The First Step When Looking For Your New Home
You really need to be aware of what you want before you start to look for it.
The very first step to locating your dream home has little to do with shopping and has a great deal to do with developing a checklist of must haves for your new house. Surely there will need to be some compromises made down the road but when you're making a list you'll want to make sure to include absolutely everything that you want and nothing that you on your new home wish list. This will allow you to carefully scrutinize which dwellings are those that will meet the most wide range of your needs and requirements.
When looking for a new home there are likely to be some major requirements and by far there are some things that must lie atop the list such as number of rooms,
bathrooms, and of course any serious location issues such as those having to do with work or school in particular. Once these top issues are listed then it is time to move onto more frivolous items.
Some of the more frivolous items tend to relate more towards the style of the home, newer or older, level requirements which can be on the necessity list if an individual is handicapped, and functional options such as a fireplace or a hot tub that may not be necessary but might be nice to have. Also, in the case of these options you're likely to find that you can also select locations where adding these specific items will be functionally possible and while the home that you select might not have them currently knowing that you have the option to add them down the road if you desire to can help to make these items simpler to compromise on.
Compromising is a requirement and if you're shopping with your spouse or significant other then it is likely that you are going to find that there are two levels of compromises that need to be made. The first is with them and then the second is when you are actually out searching for homes in your price range.
New home shopping can be fun but it is always good to begin your shopping at home with a pen and paper. Laying out in advance exactly what you're looking for and then shopping for the perfect home will likely prove to be a much more effective way to find what you're looking for and landing on it much more quickly.