First Time Homebuyers Checklist

Finding your dream home can take several months, and you'll need a plan to sort through all of the financing details, conduct research about your neighborhood, and to find a reliable real estate agent to work with. Drafting up a checklist or step-by-step plan can make the process much easier, and will give you a chance to keep everything organized on track.

Bridget McCrea, in her book, "The Home Buyer's Question and Answer Book", expertly explains that it is very important to create a plan for your financial side, and in terms of what you want and need for your home. Planning for your first home purchase will take everything into consideration, which includes making a budget analysis, and writing down all the amenities, rooms, theme of the home, and the other features you want your new home to have.

Here are some essential items that a first time homebuyer can include in their checklist or plan that will serve as an aid in the home buying process:

1. Know the different housing types of the prospective neighborhoods. Most neighborhoods have at least five to six different types and styles of housing. Unless you are planning to build a new house, it is best to be aware of what the styles and classifications of the houses in your prospective neighborhoods are.

2. Start reviewing online listings. Working with a good real estate agent will give you a strong idea of available properties, but you can do a lot of homework on your own. Don't be afraid to review FSBO listings in the local newspaper, or jump on the Internet to search for properties in your area.

3. Find out about the home inspection process. Though home inspections may seem lengthy and fairly complex, it is well worth the time and effort of a first time homebuyer so that they can be able to narrow their choices of the many homes for sale. Know what the different stages of the home inspection, and prepare your own home inspection checklist for when you visit the various homes for sale.

4. Use a scorecard to compare different homes for sale in a neighborhood. Design your own scorecard to rate and keep track of all the prospective homes for sale that you find or visit. Items that you can include would be the asking price, key benefits, drawbacks, number of rooms, accessibility to highways, and any other top priority items that will suit your requirements.

5. Decide upon your ideal location. Knowing the ideal location of your new home will greatly aid you in eliminating homes for sale that will be able to suit your requirements. You can conduct your internet search by typing in the state you wish to live in, and then placing in buy homes for sale. A few of the factors that you would have to take into account when deciding where to buy is the neighborhood's proximity to your work, to schools, to parks or it's access to public transportation. It is a good thing to be aware of these things because even if you don't get to buy your new home in your desired locations, you will still get to find one that will adequately suit your requirements on the purchase of your new home.

6. Map out your budget. You can meet with a personal financial advisor at your local bank or credit union for some budgeting advice, or you can draft up your own home budget to get a strong idea of what you can and can't afford. Making a budget and then sticking with it regardless of how much you are preapproved for is a much more intelligent choice than waiting to 'hear' from your lender about your options from your lender.

Looking for Minnesota houses for sale? A powerful resource for searching homes online is the Minnesota MLS, which allows you to search by price, neighborhood and many other important factors.