10 Steps to House Hunting with a Well-trained Eye

Written by: Lankarge/Nahorney for HomeInsight

It sounds like a great listing - in your price range - in a good neighborhood - with features you're looking for. First impressions mean a lot - but you find the bushes are overgrown, the front hallway is covered with tacky foil wallpaper, the kitchen cabinets are painted dark brown, the living room rug smells musty, and the hardwood floors have black water marks on them.

Should you head back out the door? Maybe. But to fully determine whether you should cross this house off of your list you'll need to gather more information and perhaps look past the blemishes to get a full picture of this house's potential. How do you do that? Follow these 10 steps.

1. Start with emotion, but end with facts. Buying a home is an emotional process. You often find yourself trying to determine if this is where you want to spend the next 10, 20, or 30 years of your life (and perhaps raise a family). It's OK if your initial impression is an emotional one. But because the purchase can be the largest you'll ever make, you need to make sure you gather all of the facts you need to make an educated decision. View homes for sale and find out what homes are selling for by clicking here.

2. Look for good bones. Don't get hooked on the decorating. The town or towns you are targeting for your home search likely have a handful of builders who have built a majority of the homes. Get to know the reputation of these builders. Then, before going to look at a home, find out who the builder was. You'll want to be careful when looking at homes built by those with less than stellar reputations.

Then you need to learn to look past the furniture, wall colors, window treatments, and other decorating, and just look at the home layout and flow. New cherry cabinets and granite counters matter little if they are in the galley kitchen and you have a family of five. At the same time a family room with black walls featuring a mural of the moon on one side also matters little if it is big enough for your needs. Aesthetics are relatively inexpensive to fix - major construction is another matter.

3. When looking at room layout, avoid corner doors. Rooms with doorways in the middle of walls flow better than rooms that open in a corner. Remember that when looking for your dream home.

4. Make sure the most expensive stuff works. The two most expensive rooms in a home to renovate are kitchens and bathrooms. If you're stretching to be able to afford a home and still eat, make sure these two rooms don't need renovating anytime soon.

5. Take an inventory of features, what you like and what needs fixing. Good news: With more houses on the market than in the past several years, you'll likely be able to look at more houses before making a decision to put in a bid. Bad news: That means it can get quite confusing to remember the details of each home you look at. Develop a list and for each home you visit, take note of features, things you like, and things that might need fixing (see Keep Them Straight sidebar, above). Click here to find out about features of properties for sale.

6. Is there room for expansion? You might not be concerned with adding onto the home you're looking today, but what about tomorrow? Don't necessarily exclude those additions that don't have room and a logical place to expand, but do understand that you will be limited in your options down the road.

7. Does the basement leak? If you've been lucky enough to live in a house with a dry basement (or perhaps without a basement) it's hard to imagine the havoc a wet basement can bring to your life. If you've ever lived in a house with a leaky basement or hate the thought of a foot of water surrounding your furnace, you'll likely be sure to check that either the basement doesn't leak or it has a system that automatically removes water.

8. What's the condition of the home's exterior? Does it need painting, or is it sided? Does it have painted brick that's peeling? Is the aluminum siding chalking? Improving the exterior can be costly. Check the exterior walls carefully before putting in a bid.

9. Landscaping: Does it look like a park or a landfill? Landscaping not only includes the grass, bushes and any gardens, but also the hardscaping - the sidewalk, deck and/or patio. People are spending more time than ever outdoors and you're likely no different. Landscaping improvements can be costly, but is one area in which homeowners often tackle projects themselves. If you have the time, energy, and expertise you can save money by doing some landscaping improvements. But costs can add up here - be sure to factor that into your decision and/or bid.

10. Check the zoning, nobody likes surprises. Too often homeowners are horrified to learn that their tranquil neighborhood is being invaded by multifamily housing, a big commercial business, or a 24-hour convenience store. Before you put a bid on a house go the town hall, city hall, or county register of records and find out the zoning of all contiguous properties.