The best place to start when buying a home is to find out how much house you can afford. Your Windermere agent can refer you to a loan officer who can assist you with determining how much of a down payment you can afford, along with a monthly payment you are comfortable with, and the type of loan that fits your needs best. Serious buyers who are highly motivated should go through the effort of getting pre-approved; not only will this allow you to focus your home search, but it will also position you as a serious buyer in the eyes of sellers when the time comes to make an offer. Check out our Financing a Home page for more information about financing.

Imagine your ideal home and community. Now make a list of everything you envisioned. Then take that list and break it down from high to low priority. High-priority items are the things you cannot live without in your new home. Lower-priority items are those that are an added bonus, but not necessary. Your list can include things such as: number of bedrooms, need for a yard, style of home, and access to schools and shopping.

Some people look at several homes before finding just the right one. And others find “the one” immediately. Thanks to the internet, you can streamline your search process significantly by checking out homes for sale online. And when you’re ready, one of our Windermere agents can tour homes with you on your schedule and create a personal checklist for each one. If you’re not quite ready to start working with an agent, you can visit open houses and preview everything that’s for sale in your market on Windermere.com.