Money Management

It can be frustrating to not be able to find a home when you’re ready to buy one. Check out five steps that could help you find a solution. 

If you are trying to buy a home, you may find yourself facing a market that’s not very favorable. As of July 2023, there was a 6.4% year-over-year decline in homes actively for sale. There was also a 9.1% decline in the total number of houses that remain unsold, which includes those that are under contract but haven’t yet closed. And, 20.8% fewer homes were newly listed in July compared to the prior year.

READ MORE: The Ascent’s Complete Guide to Mortgages

Homeowners are not selling homes for a number of reasons, including the fact that mortgage rates are high right now. People with low-rate loans likely don’t want to give up their affordable interest rate and be forced to take out a much more costly loan to buy a new place to live.

This is really bad news, though, if you’re looking for a place to live and you can’t find one. Once you’ve got your down payment saved and your financial ducks in a row, it’s frustrating not to be able to find a home to make an offer on. If that’s your situation, these four options could potentially help.

1. Wait it out

One option you have is to simply wait until something comes on the market. This isn’t a great option, necessarily, as you won’t be able to start building home equity until you’ve moved in — and you could be stuck living in limbo for months or even years as you wait to find something.

Still, there are benefits to just delaying — including that mortgage rates could come down in the meantime, which could ultimately make your purchase more affordable.

If you decide to wait it out, set up alerts on as many real estate sites as you can find so you know when new houses are listed. Most allow you to set specific parameters so you can be alerted if a house in a particular geographic area with a specific price and a set of desired features comes up for sale. This way, you’ll be sure to find a house ASAP if one comes on the market.

2. Expand your search

You could try becoming more flexible in what you’re looking for as well, which could help you find new homes. This could mean looking in a wider geographic area, or being willing to compromise on more features of the house such as the number of bedrooms or an updated kitchen.

While expanding your search can make sense, don’t compromise on things that really matter to you. You don’t want to make your commute longer, for example, as this could impact your daily happiness. You also don’t want to buy a home that’s too expensive, as stretching your home-buying budget could be a major regret. Keep your housing costs to about 25% of your income so you have money left over for other things.

3. Approach people whose homes aren’t on the market

You don’t necessarily have to wait for a home to be listed for sale in order to buy it. You can approach people whose homes aren’t actually for sale.

I found the house I’m currently buying by looking for homes in my desired area for rent, approaching the owners, and asking them to sell to me. You can also look up the addresses of homes in your desired area to see if any were on the market in the recent past but have come off. The “Property History” section of homes will show when they were listed, what they were priced at, and when they were withdrawn. You can contact the owners whose homes went on and off the market and see if they may still be interested in selling.

Attending open houses in neighborhoods you’re interested in is another possible option even if you don’t like the specific house. Some neighbors might come and you can alert them you’d like to buy in the area if they’re interested in selling. Or, if all else fails, you can try sending letters to people in your desired areas and letting them know you’re looking and to contact you if they might want to move soon.

4. Consider a new build

If you can’t find a house you like that’s already for sale, building one yourself could be a possibility. You would need to find land and a builder, though, and new construction homes tend to cost about 5% to 10% more than existing houses.

Of course, the benefit of a new house is that you can get exactly what you want and will have a home warranty to protect against any major repairs for a while. Just be sure you stay within your budget and research builders carefully to find one with a solid reputation for building a quality house at an affordable price.

Trying out these techniques could hopefully help you to find a house that’s right for you — even during these difficult times when the market isn’t in a buyer’s favor.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Buying a home in an HOA neighborhood might mean you’re subject to some extreme rules. Find out why I decided those restrictions were worth it for me. 

Soon, I’ll be moving into an HOA neighborhood. I have repeatedly vowed I would never live in one again, but I actually ended up going the complete opposite direction and buying a home in a place with the most extreme homeowners association I’ve ever lived under.

Here are some of the rules I’ll have to comply with when I buy my new house.

1. Any exterior changes to your house must go to a vote

If you want to make any exterior modifications to any public areas of your house in my new neighborhood, you must get prior approval first.

That’s a pretty common HOA rule, but our neighborhood is particularly strict. You have to submit an application detailing the current colors and any proposed changes if you want to paint or put a new roof on. You must provide info about what contractor will do the work, as well as exactly what brand and color of materials you are using.

There are some colors that are approved in the neighborhood. If you paint with one of them, you may be able to get expedited approval. If you want to use colors outside the approved palette, a meeting must be scheduled and a vote must be taken before you’ll be allowed.

