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Douglas Trudeau , Assoc. Broker
Prudential Foothills Real Estate
64 N. Harrison Road, Suite 160
Tucson , AZ 85748
Mobile: 520-954-2209
Contact Me

Tucson Real Estate - Home Buying 104

Searching for a home entails more that just jumping on the Internet and picking a house. Before starting to search I recommend answering some serious questions. This will help shorten the search and find the right home to meet your needs.

Geographical Location - Not every area is going to fit your lifestyle. Finding the geographical area or community that best matches your needs will make living more enjoyable. Some buyers start looking at homes right away without consideration to their lifestyle. Only to find six months later that they would have been happy in a different location.

What is your lifestyle?
Do you like hiking?
Do you like mountain biking?
Are you a golfer?
Do you want a rural setting?
Do you need to be close to shopping?
Do you like going to the movies weekly?
Do you like fine dining?
Are you an opera fan?
Are you an astronomer?

Neighborhood/Community - All the above questions and more will help in finding the geographical location that will fit your lifestyle. Once that issue is solved, now you can look for communities and neighborhoods to meet your needs. In a master plan community there may be a variety of neighborhoods with different amenities. One may be more for adults, while another is geared more toward families.

What type of neighborhood do you like?
Do you need space?
How far from schools do you need to be?
How far from shopping do you need to be?
Are children in the neighborhood important to you?
Do you prefer an adult community?

Home Needs - Getting closer now. What you need in your home to fit your needs while you are home are important. Looking forward to coming home is a good feeling. Not every need can be met, so, prioritizing needs and wants will make it easier. How much time you can spend on cleaning, maintenance, gardening, mowing, etc. should be a consideration. If you like being home a large home on a large lot may be ideal. If you like being away from home, a smaller home with a small low maintenance yard may be better for you.

What type of home do you need?
What type of home do you want?
What amenities do you need?
Do you want a large yard or small yards?
Do you want a community pool, personal pool, or no pool?
Covered or uncovered parking space?
RV parking?
Split bedroom?
Den?
Formal living or great room?

Preferred Searching - Not everybody searches the same. Most buyers like using the Internet to get started. Some like driving through neighborhoods to see what is available. Others like a combination of both.

Internet?
Internet and drive buy?
Internet and call REALTOR®?
Have REALTOR® search?
Manual Internet searching?
Automatic Internet searching?
Model homes?
Open Houses?

Home Previewing and Showing - Once you know which homes you want to see your REALTOR® can be very beneficial to you. Letting your REALTOR® know how much time you like to spend looking at a home helps in scheduling. Especially when someone is still living in the home. Courtesy toward the seller can make a difference when negotiating.

Are you a fast looker?
Do you like to take your time?
How many homes can you see before the all jell together?
How many hours can you commit?
How many homes do you really need to see?

What To Look For - Looking for signs of damage, deferred maintenance, or trouble is advisable while looking. Early red flags are a good sign to move on.

Ceilings - cracks, stains, changes in texture.
Walls behind wet areas - water stains, warping.
Under sinks - water stains, warping.
Appliances - condition, age.
Heating/Cooling - filter condition, age of appliance, location, access.
Manufactured home bathroom - softness of floor around toilet, feel of floor while walking.
Roof eves - water stains, mold.
Roof - type and condition.
Fascia - warping, blistering, mold, wood rot.
Foundation - termite tubes, cracks.
Structural - crack running up a wall across the ceiling and through the floor, sagging roof, sagging rafters, cracks around windows.

Once you find the right home, you will be ready to make an offer.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 19th, 2007 at 8:34 am and is filed under Tucson Real Estate. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.