At lunch yesterday as I was chatting with a new client who was about to buy her first home, I realized that if you have never bought a home, it can be very overwhelming to even know where to start. Knowing what you qualify for financially is the first step (check out my blog on “Can I Get a Loan? Where Do I Start?), but what else should you consider?

1. How much do I want to spend each month?

2. What area do I want to live? A certain town or part of town?

3. What are my biggest priorities? Yard size? Number of bedrooms and bathrooms?

4. Is there a certain style of home I am more attracted to?

5. Am I willing to buy a fixer upper? If so, just mainly cosmetic or something with more work involved?

6. Are there any other deal breakers? (Won’t live by power or gas line? Must have cable available? Don’t want to be on a busy street? Have to have a fenced yard? Etc…)

7. Do I want a one story home or a two story home or does it matter?

All of these questions are a great starting place in figuring out where you would like to buy your first home and it gives me information for an initial search. Keep in mind that the first list of homes I send you might not have anything that seems like a good fit.   That is normal.  However it is an important first step in the home buying process.  Where you really start to narrow down what you are really looking for is actually seeing homes in person.  There is no substitute for walking through a home to get a good feel for what you get for your price point and to figure out what is most important to you. If you have an exact picture in your mind of what you want and if you have a limited budget, then you may be setting yourself up for disappointment.

One thing I have observed with home buyers over the years, is that with the right house (the house you walk into and know that it is yours), that house often doesn’t match some of the initial criteria you thought you wanted. Finding your home is a process which often involves several days of going out and looking and then narrowing down what you want through that process. I have had only one client through the years that saw just one home and within 15 minutes of looking at it, we were discussing what we should offer. The norm is seeing at least 6 to 10 homes.

Finding your first home shouldn’t be a daunting process. With good information, it should be exciting and fun!