What to Look for When House Hunting? (Even if it’s your first time!)


It’s tricky finding the right house.

To be honest, it’s hard to find the right property when you have a lot of experience, let alone if that’s your first time buying.

But there are some things that first-time buyers and experienced house hunters do differently. It’s the little things that make Utah real estate and New York real estate equally valuable in the long term.

So, what do professionals do better than first-time house hunters? Can you apply their know-how to your case? What about the highly-sought-after UWS in Manhattan?

Well, it turns out you can, so let’s go over what you should look for when you’re investing such a large amount of money.

Now, let’s get started.

Always make sure you can get the money you need from the bank before placing a bid.

When you’re house shopping money is the most important thing you should have. But, unless you’ve made some pretty savvy business decisions, you’ll need a bank loan.

And that’s alright. But you’ll need to be pre-approved for a loan. Ideally, you should do this before you even start looking for a house. That way you’ll know exactly what you’ll be able to afford.

Once the time to make an offer comes you won’t slow down the process and that way everyone will make sure to do their job quickly and efficiently. And during the purchase of your home, there are a lot of people involved.

Know what you can compromise on and what you should keep when you’re looking for a new house.

Unless you have an unlimited budget, there will be some compromises that you’ll have to deal with.

It might be the location of your home, it may be small things like the paint, but there are bound to be such little things. What’s important though is to know what you’re willing to sacrifice.

Maybe you’re okay with dirty walls, but you want to purchase a property in that specific neighborhood. And that’s alright.

Make a list and make sure everything you’re clear about what you can compromise and what’s an absolute must. That way you’ll make sure you’re happy with your purchase.

Try to visualize the place in the near future when you’re looking for a home.

And now that you know about what you can let slip through the cracks, it’s important to practice visualization.

While you’re touring the home, make sure you picture how it can be in two or five years ahead of time. Often, small things like dirty walls are offputting, but in reality, it’s a really simple fix.

Visualizing how you want your home to look can help you with taking a more realistic look at the property.

The neighborhood matters way more than you realize.

Neighborhood equals money in the real estate business.

Purchasing a home in the right hood at the right time can end up being a very profitable investment.

With some places seeing an increase of more than 100% in the first five years, it can make your home an investment you’d want to have in your portfolio.

Jeff Campbell

Jeff Campbell is a father, martial artist, budget-master, Disney-addict, musician, and recovering foodie having spent over 2 decades as a leader for Whole Foods Market. Click to learn more about me

Recent Posts