Advice from an Online Sales Specialist

Are you ready to take the leap into homeownership? 2022 is the perfect time to buy and build your dream home. From identifying your perfect West Michigan or Greater Lansing area community to aligning your future home with your individual lifestyle, Eastbrook Homes has the experience and resources you need to get started on your home journey. 

Eastbrook Homes Sales Specialist Christine Minzlaff recently sat down with Eric Hultgren of MLIVE Media Group to discuss her favorite tips, tricks, and words of advice for those looking to buy or build a new home this year. Armed with years of Eastbrook Homes experience, Christine specializes in walking each homeowner through the most important steps and questions to ask during the homebuying process. Join us as we dive into her favorite best practices or scroll down to listen to the full episode. 

Explore Your Needs

The first thing every potential homebuyer needs to do is narrow down what they want, what they need, and what they can afford. Start by getting a pre-approval to help level-set and determine the home investment range that works best for you. Don’t forget to take a look at your monthly household budget and update your figures to include any moving expenses, changes to property taxes, or homeowner’s association costs. 

Once you have a good idea of what your homebuying budget looks like, start pinning down your lifestyle needs. Do you want to live in a low-maintenance townhome, or is a large yard important to you? Are you looking for a large, friendly-family community or are you seeking a smaller community with easy access to major highways? Are you looking to add more space to your home or downsize? Each of these questions will help define a shortlist of must-haves to help hone in on which community, home type, and home plan works best for you and your lifestyle. 

Pro Tip: Are you local to Grand Rapids or the Greater Lansing area? Eastbrook Homes has communities throughout Michigan and we’d love for you to experience them in real-time! Take a relaxing drive through any one of our communities to get a feel for the layout, location, home types, and available amenities. Not local? No problem! Our website features GPS links, photos, and videos of each Eastbrook Homes community. Our Sales Specialists can connect you to local school districts, detail nearby attractions, and paint a picture of the communities for you. We’re also happy to organize a Zoom call and walk you through any of our communities virtually! Connect with us here to learn more!

Meet Your Team

Once you have a clear picture of the type of home you want, the communities you’re attracted to, and your financial investment range, it’s time to connect with the pros! Eastbrook Homes Sales Specialists are just an email or phone call away and can expertly guide you through the next phase of the homebuying process. 

Your Sales Specialist will start by asking you a few discovery questions to get a good feel for what you want and need. They’ll help you identify your motivation behind purchasing a new home, whether you’re looking to move closer to family, expand your home to accommodate a growing family, or build personal equity. From there, they’ll isolate your dream home features, including size, amenities, distance from local attractions, community size, and budget needs. You’ll need to decide if you’d like to build your own home or choose from one of the many move-in-ready homes Eastbrook has available for 2022. 

Pro Tip: Now more than ever, people are thinking differently about their homes. We’re spending more time at home working, learning, and socially distancing. Take time to consider how your needs have changed and how your home can provide for those needs in terms of size (like a designated home office), function (finished basement for family game night), and features (large yard for recreation and outdoor living).  

Experience Eastbrook

One final homebuying tip from Christine is to take advantage of Open Houses. Eastbrook Homes Open Houses are a great way to step inside your future dream home and experience everything Eastbrook has to offer firsthand. Meet with our Expert Sales Agents and ask those important questions, like whether the community hosts any special events, where the best local restaurants can be found, and where the favorite hiking spots are. Take your time to walk through our model homes and touch the countertops, open the cabinets, and check out the finishes in person. Ask about customization options, landscaping plans, and access to amenities. Physically drive around the community to get a feel for what it’s like to live there. Eastbrook Homes Open Houses are a no-pressure way to get answers to important questions and get a great feel for the location, community, and home. 

Have additional questions? Reach out to an Eastbrook Homes Sales Specialist like Christine to get all the answers you need. Send us your questions through our online messaging center, give us a call, or email us to learn more about The Eastbrook Homes Difference and how with Eastbrook, you’ll always get more home for the money.