Things to Think About When Buying a Home

Before you hop in your car and start blindly driving up and down every street in Oklahoma City searching for your perfect home, figure out what you want and need in the home you plan to purchase. This will ensure that you are not wasting weekend after weekend looking in areas that won’t meet your needs and it will help you hone in on the areas that do.

List the top ten characteristics you want in a home (ie fireplace, deck, open floor plan, etc.)

What is your size requirement? A single person can probably live very comfortably in 1000 sf, 2 bedroom, 1 bath home but a family of 6? I should hope not. Come up with a range that you want to stay within. Remember: the more space you have, the more area you will be heating and cooling…and cleaning!

How many bedrooms do you need? Will you use one for an office or another as a guest bedroom? Could you combine the two? How many bathrooms do you require?

Do you like to entertain or cook? Is an open kitchen in your future or do you order out every meal and just need room for a microwave to reheat leftovers? Would you enjoy having two living spaces so that your teenage kids can watch television in a separate den when they have their friends over or do you enjoy the whole family being in a cozy space playing board games on the weekends?

What are your garage requirements? Do you want an attached garage so that you can sneak out to the garage in your curlers to start your car in Winter or would you prefer a detached garage so that your husband and his friends can hang out in the garage playing darts on the weekends without waking you up? Is one car enough? Many historic areas of town will have predominately one car garages until you get in to the luxury home price range so if a two car garage is important, you may have to go to newer areas of town.

Think about your three favorite things where you live now.

What are your three least favorite things about where you live?

What kind of privacy requirements do you have? Do you play guitar and need a little space from your neighbors or are you okay with a duplex? Would a townhouse or condo work for you?

Do you enjoy yard maintenance or would you prefer a HOA (home owners association) maintain the common space? Do you need space for your dogs to run, room for a garden or are you content with a grass-less patio?

Are you an outdoors kind of person who would live on the deck or patio if you had one?

What hobbies do you have that might lend yourself to a certain area? golfing, biking, fishing, etc.

Would you like to stay in a certain school district or proximity to work?

Are you interested in new construction or is a craftsman bungalow more your speed?

Is energy efficiency an issue? Would you be interested in an Energy Star Home or like to build a LEED certified home?

What amount of work do you feel comfortable doing on the home? Are you looking for something move-in ready or something that you can really make your own?

Have you looked in to or asked your Realtor about the benefits of a Home Warranty?

Will you occupy this home as your primary residence? If you are receiving the First Time Buyer’s Tax Credit, you must occupy the home for the first three years.

Do you currently own or rent? When is your lease up? Do you plan to sell your current home?

Will you have to pay out your lease? Can you wait until your current home sells to move? Do you have the ability to carry two mortgages, if not?

Have you already visited with a lender?

What are you preapproved for?

What are you currently paying in rent/mortgage?

What monthly payment range do you feel comfortable with? Make sure that you know what that equates to when it comes to purchase price. You don’t want to waste time looking at the $140k homes you are preapproved for if you only feel comfortable paying for a $110k home.

What do you have saved up to put toward closing costs?

Do you qualify for Down Payment Assistance through government grants or low interest loans or bond money available through your lender?

How much time do you have to select a home? Are you only available on weekends and/or evenings? If so, finding a Realtor who can understand your needs and preview homes for you could be very beneficial.

Do you have a better idea of what you are looking for now? Discuss your wants and needs with your Realtor so that you are all on the same page. Your Realtor can do a lot of the leg work for you so make sure you are using them from the get go!! If you are in need of a Realtor, I am happy to help you out!