How To Find The Perfect Home
Actually there is no such thing as a "perfect home" the process of finding your first home or next home isn't about finding a home that meets all your expectations it's about eliminating all the homes that meet few or none of your expectations. To save time in eliminating all of those, which will be the majority of the real estate on the market to get to the few that will be good possibilites for you. Then you can spend more time finding the one that meets most of your needs. Since it is a process of elimination it is best to make a list of your must have's and your must not have's. Narrow down the area in regards to schools, jobs, doctors, shopping, etc. and how far and how much time you are willing to spend to travel to get to these necessities, and how much you have to spend. ( pre-qualifying with a lender will give you this amount ) Setting a minimum price is almost as important as setting the highest price.
Now you are ready to start a preliminary search to get a feel for what you can get for the money you have to spend. Don't be distracted by paint colors or sellers decorating tastes, or lack of taste in your eyes, those can be changed. It is hard to look past these things but you must practice looking at the layout of the home, size of the rooms, location and style.
These things can't be easily changed. If it doesn't flow with your lifestyle it's best to just move on to another one. Some people have actually bought a home because they loved the colors and the sellers style only to realize too late that it just does not fit their living needs and once the previous owners have removed their "things".