In this day and age of being in a position to shop for anything anywhere, it is really vital that you know what you’ re looking for when you begin your home search.
If you’ ve already been thinking about buying a home in the Greater Clear Lake/Houston Bay Area, Galveston and Greater Pearland areas of your own for quite a while now, you’ ve probably thought of a list of things that you’d like to have in a home. New homebuyers fantasize about the amenities which they see on HGTV or Pinterest and thus begin looking at the homes listed for sale through rose-colored glasses.
Do you really need that farmhouse kitchen sink in order to be happy with your home? Would a two-car garage be considered a convenience or a necessity? Could the particular ‘ man cave’ of your desires be a future renovation project rather than make-or-break right now? It is important to recognize the potential of a home and not worry so much about the features that you can change. Instead you should focus on the features that cannot be easily added or modified later.
The initial step in your home buying process should be to obtain pre-approval for a mortgage. This allows you to understand your budget before you fall in love with a home which is way outside of it.
The next step is to list all the top features of a home that you would like, and to qualify all of them as follows:
- Required: if this property does not have these features, then it shouldn’ t even be looked at. (i.e. distance from work or family, number of bedrooms/bathrooms)
- “Nice-to-Have”: if the property has all of the required features and some from the “nice-to-haves”, it remains in contention.
- “Absolute Wish List”: if the property you can afford has all the required options and options plus some or all of the “nice-to-haves” ‘ and some wish list items then it is the winner!
Bottom Line
Having this checklist flushed out before starting your search could save you time, frustration and disappointment while letting your agent know how to tailor you search to best meet your home goals. Remember, if you do find that perfect home make sure you will are willing to pay what it is worth.
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