. In many cases, you need to have your pre-approval letter from a financial advisor and a bank statement because a lot of listings won't let buyers in without it. It's especially more important these days: Pre-approval is required before you can even tour a house. This is something we didn't do before the pandemic, but these days it's almost always required.

9. Finally, make sure you work with a home inspector who has luxury experience. If you're buying a house on a lake, you want someone who can inspect not just the home, but the boat dock, the sea wall, and the lakefront. You need someone to inspect the sprinkler system, since a lot of sprinkler systems on lakes draw water from the lake to water the grass. You need someone who knows how to spot infestations and warning signs of expensive repairs. This is where working with an experienced luxury real estate agent helps, because we know those home inspectors and can connect you with them.

Enjoyed these insights and looking forward to more?  

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Steven Ritz, Buyer Specialist - Call 321-277-8271 or email here

Linda Sitek, Listing Specialist - Call 407-963-6544 or email here