Finding Your Home
Naturally you will want to select a property that is affordable and meets your needs. Determining exactly what you want can be very beneficial here. It is best to make a prioritized list of the home attributes that will meet your needs, putting the most essential requirements at the top. Think about the attributes of your present home that you’d like to maintain, and the attributes you don’t have now that you’d like to acquire. Visualize what the perfect home would be for you.
- Do you want to buy an existing home or build a new one? What area of town do you want to live in?
- Do your want to be close to work? …shopping?
- Do you want to be in a specific school district?
- How many bedrooms and baths would you like?
- Would a garage or carport be better?
- Free-standing home, townhouse or condominium?
- Would you like to have a patio and/or backyard?
- Do you need an office or den?
- Do you prefer a formal living room or a family room/great room?
- How important is storage space?
- How important is the overall size of the home (or key rooms)?
Having a list on paper will be of great help to you and your REALTOR® in identifying properties to investigate, as well as helping you to evaluate the best of your potential top choices.
Once you have found your dream home, discuss your offer and review your contract with your agent, who will then present your offer to the seller. Negotiations usually follow.
Once your offer has been accepted, you will prepare an “earnest money” deposit for escrow. This deposit is usually 1 to 3% of the purchase price of the home; it will vary.