First Time Home Buying 101: Touring Homes

Now the fun begins! At this point, you've met with your mortgage broker or a loan officer and know how much money you can qualify to borrow.

You have chosen your real estate agent, you have discussed your needs and perhaps faxed copies of homes you liked from the internet. Your agent has found a number of homes for you...so time to do some marathon shopping! (The agent may show you one home or several at a time. Lets assume, because you are flying across country, that your agent has mapped out several homes to view in the few days you are in the area.)

The agent may ask you to meet at their office or have you drive to the property. Leave it up to the agent to make that choice. If you do meet with your agent and he/she suggests that they will drive you it can be a plus. It will give you an opportunity to discuss the homes between stops and chance to learn about the area from a person living there. Also, it will save you from getting lost!

1. Dress comfortably. Most of the time you will be looking at vacant homes.
2. Wear comfortable shoes that you can slip on and off easily. Generally, these homes will be immaculately cleaned, so it is really considerate if you can leave your shoes at the entrance.
3. Pack a few snacks and a couple of your favorite energy drinks. (It could be a really tiring day, your agent will get tired also and may suggest a stop at local coffee shop! Take the opportunity, you will get energized, get to chat about what you have seen, and enjoy some local flavor!)
4. Take a notebook and even your digital camera. After seeing a home, you can go back to the car and make notes about the property. Obviously, don't bother if it is a property you wouldn't consider purchasing. It is easy to forget or confuse homes or features about homes that you liked or disliked when seeing a lot of them at a time!

Touring the homes:
As you walk through the house you will either be impressed or distressed. This is where having that "expert eye" is really important! You will hear your agent talk about "structure" or "good bones". Those are the things hard and expensive to change. When they talk about "cosmetics" it is refering to the horrible paint colors, wallpaper choices, "cheezy" light fixtures. These things are usually pretty simple and not terribly expensive to do something about if everything else is great. (Will talk about renovations and updates soon.)

Most likely your real estate agent will have narrowed the spectrum of homes to include as many of your wants and needs as possible. Hopefully, you will find the home that absolutely "wows" you. If not, don't get discouraged.

1. Notice the outside of the home, stucco, siding, vinyl?
2. Do you have to walk a lot of steps to enter the home?
3. What is the condition of the roof?
4. Does it have a comfortable floor plan?
5. Are the rooms a good size?
6. Is there good closet space?
7. How old are the kitchen appliances?
8. Is there a pantry? Laundry room?
9. Turn on the faucet and flush the toilet. Does it seem like there is good water pressure?
10. What type of heating and/or air conditioning? Is it energy efficient?
11. What are the windows? Energy efficient or old and leaky?
12. Look in the cabinets under the sinks. Do they look as though they are water damaged?
13. Do you see cracks in walls or water stains on the ceiling?
14. Does the workmanship appear professional?
15. Does the home look as though it has been well-maintained?
16. Does it appear that you will have to spend a lot of money in updates?

These are things you can observe while walking through the rooms rather quickly, realize that your real estate agent is there to help you and will probably notice many more items than this list. Your comments will only assist your agent in determining what is really important to you.
Location cannot be changed like paint color. If a location within a specific driving distance is priority, you may have to make some compromises if it means finding that home within your budget.
Acreage: Depending on the amount of acreage you need, you may be further from a city or even in a rural area to get it. This may further reduce the choices if the drive to work is in the city.
Views: If having a view is really important, it may be at a higher cost so you may (or may not) have to consider homes that require some compromises to remain within your budget. Views can sometimes be tricky. If you find a home with a perfect view today, will it remain perfect? By that I mean, if another home is built, will it destroy your view? If you have paid a premium to get the view and sacrificed on the house will your "values" remain high if a high-rise apartment just blocked your view of the ocean? Questions for your agent! Many places have restrictions on what may be built so that views cannot be blocked.
Established landscape: It takes a long, long time for trees to grow! Moving into a development of new homes sometimes means NO landscaping! A really beautifully landscaped yard can cost thousands! If you find a home with established trees and/or professional landscaping can be a real plus. It can not only save you money, but a plus if you decide to sell your home. However, if the reason you LOVE the home is because of "the old oak tree" in the front yard, ask yourself, "would you still love the home if lightening struck the tree and it had to be cut down"? Mother nature is not always kind...anyone surviving a tornado or hurricane, could attest to their world looking different after the fact. I'm really not trying to sound like a fatalist, just reminders of priorities. I would probably buy any house that was located on an ocean beach as long as it had indoor plumbing!