to avoid expensive mistakes that could hurt you either now or down the road, you need to be prepared before you go house hunting. In Chapter 15, we discussed a few specific elements of preparation you need to address before embarking on a proper home search that doesn’t waste your time or energy. To quickly recap, make sure your finances are in order and that you’re financially prepared for homeownership once again; this includes overall home price, down payment, closing costs, monthly mortgage payments, maintenance costs, property taxes, homeowners’ association fees, etc. You’ll also need to be emotionally prepared for homeownership and the potential stress and challenges that can come your way, and to be ready for commitment and taking care of your important investment. Assuming you’ve got the above handled, you have now, based on the two lists you carefully put together (your needs and wants), narrowed your criteria considerably, meaning that you can begin searching for homes with a focused intent. This will save you a lot of time and energy, both online and driving around to view random homes, and will get you that much closer to your dream of homeownership again. It’s time to contact your real estate agent and let them know you’re ready to start looking for your new home. Be sure to fill them in on all the details, such as your lists of needs and wants as well as your price range. Your agent will get to work on your behalf, shortlisting the properties that meet your criteria, so you can start your home-search process from there. Now it’s time to have fun checking out different houses until you find “the one.” (Remember, while house shopping can be thrilling for many buyers, it can also become stressful and exhausting. Remind yourself that no two buyers’ house-hunting experiences are exactly the same, and everyone’s stories about finding “the one” will be different.) Below are some tips for home-searching
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