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Now comes the fun part - putting together a list of everything you want in your dream home, from price range to style to amenities to your ideal neighborhood. The home you eventually buy may not meet all your criteria, but touring homes for sale with a list in hand gives you the best chance of finding a home you'll love.
- List what you want in a home. Include all the features you want in your dream home, including style; size; condition; number of bedrooms and bathrooms; features like a garage, family room, fireplace, or pool; and neighborhood amenities. Don't worry about making your list too long; you'll narrow it down in step 3.
- Identify what you don't want. Knowing the definite deal-breakers - what you're sure you don't want in a home - can be just as helpful as knowing what you do want. Creating a "don't want" list and sharing it with your agent will help your agent target your search better.
- Prioritize your preferences. By the time you list everything you want (and don't want) in a home, your wish list might look so long that you wonder whether your dream home really exists. So look at the lists you've created and prioritize the items on them. Knowing what's most important to you, as well as what you could live without or add later, gives you an edge in evaluating homes.
Use your "don't want" list to come up with more ideas of items to add to your wish list. For example, if you know for sure you don't want an unpleasant view, think about the kind of view you would like - such as mountains or a lake.
