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Browsing the Real Estate Market

You are well on the road to home ownership. You have done your 'home'work each step of the way. You have retained a fantastic real estate agent. You have been prequalified and preapproved for a mortgage loan. Now you are finally ready to look for just the right home!

As with each step of the home-buying process, your life will be much less stressful if you are prepared. In other words, do your homework. You do not want to jump headlong into looking at houses without a sense of direction. Between your own preparation and the guidance of your capable real estate agent, house hunting will be much easier.

Decide on the type of house you want to purchase.

This could be a single family home, a townhouse, or a condominium. Each housing type has its advantages and disadvantages to be considered. Make a specific list of your needs and wants. Keep your list realistic. You want to find a house that includes all of your needs, most of your wants, and stays within your budget.

Examples of needs may be:

• The location of the house (busy street, cul de sac, corner lot)
• The location of the neighborhood (urban, rural, east side of town, west side of town)
• The type of neighborhood (kid-friendly or not, resident demographics) and/or
• The house (square footage, storage space, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, multi-car garage).

Examples of wants may be:

• Exterior colors
• Interior colors
• Certain window designs or type (front bay window, casement, slider, louvered, round, bent glass)
• Jacuzzi or whirlpool tub and/or
• Flooring types (hardwood, ceramic tile, carpet)

Factor in future considerations.

Do not forget to look into the future. You should think about how long you plan to live in the house and the consequential changes in your needs and wants. Think about whether or not there is sufficient room for growth if you will be adding to your family. If you are middle-aged and plan to retire in the home, you may want to make sure that the floor plans are such that moving about as you advance in age is not a problem.

The most important future consideration is the resale value of the property. Find out how long homes for sale in the neighborhood are on the market. Research the neighborhood to make sure that the majority of the properties are owner-occupied rather than rentals. Drive around the neighborhood and surrounding areas to see if the area has been or is in the process of gentrification. Call the police department to learn the crime rate in the neighborhood and adjoining neighborhoods. Consider the proximity to schools and convenient shopping areas. In other words, make sure that you will be able to sell the home if you decide to move on!

Use all of your resources during your search.

Your strongest resource will be your real estate representative. However, do not be afraid to use recommendations of friends, relatives, and other resources, such as local classified ads in newspapers, foreclosure web sites, the web sites and local contacts for Housing for Urban Development (HUD), Veterans' Administration (VA), and for sale by owner (FSBO) properties.

Develop a system.

It is advisable to use a system to keep track of the homes you view and how each one rates with your requirements. If you do not, you will quickly learn that the features of the various homes start to blend. The most simple and efficient method is to use a (Property Summary) [K4RE Property Summary.pdf] form and a filing system to keep the information gathered on each property.

If you are really motivated, you can go a step further and create a (Property Summary Comparison) [K4RE Property Summary Comparison.pdf] for an at-a-glance comparison of the houses you have viewed. Having a system in place will allow you to evaluate each property that you have seen and narrow the field of potential contenders as you go. Of course, there is always the possibility that you will take the time to prepare your 'home'work and then experience an 'aha' moment when you walk into just the right house, the house that you know intuitively will be your home!

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