This was my first time getting to house hunt. My husband owned our Virginia home when we got married so when we moved to Tennessee I was so excited to go house hunting. I am by no means an expert but I learned a few things so these are my 6 Key House Hunting Tips.
1. Know your budget- It is so important to know your budget and what you can afford. It is also so important to stay inside of your budget. The first thing we had to do was to realize that this home was not going to be our ultimate dream home. We have a lot on that dream list and they aren’t things you generally get in your second house. So we had to be realistic in our search and our list of things we wanted now.
2. Make a list– We made a list of things we wanted in a house and then we divided them up into Must Have’s, Would like to have and Would be nice to have. As we looked at the different houses we were able to see which criteria each house met and focus on making sure we got a house that met the majority of our Must Have’s.
3. Research– Do your research on which area to move to and school systems, if that’s important to you. We don’t have kids yet but we wanted to make sure we were in a good school district both for the future and also for resale value. It is also important to take into account things like commute, we lived with my sister and her husband for two months so when we purchased our house 5 minutes from them we were aware of my husbands commute to work.
4. Find a good realtor– Find someone that you can trust. Ask around and try and find one through a recommendation from a friend or family member if possible. Make sure they understand your budget and your timetable for finding a house. If you don’t like them when you first meet them don’t be afraid to try another realtor.
5. Search Online– If you’re like me then you are looking for houses before your move is even official. I love to look at houses so I already had my top houses picked out. But once I got to Tennessee everything changed due to the neighborhoods and then of course seeing the houses in person. Be willing to take a look at houses even if they don’t look good in the pictures. Sometimes the pictures can be misleading, in both good and bad ways. But you never know until you go and see in person.
6. Drive around- look at neighborhoods and see how they look and what is nearby. Check out the neighborhoods at different times of day and look for warning sides of a bad neighborhood such as run-down houses, cars in the yard etc. It just depends on what matters to you in a neighborhood.
What tips would you add to this list? Do you love or hate house hunting? I think I loved it until I got to that point where I was like we will never find a house. Then we walked into our house and I immediately knew it was the one. That was a relief.
I hate house hunting. Hate it. We’ve been looking (officially) since September and have put in multiple offers, and well…we’re still looking! I think I’m at that point where I just want to find a house already and both of us are just frustrated. But…I know that we’ll get the house we’re meant to have. I just need to be patient (not my strong suit!).
All your tips are spot on. If I were to add one thing to the list it would be to go online and check the demographics and crime rates of the areas you’re interested in. Especially if you’re moving to a new state and don’t know the area that well. That may sounds absolutely ridiculous, but if you’re new to an area you want to make sure you’re moving into a safe neighborhood.
What a great tip! I hope you guys find a house soon! I’m sorry it’s been such a long process.
Emily
My wife and I will definitely be using these tips in the near future. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Happy Blogging!
Happy Valley Chow
Thank you for checking it out!
Emily
These are great tips! I’ll definitely be using them soon! Thanks for sharing on the DBB and headed over to pin right now!
Thank you Cara!
Emily
This post is right on time for me! I’ve recently fallen in love with House Hunters on HGTV. I’d love to buy a house (one day), but I’ve learned a lot, and I hope to put them to use one day (hello open kitchen!!). Stopping by from the foodie SITS tribe!
I LOVE House Hunters. We watched so much of it before we bought our new house and an open kitchen was key for me! Glad to have you come by!
Emily
I love house hunting. It is my favorite part of moving! Great list of things to remember.
I am a part of the SITS tribe you are in and wanted to drop by and say hello! I look forward to getting to know you better!
I love house hunting as well!
I’m looking forward to getting to know you better too!
Emily
I am a house hunting fanatic! We finally bought our house in March of last year after two years of hunting. And the hunting has never stopped. I believe I know the areas and markets better than some real estate agents, lol! I just love it!! Great tips!
I love house hunting! I think it would be so fun to be a real estate agent, but only the part of showing houses not all the contract parts.
Emily
This post is just up in my alley at the moment. We need to move in the nearest future but there seems to be now houses with my recuests available.
Im in from the SITS tribe, and are exited to get to know you better.
Thank you for checking it out. I’m excited to get to know you better too!
Emily
My dh wants to move to a bigger house. I am so not looking forward to house hunting or moving. Not at all!
I hate moving as well! Not fun. But I love our new house we got moved into.
Emily
I actually really enjoyed house hunting! I hope to do it again sometime in the future. It can definitely be frustrating but I really love going through homes. It can become an obsession! Even after we bought ours, I was still looking on realtor.com! LoL!
I am the same way! I love house hunting and I still look online to see the houses around us!
Emily
We will be looking to move this summer so these tips are a great help. Already have a trusted realtor, have been looking online and am researching schools. We’ll be driving around and going to open houses soon! I am excited to move, but totally overwhelmed at the same time! Came here from Wine’d Down Wednesday!
Good luck with your move!!
Emily
Hi! Probably the most frustrating part of the whole house hunting process for us is trying to merge two individual’s opinions into one important decision. Boo! Thanks for sharing your tips. 🙂
P.S. – I would love it if you linked up at Do Tell Tuesday with the gals and me! http://www.vintagezest.com/2014/01/do-tell-tuesday-7-with-features-co-host.html
Diane @ Vintage Zest
That is true, it can be very hard! Thank you for coming by and checking it out!
Emily
Great advice! Making a list ahead of time of what you want is so important! Thank you so much for sharing on Whatever Wednesday on Thank You Honey! Hope to see you again this week!
Thank you!
Emily
Thanks for sharing this…I vow to never move again, but you never know! 🙂 Thanks for sharing at the Hit Me With Your Best Shot Link Party last Tuesday! Hope to see you again tonight at 7EST! Excited to see what you’ve been up to!
~Ariean
I hope to never move again as well!
Emily
I can’t agree more with number 3–research. My hubby and I bought our home before we had children but we wanted to make sure we lived in a good school district from the start. That has paid off so much! Now that my daughter is in school I travel less than a mile to an awesome award winning school! Thanks so much for sharing these great tips at Frugal Crafty Home Blog Hop!
That’s great! It does pay off to plan ahead!
Emily
Having just been through a very emotional two year house hunt… I learned three important things…
1) location location location truly is the most important
2) you can change almost anything about the house except for its location
3) nothing is perfect. Nothing. The perfect house doesn’t exist.
Those are very good tips! Thank you for sharing!
Emily
I wanted to thank you for this good read!! I certainly loved every bit
of it. I’ve got you saved as a favorite to check
out new things you post…
Thank you!
Emily
We are currently house hunting and I am adamant on finding a home in a good neighborhood located in a great school district! My future seedlings will NOT be under educated because of the location we decide to a buy a home. 🙂 Also, I would add “don’t focus too much on cosmetic issues, like paint, flooring, counter tops, etc.” Those things can be replaced easily (obviously at a cost, but no doubt can be replaced in time). I would say to try to mainly focus on structure of the home vs. cosmetics.
That is so true! Anytime I’m looking at houses and the paint is hideous I’m like paint is an easy fix! Pay more attention to the things you’d have to pay a lot to fix. Great tips!
Emily