Every house hunter creates a list of features they dream about having in their home. Idealistic and lengthy, this list changes as the house hunting process progresses. Your real estate agent may even anticipate these changes, and that’s why they’ll sometimes present you with imperfect listings missing that wet bar you just had to have. Naturally, as home shoppers learn more about the market and their affordability, the cream rises to the top, with the “must-haves” revealing themselves, superseding the less important desires. Sure, a three-car garage in Los Angeles would be nice, but you could certainly settle for a two-car with an extra uncovered parking space in the driveway. Or maybe you’re willing to give on covered parking as long as there’s room for an office inside. Trust me, your real estate agent has seen it all.
As you shop, these decisions arise, but sometimes your ability to compromise comes a little too late. In this seller’s market, being decisive, but also open-minded is imperative. The last thing you want is that first home you saw and passed on haunting you the rest of your home search. This can happen when home buyers start off their search without their essential needs identified.
So what should home shoppers (or soon to be home shoppers) do?
- Get going on that list now: You may have an idea of bedroom and bathroom count in your head, but there’s a lot more to consider. Start inside the home and work your way out. Imagine a typical weekday and weekend— what do you do? What rooms, spaces, places matter? Do you host a lot of guests? Is a private workspace critical? Get creative and think it through.
- Make a hierarchy, and adjust accordingly: Ask yourself what you cannot live without. Then, think what you’d rather not live without. And then consider what you’d be happy to have, but certainly don’t need. Draw a diagram, go ham with post-its, color code, make a digital flow chart—whatever your style—write it out!
- Get preapproved by a lender: Yes, this may seem irrelevant to the house hunting list, but it’s actually an imperative part. Unless you are paying all cash, the bank’s assessment of your affordability will illustrate the limit of what you can afford. Maybe 4 bedrooms is out of the question in that neighborhood. Or maybe a swimming pool is totally within reach. That fun mortgage calculator on Redfin or Zillow is not the same thing as a fully underwritten preapproval from a bank. It’s free and typically takes less than 30 minutes to complete an application.
- Window shop: It’s one thing to abstractly daydream about home features, it’s a whole other thing to go to open houses in your target neighborhood and see what’s out there. You maybe had no idea you hate jack-and-jill bathrooms until you see them in action. Or maybe you didn’t realize how important mature landscaping is until you’ve seen a barren backyard. Play Goldilocks for a few weekends and try some homes on for size. We recommend our clients look at a number of homes early in the process to get an idea of what you actually like and if it’s actually available in your budget.
- Talk to your realtor: You aren’t just hiring someone to negotiate or review contracts, you’re hiring an expert in the market. Use them! After you’ve made your wants & needs list, ask them to be honest—are you unicorn hunting?
Give us a call! We can help you refine your needs list to find the perfect home!
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