Patty's "All Things Real Estate" Blog.

When you start looking for a home you will find that there are many beautiful homes on the market.  There are a few things I suggest you do before you start looking at homes.  If you do these two simple things, it will make your home touring a more productive process.  You will not waste time looking at things you cannot afford, or that don’t suit your needs.

1. Meet with a lender and find out how much you qualify to spend on a home, and get a pre-approval!  It is very easy to get excited about features found in homes out of your price range.  Before you get your heart set on that big, tree shaded colonial on the hill, your need to pin down how much you can afford.
2. Make a list of “Required Features” vs. “Extra Features”.  For example:  Required features for you might be location, number of bedrooms, eating space, architectural style, garage, school district.  Extra features for you might be a fireplace, walk-in closet, wet bar, pool, siding, vaulted ceilings, deck, landscaping.  There are many different features in homes that range from necessary to luxury. It is easy to get caught up in the excitement of a beautiful home loaded with amenities.  It is important that you select a home that truly meets all of your requirements first and foremost!  Providing this list to your agent can help narrow down the prospective homes that you will tour.  If you are not interested in having a home with a pool, then dont waste time touring homes that do.

Some of the features to note when touring homes:

• Address
• Subdivision name (gated community, HOA)
• What is the home near? (mall, freeway, parks, schools)
• Garage (number of spaces, attached, detached)
• Lot (size, shape, slope, ease of access)
• Style of home
• Bedrooms & Bathrooms
• Living Room
• Fireplace (wood burning, gas, stove insert)
• Kitchen (size, condition, appliances)
• Dining Area
• Laundry area (garage, laundry room)
• Additional rooms (bonus rooms, theater rooms, sun rooms, office/den)
• Additional features (air conditioning, ceiling fans, pool, stairs, french doors, etc)
• Square footage

As you tour homes, check back to this list to make sure the home meets your requirements.  The extras should only come into play when you make your final decision between homes that meet all or most of your requirements.