There are probably few things in life that are as exciting--or as nerve- racking--as the search for a house. With an organizedhome buying plan, you can minimize a great deal of the emotional impact. By determining your buying power, your wants and needs, and having an organized search plan, your chances of a stress-free experience are much better.
Gertrude Singer, a Realtor with National Realty suggests that buyers, and especially first-time buyers consider a few issues when preparing for and purchasing a home.
· Run before walking. This is easy to do once the decision to buy a home has been made. It means rushing off looking at homes, surfing the web or calling on advertisements before doing some up-front preparation.
· Don't over-buy the first time. A large and beautiful home with little or no furniture tends to be empty and cold. A life where almost every dime of your earnings goes to the support of your house wears thin very quickly and is a frequent cause of family stress. Leave yourself some breathing room!
· Compare mortgages. Don't simply accept the first plan presented to you. Spend time comparing to get the most advantageous plan for your requirements and financial situation
· Get mortgage pre-approval. Pre-qualification and pre-approvals are a necessary part of the home buying process. Not only will it give you an exact price range for your purchase, pre-approval will add a great deal of strength to your offer.
· Don't wait for the "perfect" home. Many first time buyers make the mistake that they will, if they look around long enough, find a home that has a full 100% of their needs and wants. Instead, it makes sense to determine the most important of your needs and the most desired of your wants and selecting a home that meets the majority of them.
· The inspection process. This can involve skipping a whole house inspection completely in order to save the relatively small amount of money involved, or it may involve using a friend or relative with limited experience to conduct the inspection. In either case you run the risk of not exposing potentially expensive--or even hazardous--defects in the property. Protect yourself by investing the $200 to $500 for a professional inspection.
As soon as you've completed the pre-qualification portion of the loan, you will be ready to start looking for your new home. As you start into the process, one very important step is often overlooked - scouting out neighborhoods.
Sometimes people will find a home and be so thrilled with their find that they fail to look at the neighborhood in which the home sits. You should consider many things, for example, if you have a family, is there a park nearby for the kids? Are the schools appropriate for your kids? If you enjoy having things close by, check out restaurants, grocery stores, etc. Is the neighborhood clean and safe?
Take a Saturday or Sunday when most people are home and get in your car to drive around. Start exploring different areas until you find one or several that appeal to you.
Take a notepad with you and jot down names of subdivisions, general appearances of the homes to include maintenance and landscaping. Are there kids outside playing around the same age of your kids? If you're elderly, is this a quiet neighborhood with other elderly people?
If you are working through a real estate agent, once you outline the things that are important to you, they should be able to provide several neighborhoods as starting points.
Schools- Just as good school districts are important if you have kids, they are also important if you don't have kids. Buying a home in a reputable school district is a huge advantage for a future sale. Typically, homes with good schools attract more buyers. If you want to determine a good district from a not so good district, you can always conduct Internet research. For example, go to www.homestore.com, choose a geographical area or zip code, and you can find out just about anything you want to know. Other options would be to ask your real estate agent for information, talk to other people in the neighborhood, or even take a tour of the school.
Crime- Determining crime statistics in a neighborhood isn't as difficult as you think. Using either www.homestore.com or www.Realtor.com, you can enter a specific geographical area or zip code and research the crime in that area.
Suburbs generally have lower crime rates but living in a suburb may require you to drive further distances to work, school, etc. On the other hand, cities have higher crime rates but are far more convenient. The choice is really yours and the type of lifestyle you prefer.
As you drive around, here are some additional things you can do to check the crime rate:
· Look for obvious signs such as bars on windows or doors · Look for gang graffiti · Talk with the local police
Family- As you probably know, buying a home isn't just an investment. It's a place of safe haven, fun, memories for the entire family. Because of this, after considering the community, you need to consider the number of bedrooms and baths. Will you need a closed garage? Are schools within walking distance for the kids, if not, where are the nearest bus stops?
Property Value/Taxes- Another very important factor when buying a home is property values of other homes in the area. You don't want to buy the most expensive or least expensive home. Also, check on property taxes to see how much they've jumped in the past few years.
What happens if you find two houses that you like equally or perhaps both you and your spouse each have one house that you love?
Making the final decision needs to be done rationally and not led by emotion. Sometimes this is hard to do but to ensure you get the right home, it's an absolute necessity. It might be necessary to write down all the needs versus all your wants in order to make the right decision.
You should also take your time if possible. You may not have the luxury of time, which makes buying a little more challenging. The best situation is to look at many homes and don't make an offer on the first house you see. In addition, look at houses more than once. If there is one or two that you like, wait a day, then go back, and look again. Usually the second time around you will find something you don't like or something you do like that you didn't notice the first time.
For Buyers 
