Top Tips for Creating Your Home-Buying Checklist

Buying a home can be equal parts exciting and stressful. This is especially true if you are searching for your first home, or are in the midst of selling your current home. Creating a home-buying checklist can help you refine your search without getting overwhelmed. Here’s how to develop a list that is practical and takes your ideal purchase into consideration. 

Determine Your Budget
Few things are as essential as your budget when home shopping. While home buying will always require a few compromises, knowing where your budget needs lie is vital. A great home won’t serve you well if you can’t truly afford it–keep in mind that your buying power should also reflect your understanding of what you can comfortably afford for your mortgage, utilities, taxes and maintenance costs down the road. Remember that your home budget should consider more costs than the initial ticket price.

Create Your Dream List
Buying a home is an exciting time and finding the right home for your knees is a truly personal decision. Home features and amenities mean different things for different people, so now is the time to dream big and consider what you would love in your ideal home. While you will always have to make compromises in time, this list will help you hone in on your true goals and hopes for your future home. If you are lucky, you will find a home that checks all the boxes–or will check all the boxes with just a few upgrades down the road.

Consider Your Non-Negotiables
While your dream list opens the space for you to let your creativity flow; your non-negotiables list should be where you evaluate your ideal amenities with shrewd honesty. Start by identifying your specific requirements when it comes to location, number of bedrooms, and any other features that are important to you. Be honest about true deal-breakers. This helps you avoid a purchase that doesn’t meet your needs.

Create a Home Showing List
You will likely see a few to a dozen homes when looking for the right purchase for your family. Make things easy by keeping notes on each home you visit; take note of features that entice you and take equal note of any aspects of a home that give you pause. This can help you refine your search and remember each property from the last.