How to Create Your Home-Buying Wishlist

a Calgary house purchase is in your plans make sure that you go through every aspect of the buying decision with your partner first in order to avoid any potential future disagreements.

Things can get pretty heated when you're looking for a home and you don't have a firm understanding between the two of you of what you're looking for.

Common Factors of a Home Wishlist

order to help you simplify your needs and wants for a home you can follow this easy to use step-by-step checklist as a guide. Simply go through the items from top to bottom to help you put your thoughts in order. It should help you narrow down the exact type of home you want to get and where you’d like to look for it. Once you have established this it's easy to work with a real estate agent to find a home that's perfect for you.

The Neighborhood

There’s no use in looking at homes all across the city only to find one that you like in the wrong neighborhood. The first thing you need to do is figure out the type of neighborhood you're looking for and then only look at the homes available in the communities that you've chosen.

Type of Home

Are you looking for a single-family detached home, a semi-detached, a town house, a condo or perhaps you're in the market for a luxury home? This is the next thing to establish.

Style of House

you want to look at bungalows or two-story homes? Is it important if your townhouse has a basement or would you be willing to move into a stacked townhome? Would you be willing to live on the 10th floor of a condo building or do you prefer something lower because you're afraid of heights? Zero in on the house style that you'd really like to look at with your real estate agent.

Square Footage

Determine a rough figure regarding the square footage you'd like to see in your new residence.

How Many Bedrooms and Baths?

How many bedrooms and baths would you like to see as a minimum and how many would you really want to have in your home?

Size of the Lot

you want a sprawling lawn in the front and the back yard or would you be happy with a smaller yard that requires less maintenance?

Do You Want a Garage?

This one may or may not be important to you. Decide whether a garage is an absolute necessity or not and if it is your real estate agent will only show you homes that have this feature.

 These are the main points to cover but you should also look at any additional features that you'd like to add to the list. The closer you can come to naming the perfect type of house you like to live in the easier and faster it will be to find it.

Communicate in Advance What You Want

many cases even smaller things can quickly turn into huge issues when it comes to a new home purchase. If your wife wants a walk-in closet in the master bedroom and is adamant about it you should have prior knowledge about this before starting your home shopping. Similarly, if you want workspace in the basement, you should let your wife know before the house hunting begins.

Prepare a Written Home-Buying Wishlist

Make a list and check it twice. Go over every aspect of a new home that you consider to be of importance. Place the selected items into the following categories:

• Must have
• Very important
• Important
• Would like to have
• Not important

Both partners should prepare the list separately and then come together to prepare a final draft. You'll be amazed to see some things on your spouse's list that you probably never imagined would be there! In some cases your partner may have been thinking of you as well and you'll notice that a workspace in the basement is on her list for you.

Make a Neighborhood Wishlist

You'll also want to prepare another list for the features you'd like to have in the neighborhood. Again, separate and do these lists individually and then come together to put all of the ideas into one final list.

this time disagreements may arise and you'll need to work toward settling them. Some compromises may have to be made along the way but this is all part of the process. By doing this exercise now, you'll be able to hand over the final papers to your real estate agent so that he'll have a better idea of what type of home you are both looking for. You'll also avoid any heated confrontations that could develop later if you're not both on the same page about the home or location you both really want.