By Christopher Ulrich, Editor, HomeBuyersGuide.com Buying a house is the single largest buy most Americans will ever make. Unfortunately, a wide range of spend less time deciding on what house they should buy than they do on purchasing the latest cell phone. That isn't to say they're not capable - they simply lack a method of evaluating house. Before You Search for a House, Decide What You Really Want This sounds simple enough, but many people do not spend the time to decide what kind of real estate purchase they want to make. They start visiting open houe events, fall in love with a property and make an offer. Months or ages later they decided they chose the wrong home for a range of reasons. "If only we knew then what we know now..." they think. Plan for the Long Term Most people will live in their house anywhere between 5 and 50 ages. Examine what your needs will be ten more than a decade from now. Ask yourself: Are you planning on starting a family? With how many children? Be sure you have enough bed rooms and that the rooms are large enough for the kids to grow into. Are you planning send your kids to public school or private school? Private can be quite expensive. If you go that route of private school, you may wish to live in a better town with a lesser quality school district; both the real estate prices and taxes may be lower for a comparable home. Are your children going to be driving in the next several years? Do you have sufficient parking? Do you anticipate bringing your parents in to live with you? Will you want a mother-daughter with separate kitchen and entrance or simply another bedroom in the main house? Will you prefer a ranch vs. a two-story home? If you are selecting a location near your work, is there other work nearby if you are required to change jobs? Are you better off driving a greater distance but being nearer to another urban area? Plan for the Features You Want Decide now how a wide range of bedrooms and bathrooms you want. Do you want a finished basement? What about a swimming pool and deck? How about a home office? There are a wide range of features you can select in a home, and it is far easier to select it in a home you are looking to purchase, rather than adding it in the future. If there is an essential feature you want that is not in a particular home, make sure you can add it later (ex., do you have room to add a pool later on). For a complete checklist list of features to review, see http://www.HomeBuyersGuide.com/features.cfm
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