Tips For Narrowing Down Your Real Estate Search

Are you feeling a bit overwhelmed by how many homes are on the real estate market, and having trouble narrowing down your search? If so, it will help to follow these tips that will help find the right home for you.

Determine Your Price Range

The first thing you should do is really narrow in on what price range you are looking at since that can easily eliminate many homes in the area. The best way to do this is by getting pre-approved for a mortgage by a lender in your area. By looking at your income and current debts, they can determine how much you will be offered for a mortgage.

One thing to keep in mind is to not base your budget entirely on what your lender has pre-approved you for. Use this as a guide to know the absolute highest amount you can get for a mortgage. You'll still need to determine a budget for how much you can afford to spend on housing when you consider the mortgage, property taxes, and ongoing maintenance. 

Look At The Local School District

Planning on having kids? Then the school district that you live in can have a huge influence on where you end up living. Consider basing your search on where you want your kids to go to school since that is going to set some specific boundaries over where you should be searching. School districts can have some pretty crazy boundary lines as well, so it's important to know where those are so you know where to look.

Pick A Style

It's important to decide what style of home you want to live in since that can very easily narrow down your search. It is worth touring different styles of homes by attending open houses or scheduled showings with your real estate agent. You may discover that you really do not like the feel of a split level home, or don't like how the bedrooms are next to the living room in a ranch-style home. This can help easily eliminate many potential homes because they do not have the layout that you are looking for. 

Make A List Of Deal Breakers

It helps to make a list of features you want in a home that would be considered deal breakers if it did not have them. For some people, this can be as basic as having a garage, while for others it may be a master suite. Think about what these potential deal breakers would be so that you can easily eliminate homes from your property search. 

Contact a resource like Whitson Realty to learn more.

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