Buying a home is a big decision, but finding a good home to live in can be easy and hopefully fun too. There are a few simple things you can do to become an informed homebuyer and improve your chances of finding the perfect place to live.
Develop criteria to meet your needs. You don’t want to buy a home and then regret it, so the best way to view a home is to know exactly what you’re looking for before you view the first one. Review listings of different types of homes with a real estate agent to narrow down the homes you’ll see down to what really interests you.
Some of the options would be: price range, distance to school or work, urban or rural, floor plan, number of floors, floors, fences, kitchen cabinets and countertops, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, square footage, room laundry on the first or second floor, pool in the backyard, whether or not it should be within a community with a community of owners, etc.
Be your own inspector. Hiring a professional home inspector is important when buying a home, but when looking at a property for the first time, do some research yourself. Stand on the sidewalk and look up at the roof to see if it looks tattered or if anything seems to be broken around the house. When you walk in, feel for a breeze coming in through the closed windows, flush the toilets, turn on the sinks, and turn on the lights throughout the house. Try to get an idea of how much work will need to be put into the property and decide if it’s worth it.
Try to imagine living there. Everyone has a different style, but don’t use your taste in furniture, or lack of staging to determine not to bid. If you have too much furniture or pick everything up without throwing it away, you may feel like the house is too messy to live in. However, the house may be more spacious than it appears. Imagine each room empty, then imagine your own furniture there instead. If you see a good house where others don’t, you may get a good deal.
Talk to the neighbors. If you’re interested in a home you’re eyeing, don’t be afraid to say hello to a neighbor watering their lawn or walking their dog. Ask them how they like living in the area and what the pros and cons are. You can learn a lot in just two to three minutes of your time that can make all the difference to your overall happiness in a home.
