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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.
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