Shopping for your dream home? What's on your checklist?

Shopping for your dream home? What’s on your checklist? – from American Dream Realty

Posted July 16, 2015

You’ve gone to your mortgage broker. You’ve received an amount you have been pre-approved for. You begin perusing the interwebs for your dream home. However, one thing may halt you in your tracks. Have you actually envisioned what your dream home looks like?

In a general sense, wanting or needing more square footage or wishing your dream home to be in a highly desired location is a good start, but you will be wasting both your own, and your real estate agent’s time if you haven’t yet listed more specific details that would be non-negotiable of what your dream home would encompass.

Before you head out into another open house, our American Dream Team encourages you to make a list of your absolute needs as well as your additional wants – as these are two separate things.

Know your list of absolute needs will most likely change as you become more educated about your options. Our American Dream Team, therefore, compiled this list for you to use as a guideline:

What is your budget range?
Are you willing to do a little (or a lot) of rennovation work?
Do you want to be in a rural, or more urban area? What about the suburbs?
Do you need easy access to highways or public transportation for commuting?
What is the maximum amount of time you’re willing to spend commuting?
How are the schools?
Do you want a view? Lake, river, bay or ocean?
Single-family? Ranch? Two-story?
Number of bedrooms and bathrooms?
Garage, basement, or other extensive storage space?
Pool? In-ground or above-ground?
Hardwood or carpet as flooring?
Do you have pets? Does your yard need to be fenced in?
What about special needs accessible? Ramps…?
How are the parks, town-center walkability ansd access to other ameninties?

There are so very many things you can and want to consider when formulating the image of your dream home. And, once you have a clearer picture, know that our American Dream agents are brokers are ready to help you find exactly what you pictured.