BUYERS INFORMATION

You’ve mulled it over, saved your pennies and monitored the mortgage rates daily and now you’ve decided to take the plunge and buy a home! Whether it’s your first time or you’re ready to sell your current home, the house hunting process can be a stressful one.

Advance planning can help alleviate the anxiety often associated with buying a home. Reviewing countless advertisements in the newspaper may be a daunting task when you're not really sure what you're looking for. By determining your overall needs using a checklist format, finding your dream dwelling may become a reality sooner than you think. Here’s a few suggestions you may want to consider before starting down the path to home ownership.

Try creating a "Must Have List" and a "Wish List", which will assist you in identifying your immediate and long-term housing needs and fine-tune your search. Consider these lists as a starting point and revisit your list regularly. Try to be flexible and realistic in your choices.

The "Must Have List" records required features of your ideal home that you absolutely must have to be satisfied. For instance, if you are a two car family, you will need to have parking available for both vehicles. Perhaps you have a dog and require a large, fenced-in yard or as an avid gardener a backyard facing south is very important to you. The "Wish List" usually contains items such as a Jacuzzi tub or finished basement, features that would be a terrific bonus but certainly are not mandatory, depending on your needs.

The old adage 'location, location, location' is heard as often by Realtors today as fifty years ago. Yes, it is important to find a community that suits your family's personality and needs, but oftentimes, wonderful and very viable locations are overlooked because you have never considered evaluating them. In certain cases, insisting on a particular area can become a barrier to finding the perfect home.

Drive around a variety of neighbourhoods to get a feel for the environment and determine the amenities inherent in each. Compare your findings against the items on your lists to form an accurate assessment. Some items to consider may include your commute to work and your immediate surroundings. Are you prepared to drive an hour and a half to work each day? Will the traffic generated by the strip mall next door be a nuisance to you or do you view it as a convenience?

Remember, try to look at your potential home as both your shelter, where you will spend a lot of your time living life, and as your investment. Real estate prices do fluctuate, so it is important to find a home that, first an foremost, will meet your needs. Creating a checklist may be just the right first step into your new home.