What to Look for When House Hunting for the First Time

Reader Question: My husband and I are planning to buy a home in the near future. This will be our first time going through the process, and we're wondering what we should look for when house hunting for the first time.

We actually create a new house hunting checklist recently, so that's a great place to start. It covers most of the things you should do to prepare for the process. So with this article, I'll just talk about some of the things you should look for when house hunting for the first time.

What Do You Need in a House?

Before you go out looking at homes, it's a good idea to write down a list of wants versus needs. These items should be placed in separate columns on a piece of paper. A want is something you can't live without, such as the number of bedrooms in the home. A need is something that would be nice to have, but isn't an absolute necessity, such as a great view. This will help you a lot when you actually begin the house hunting process. It will serve as a constant reminder of what's most important to you.

One of the biggest mistakes first-time home buyers make when house hunting is to become too emotional about the process. Sure, it's a very exciting time in your life, and anybody who's ever bought a home can understand that. But it's also a financial investment, and like any other financial investment you need to look at it with an analytical eye. So my best advice in this regard is to enjoy the process, but stay calm enough to view each property with an objective eye. Does that make sense?

Consider the Neighborhood

So what else should you look for when house hunting for the first time? Well, you want to consider the neighborhood as well as the home. This is another thing first-time buyers often forget to do. They fall so in love with a house when they first see it that they forget to consider the neighborhood, the geographical location, the distance from work or school, etc. Remember, when you buy a home you also buy into the neighborhood around it. This is a quality-of-life issue, so it's a very important consideration to keep in mind during the house hunting stage.

House Hunting and Inspections are Different

Now let's talk about some the things you should look at when house hunting and actually touring homes. Keep in mind that you're going to have a home inspector come out and examine the house from top to bottom after you make an offer on it. At least, you should hire a home inspector. So you don't necessarily need to look at the roof and the foundation and other structural elements of the home. Sure, you want to make sure the home appears to be in good condition overall. But more importantly, you should focus on that list of wants and needs you created at the beginning of the house hunting process.

You also want to make sure the home is laid out in such a way that's conducive to your lifestyle. Does it have enough bedrooms and bathrooms? Is the master bedroom upstairs or downstairs? Does it have a fenced-in lot, if that's important to you? Is it located near work or school? What is the neighborhood like? Do people in the area seem to take pride in their homes, or is it a neighborhood in decline?

Entire books have been written on the house hunting process and what you should look for along the way. So I obviously can't cover everything here in this article. But these are some of the most important things you should look for when shopping for house.

Here are some other articles you might want to peruse. These will give you a better idea of what to look for when house hunting for the first time. I hope that helps. Good luck!