Findings the perfect home to buy can be a very exciting process full of ups and downs, and twists and turns. Whenever possible, you should enlist the help of professionals such as a licensed real estate agent to assist you with this process. Whether this is your first home, your fifth home, or something in between, a licensed professional will be invaluable to you.
Before you start looking at homes, you need to assess your financial situation and determine the price range of homes that fit your budget. Knowing your price range ahead of time can save you a lot of heart ache in the end. If you assume that your budget is $400,000 and you start looking at homes in that price range, and then later discover that you are qualified for $300,000, you will most likely have a difficult time finding a home that you love. Make sure you know your financial situation before you ever look at your first home.
Tell your real estate agent exactly what you’re looking for. Be specific when you are describing what you must have to your agent. For example, if you must have at least three bedrooms and two full bathrooms, make sure your agent understands your requirements. Also let your agent know specific items that you would love to have in your dream home. For example, if you would love to have granite counter-tops in the kitchen but in reality you would also accept any well kept, attractive counter-tops, let your agent know.
If your agent discovers a home that looks perfect for you, with the exception of the style of counter-tops, your agent may discard that home simply because it does not meet your expectations on that one feature. You certainly wouldn’t want anything like that to happen.
In that light, if your agent shows you a home that does not specifically meet your list of requirements, do your best to look at the house with an open mind. You may find that you don’t truly need to have a breakfast nook in the kitchen, or a screened-in porch or some other feature that you originally thought was a must-have.
When looking at homes for sale, make sure you are wearing comfortable clothing and are not too tired or hungry. If your feet hurt or you are starving, you will tend to rush through a home and not really look at it because you are too distracted by your own discomfort. If you are not feeling your best, it is probably a wise idea to reschedule your home search for another time.
If you have the time, don’t schedule more than 4 to 6 appointments in one day. After the first few homes, the features start to blend together and you will lose track of what each specific house actually looked like.
After you exit each house, jot down on a piece of paper a few keynotes about that house so that you can recall more detail later on. Make sure you note any features that you really loved about that home as well as anything that you did not like. When you’re done for the day you will be able to compare your notes and easily decide which home, or homes, you would like to revisit. Your perfect house is out there, it’s just a question of finding it!
