Although there are some factors that remain constant in real estate, every customer has different needs and requirements. Even so, keep in mind that you are making an substantial investment and should choose your property accordingly. Most of the decisions that you will make are based in common sense. Your home should simply meet your individual needs. Since your home will most likely be one of the largest purchases of your lifetime, it is especially important to not buy too quickly or because you are eager to get into a new home. Even though defining exactly what you are looking for in a home will be time-consuming, it will ultimately save you a great deal of valuable time, energy and money in the long run.
It is important to keep your home search organized and focused. Before you start looking at homes, you should sit down and make a list of the characteristics that you are looking for in a home that is ranked from the most to the least important. Keep your list of priorities in mind as you look at homes, and make sure to update the list based on the homes you tour. Important considerations include everything from affordability to closet space. Stay focused on the style of home, size and location of property, and condition (i.e. fixer-upper, move-in ready etc). If you have strong feelings about particular items, keep them in mind throughout your search.
Make sure to look at a wide range of homes before making the decision to buy. A lot of buyers find a Polaroid or digital camera instrumental because pictures can help you to keep track of the good and bad things that you observe in the homes that you tour. Take detailed notes on the homes that you are considering, and keep track of how they rank on your list of "must haves". Also, keep in mind that you may not be able to find every single "must have" in a single house. Don't rule out a home, sight unseen, just because it doesn't have a single amenity such as a swimming pool or hardwood floors. You can always make cosmetic changes once you have moved in. The most important characteristics to look for are the ones that cannot be so easily changed, such as the surrounding area or the school district.
Simple research will be particularly helpful for determining what the going rate is for a home in your chosen area.
Once you have narrowed down your choices, you still have some more homework to do. Investigate the area's schools, taxes, the cost of utilities, the quality of services such as police and emergency medical facilities, and any other external factors that will affect your quality of life in the neighborhood. Your real estate agent is the best resource here, because they can prepare a detailed property profile for each home. This information will not only give you a comprehensive view of the community resources near a given home, but will also provide comparative sales and other neighborhood information. A property profile can be extremely valuable in assessing a neighborhood's livability.
