In the hunt for the perfect house, it’s easy to get swept off with a home’s most charming details (a gracious front porch) and play down the major things you’ll be kicking yourself for after (the price is over budget). And if you’re touring multiple open houses each weekend, keeping everything straight can get complicated.
Set your priorities and streamline the house-hunting procedure early on, and you may breathe easier knowing you have a handle on things. It’s probably the most important purchase you will ever make, so take some deep breaths and make a plan before diving in — you’ll be glad you did.
These 12 tips can keep you organized and focused on the important things during your house hunt.
Matarozzi Pelsinger Builders
1. Set your priorities. Prior to having a peek at any houses, sit right down and write out whatever you want in a home, together with input from many members of their household. Then select your top five, or even best three, must-haves.
Once you start searching, all kinds of charming features are bound to influence you; maintaining your priorities record close at hand can keep you on track.
Terracotta Design Build
2. Make a comparison chart. As soon as you have seen a dozen or more houses, it gets rather hard to keep track of the features in each one. Make things a bit easier by making your own comparison chart or checklist to bring along to each residence, and make notes during or immediately after each tour.
Beyond the basics (beds and baths) contemplate including notes landscaping, the condition of the roof and exterior, natural lighting in each room, storage area and price per square foot. Consider this chart a personal tool — something you’ll be able to look back on to help guide your decision making, not a replacement for a fantastic home inspection.
Gridley + Graves Photographers
3. Walk once and let yourself soak it all in. If you tour a home for the first time, the excitement will make it hard to concentrate on … well, anything at all. I say, just go with it. Have fun, wander about and mentally note your initial impressions of the space. It’s time to get to work after the butterflies have expired.
Linda McDougald Design | Postcard from Paris Home
4. Then go back to the beginning and begin. Walk straight back to the front of the house and literally start your tour. This time, pull out your clipboard and pen, don’t rush and approach the home as if you were an inspector instead of a possible buyer.
Shirley Parks Design
5. Bring furniture measurements. Jumping the gun? Maybe. A deal breaker? Probably not. But if each room in the house presents problems with your present furniture scenario, you could efficiently be adding thousands of dollars to the price if you need to buy new furniture — something that’s likely better to know sooner rather than later.
blurrdMEDIA
6. Sketch a floor plan. You don’t need to have any real drawing skills to make a superbasic floor plan on paper, and using it to refer to later is priceless. Simply do your best. Starting at the front door, draw boxes such as rooms and indicate doors, windows, stairways and openings about where they’re.
Matarozzi Pelsinger Builders
7. Ask to take photographs (or even a movie). It’s amazing how quickly memory fades. Ensure you have backup by creating a floor plan and taking photographs or a brief video tour if possible — it will truly give you a full picture of exactly what the house looks like. Be sure to ask the Realtor for permission before taking any video or photos. And even then, it is assumed they are for personal use, so don’t post them to your Facebook page or site … at least till you own the house.
Terracotta Design Build
8. Open the closets and cupboards. Suitable storage is a really important element in the way the home looks and feels when you’re living inside. Note the quantity and dimensions of cupboards and closets throughout the house, and do not be afraid to glance inside. In the event the present homeowner gets them packed to the gills, which may be a sign that the house doesn’t have enough storage for its dimensions.
Lucy Interior Design
9. Lift the carpets up. While this isn’t something you necessarily want to do during a busy open house, if you’re back for a second appearance and are actually considering making an offer, then it is important to know what it is you’re getting into. Rugs (and even furniture) may be utilized to hide damaged floors, so you have a right to learn what’s going on under there. Just let the Realtor know exactly what you want to see, and he or she should adapt you.
Barnes Vanze Architects, Inc
10. Look high and appear low. It’s important to get a fantastic look at the house that could be your new home, so make a point of focusing on things outside your usual line of vision. Have a look at the ceilings, walls, floors, trim, windowsand roof and under the sinks.
Barnes Vanze Architects, Inc
11. Check out the home at different times of day. If you do come back for a second showing, create it through another time of day from the open house or initial tour. In the day, notice not just the fluctuations in light, but also the atmosphere in the neighborhood. Are individuals out sitting porches? Are children playing outside? Is it? You are bound to learn and discover unique things about the house each time.
Kerrisdale Design Inc
12. Have a moment to imagine how you’d use the distance. Simply because the present owner (or staging firm) gets the second bedroom setup for guests doesn’t mean that you can’t use it as an office, a home gym or a nursery. Paint colors, furniture structures and window treatments can also all be swapped out, so use your imagination and actually put yourself in the home.
Tell us : Share your own home-buying stories and suggestions in the Comments.