Six Steps to Finding Your New Home
Due to downsizing and a sudden job change, my husband and I have been a house-hunter twice in the past three years! Hunting for a house can be an exhausting process in any circumstances. Experience has taught us how to find the right home, in a reasonable amount of time, without going nuts!
Get a Good Realtor
Your realtor can do many things for you that you might be able to do for yourself, but don’t have the time to do. For example, anybody can access websites to find available foreclosures and HUD homes, but the sites can be difficult to navigate and keep up with. Your realtor has the lists of available foreclosures and HUDs in your area. He/she has the keys also, and can get you right in!
Determine Your Non-Negotiables
Everybody has a priority list for their new home. Initially, you may have a lengthy list. Yet as in anything else in life, it is valuable to take the time to determine which priorities really rise to the top.
Feeling safe in our neighborhood was a top priority for us. We also walk regularly, and had an eye out for great walking neighborhoods. Finally, we decided the third priority for our home was that it have an “extra room” which could be used as a children’s playroom.
What are the top three things you most need in your new home?
Determine Where You Can Fudge
While we needed a playroom, we remained flexible about where that room would be located in the house. We could convert an extra bedroom, an indoor porch area, or basement room for the grandchildren. We were open to different possibilities, as long as we could visualize a play area.
We also quickly discovered that we needed to be a bit flexible in the price of our home. By widening our price range, and still staying within budget, we were able to view a broad range of homes for comparison.
We came to realize that we didn’t need much of a yard, as long as we had an area to gather outside. A deck or a porch would be adequate for us.
Create a Timeline
Every situation will surely be different. If you are looking for a house out-of-town, due to a job change, time may be very limited.
House hunting is not something you want to do forever anyway. Your life is waiting for you. You just want to find a home you can appreciate, and get settled in!
Set limits on the whole thing. Decide when you need to be in your new home. Be sure to allow for second visits to houses that you like the most. On a second visit, you are very likely to notice something which escaped your notice the first time.
If the move is not really necessary, you can also decide when you will stop house hunting for awhile. If it’s just not going well, take a break!
Walk the neighborhood
You can get an entirely different perspective of a neighborhood by walking around in it, than you would get from merely driving by a house. You will learn a great deal about the demographics, about the habits of the neighbors, and even unexpected sounds in a neighborhood. You also have an opportunity to meet the neighbors themselves.
Go Out for Coffee!
As we narrowed down our list of houses, my husband and I needed to take a step back and get perspective. In making a major decision, we can often think better when we get away from the situation. By having our conversation in a coffee shop, rather than at one of the houses, we were not swayed by what was immediately in front of us.
We found an affordable house with our most important priorities. We are happily settled into our new home. And by following these six steps, you soon can be too.