After you get pre-approved for a home mortgage it is time to begin your house hunting process. In order to be successful while house hunting you need to know what you are looking for. Before searching for a new home sit down with your family and get a clear understanding of what your wishlist is. Then speak with a realtor to see if that wishlist can be fulfilled within your budget. Once you have a realistic expectation of what you are looking for in a new home create a house hunting checklist.
House Hunting Checklist
After looking at several different homes you can start to confuse the features of each property. Your house hunting checklist should differentiate the basics of number of rooms, square footage, size of the garage and lot/yard. Leave space to write out different house improvement projects that may need to be completed over time. Also have a category for any miscellaneous notes such as whether or not there is a fence or what the neighborhood is like.
House Hunting Wishlist
A house hunting wishlist can be included with your checklists on each property. You will only need one wishlist.It should map out all of your different wants in a home and things you definitely do NOT want in a home. This can help keep you in check as you continue to house hunt. If the current real estate market has limited inventory you may need to remove some items from your list. Conversely if the market has many homes available in your price range you can add more items to the wish list.
Be realistic when setting up your house hunting checklist and wishlist. A great all inclusive checklist can be found from HGTV Front Door. Use these tools to keep you on track and focused in your home search. Create a house hunting folder to keep your lists in to refer back to and help you make the decision to hopefully buy the home of your dreams.