House Hunting Checklist - Things to Look For

Question from a reader: "I plan to begin the house hunting process soon. What things should I look for when looking at houses? Is there a checklist for house hunting that I can use?"

We have a variety of articles here on the website that will help you prepare for the house hunting process. I'll offer some key points in this blog post, and link to other articles where it helps to do so.

House hunting is one of the most exciting stages in the home buying process. For those not familiar with it, this is when you visit houses for sale to see how they stack up against your list of needs and wants.

But it's also a part of the process where many first-time buyers make mistakes. Some people get swept up in the excitement to the point of overlooking flaws about a particular property. This is where a house hunting checklist comes into the picture. If you create a checklist of the things you need in a home -- as well as other things worth looking at along the way -- you'll have a much easier time with the house hunting process.

Your Checklist - Needs vs. Wants

The first thing you should do is create a checklist of the things you truly need in your home, and a separate list of things you would like to have. An easy way to do this is to draw a line down a piece of paper, dividing it into two columns lengthwise. Label the left side "Need" and the right side "Want."

Start with the things you need -- the number of bedrooms, the location, the size, etc. These items will help you narrow your search, allowing you to weed out houses that don't meet your needs. If you use a real estate agent to help with the house hunting process, this checklist will be useful for them as well.

Other Things to Look For

So what else should you look for during the house hunting process, aside from the basic criteria of size and location? Well, you should keep an eye out for anything and everything, really. In particular, look out for signs of disrepair, mold, damage, standing water, view obstructions ... anything that raises a "red flag" in your mind. Take a notepad with you when house hunting and jot these things down as you come across them.

Just keep in mind that you can have a proper home inspection after you make an offer on a particular house. On top of that, you should make your offer contingent upon a successful home inspection. That way, you can back out of the deal if the home inspector finds something that's unacceptable to you.