Can you hear the school bell ringing for first period? It’s almost time for school to start. Atlanta Peach Realty wants to give you your first back to school tutorial- Home Search 101. Here are our best practice tips to finding your perfect home!

1.Begin With The Future in Mind

A home isn’t a short term investment- it’s a long term investment. Start by asking yourself what you picture your life looking like in 5 to 10 years. Here are a few common questions to ask:

1. Will your family be the same size?

2. Are you going to have children or have more children than you have now?

3. What ages will your children be in 5-10 years and how will their needs in a home change?

4. Will you have a pet that requires a fenced in yard?

5. Will you have a roommate?

6. Will you likely have the same job and the same daily commute?

7. Are neighborhoods you’re interested in starting to go through big change? What could the surrounding area look like in the future? What could this do to your taxes? What could this do to your resale value?

Take time to really think about what your life will look like in the future to better identify the right house that can grow with you. If there will be more than one decision maker, it is important to do these steps together and share your vision. The time to talk through your home buying criteria is before you even start looking at homes. You want to have a very clear goal when you set out to find the right home.

2. Rank Your Priorities

Based on your assessment above, develop a list of “must haves” and rank them in priority order. Common priorities include (in no particular order):

1. School District

2. Crime/Safety

3. Number of Bedrooms

4. Yard Size/Acreage

5. Proximity to Work/School

6. Proximity to Nearest City

7. Age of the Home

8. Annual Taxes

9. Finished Basement

10. Home Office Space

11. Home Layout (example: Kitchen opens to the family room, roommate floor plan, split level…)

12. Privacy

3. Write It Down!

This may seem unnecessary when you go through this exercise if your priorities seem very clear to you. Remember though that when you start looking at multiple houses in various neighborhoods, you will want to be able to look at your priorities list in order to compare the homes to each other and best determine which home meets more of your wants and needs. It is easier to do this if you can go down a written list and make notes about a home may fall short of your needs.

4. Do Your Homework

There are countless resources available online to assist you with your home search. From learning crime statistics, researching the best schools, calculating commute drive time and more. If you take the time to research the areas you are considering BEFORE you look for a home, the more confident you will feel when you make your buying decision. Examples of good tools to use for your research include:

1. Georgia Crime Information Center– Easily search registered sex offenders in an area.

2. REALTOR.COM– One stop shop to get tons of information for neighborhoods including crime, schools, economic stats and more.

3. US News and World Report– This site ranks high schools across the nation.

4. Great Schools– This site collects public reviews on every school.

5. Niche is a site that collects student, parent, and teacher surveys and combines the feedback with test scores and other school statistics.

5. Share Your Plan With Your Realtor

Every home buying experience is different and you want an agent who is prepared to support whatever your home buying goals are. Make the most of your time when you meet with your REALTOR® by sharing your priorities list. This will enable your agent to help you hone in on the perfect home.

6. Join Your Head and Your Heart To Make Your Decision

When you are looking for the right home, your heart will also be your guide. Many people have very strong instinctual feelings and can develop emotional connections with houses when they start looking. If you have clear priorities outlined before you look for a home, you will able to join your emotional feelings about a home with the sensible and important priorities that you outlined for yourself before you started looking. When a house can satisfy both your heart and head, that’s when you make an offer!