Now that you have your list of needs and wants
and you know how much you can afford to spend, it's
time to look at some houses! Not just yet. Step back
for a moment and consider the larger picture. People
don't just buy a house; they buy the neighborhood
the house is in. Think about that...if you found the
perfect house but it was in a neighborhood that wasn't
to your liking, would you make an offer on it? Most
likely the answer would be, "No."
So, you will need to make another list of what type
of neighborhood you want to live in. You will most
likely want to consider things like how living in
the neighborhood will affect your drive time to and
from work, what amenities are offered (swimming pool,
tennis courts, park, etc.), and, if you have children
who are attending school or soon will be, what school
district you will be in and how close the schools
are. You may even want to make two lists just as you
did with your home criteria.
Your real estate agent can help you consolidate the
information from your list of needs and wants for
your home, your preapproval, and your list of needs
and wants for the neighborhood. From this, you can
incorporate this information into a broad search profile,
which will then be narrowed down to specific areas
dictated by the market in which you will be looking.
Your agent's experience in local markets will be an
invaluable resource during this step.