2. Window coverings must be white or natural wood

My new neighborhood association doesn’t just care what color I paint my house or what shingles I put on my roof. It also wants to make sure window coverings are up to par as well.

Specifically, any windows visible from the streets, alleys, or any public areas must be blinds, shades, shutters, or curtains. And the color facing the street must be white, or natural wood if shutters are chosen.

3. Dead plants are a no-no

If you don’t have a green thumb, you might have trouble with my neighborhood association. See, if you happen to have a plant on your porch that dies, you must replace it promptly with a living one.

4. Garbage cans can’t stay out too long

If you’re taking out your trash, you must be on a strict schedule in my neighborhood. All garbage cans must be kept out of sight until trash day, and you can’t place the cans outside before 7 p.m. on the night before your designated pickup date.

Why am I willing to put up with this?

While all HOAs have rules, some have more restrictions than others. And for a long time, I chafed at the idea that I could get an entire mortgage and pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a home just to be told what to do with it.

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The reality, though, is when I visit this neighborhood, I adore the look and feel of it. It’s one of the prettiest places I’ve ever been; it just has a special feeling to it. Every street is wonderful to walk on, and the location can’t be beat. And the reason the neighborhood has this perfect feel is because of the strict rules.

See, HOAs have a lot of downsides, including that you pay fees and are subject to restrictions. But if you want to ensure a neighborhood has a certain style and maintains a certain minimum standard of upkeep, then they are a necessity.

Before you buy a home in an HOA neighborhood, though, you need to think very carefully about whether the tradeoff is worth it. Do you want to give up autonomy in your home in exchange for a board that maintains neighborhood quality (and property values)?

Ultimately, only you can make this decision. But as someone who swore off HOAs, you may be surprised to find that the perfect neighborhood just happens to change your mind.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Can shopping at Sam’s Club save you money over Walmart? Read on to find out. 

Inflation is still a lingering problem for many people. If it’s been wreaking havoc on your finances, then you may be considering a Sam’s Club membership.

Though you’ll spend $50 a year on a basic membership to Sam’s Club, and $110 a year for a Plus membership that gives you cash back on your purchases, it may be a worthwhile investment. A Sam’s Club membership could result in massive savings on the items you buy to keep your household running.

Then again, Walmart, which owns Sam’s Club, is also a great source of low-cost products and essentials. And you may be pleased at the savings you’re able to reap by shopping there.

It raises the question: Is Sam’s Club really so much cheaper than Walmart that it’s worth a membership? And the answer is, it depends.

Sam’s Club wins for bulk purchases

You’ll find a world of discounts at Sam’s Club compared to big-box retailers like Walmart. But the true savings tend to arise in the context of bulk purchases. The quantity discounts you can get at Sam’s Club are really hard to beat.

Let’s imagine your kids really love Kit Kats. If you were to buy them individually at Walmart, you’d pay $1.32 apiece. But a bulk pack of 36 Kit Kats at Sam’s Club is $33.98 online, or $0.94 per pack (and you might even find a lower price at your local warehouse club store). And while 36 packs is a lot, if you know you’ll go through that much candy before it goes bad, then it’s hard to argue with the savings.

Walmart may be cheaper for individual items

When it comes to groceries and household essentials, Sam’s Club will generally win out over Walmart in terms of price because you’re getting a discount for buying in bulk. But this doesn’t mean Sam’s Club always has the less expensive price.

For example, right now, Sam’s Club has boys’ swim trunks available for $9.98. But at Walmart, you can find boys’ swim trunks for as low as $7.80. However, this is one example, and there are many individual items carried by Sam’s Club that are less expensive than at Walmart.

So if you’re not sure whether it pays to join Sam’s Club, you really need to ask yourself one question: How often do I expect to take advantage of bulk discounts?

If you have a larger family and plenty of storage space at home, then you may be more likely to purchase bulk items frequently. And that makes the case for getting a Sam’s Club membership. But if you don’t expect to do much bulk buying, then you may want to save yourself the membership fee and simply scope out sales at Walmart and your regular supermarket instead.

A Sam’s Club membership can easily pay for itself via the savings you enjoy on groceries and other essentials. But if you’re not going to be doing much bulk buying, then you might end up wasting your money by committing to that $50 or $110 annual fee.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Maurie Backman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Walmart. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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