Exclusive Buyer

worked closely and carefully to determine the appropriate budget for a mortgage loan. STEP 3: CREATE A LIST OF NEEDS VS. WANTS We described the concept of determining your needs vs. your wants in great detail and at great length in Chapter 4, but nonetheless, this topic is the third step in the overall home- buying process and bears repeating here. Essentially, you need to determine what is most important to you in a home — the non-negotiables — vs. what you’d like to have in a home — things you might need to let go of. In other words, figure out what you need in your home (think number of bedrooms or bathrooms, yard, garage, basement, etc.) vs. what you want in your home (such as a fenced-in yard, gourmet kitchen, deck, walk-in closet). Then write these items down when you’re shopping for a home. This will eliminate a lot of wasted time and energy looking at homes that don’t meet your criteria, and your budget, and will bring you that much closer to finding the right home for you. Keep in mind that no home is perfect. Be prepared to make some concessions, and remember that your ultimate dream home might be out of reach— for now. Nobody said that your first home has to be your last home! STEP 4: LOOK AT HOMES Now comes both the fun part as well as the tricky part — looking at homes. The fun part is searching and viewing online homes that meet both your budget and criteria, as well as visiting open houses, allowing you to figure out and see for yourself what is and isn’t the right home for you, and then finding it.