It can be both exciting and stressful to buy your first home. One one hand, you are going to own your own home, feel like an adult, and reach the pinnacle of the American dream. On the other hand, you have more bills to pay on a monthly basis and you’ll also be the one responsible whenever something breaks down in your home.

Before you even start looking at homes there are some things that you’ll want to do. These will help make the home buying process go faster, and less painlessly than it will if you fall in love with a house before you’re pre-approved for a loan.

Describe Your Dream Home

Start your wish list for a home first. Write down all of the things you’d like to have. List them as things that are deal breakers and things that you’d like but can live without.

You want to make sure that the home you purchase will be a good investment, and part of that investment needs to deal with your purchase and how you feel about it. You may find a good deal on a home you like only to find out it needs a good deal of work, is it worth it?

Get Pre-Approved For A Loan

Your loan pre-approval will be the one thing that can save you a bunch of pain and heartache when it comes to home hunting. It lets you know, for starters, how much of a home you can look at. Don’t forget to factor in your down payment.

You want to also make sure you’re looking at what you can afford to make monthly on a house payment, check out how much the property taxes are on the homes you’re looking at, and consider all of your utility costs.

Save A Down Payment

The more you have toward a down payment the more house you may be able to get. You want to at least have 20 percent down. You can talk to your realtor about these things, they will have some good advice for you.

Sometimes you can even get a home with no pre-approval. There are programs out there that can help people with low income, no down payment, and even bad credit.

Look At Homes

Once you’re pre-approved and you know what you are looking for in a home you can actually start looking. There are many sites online to house hunt on. Punch in the information that you prefer, like bedroom and bathroom numbers, and then look at photos.

You can look via price, location, and more. Once you find a place you like you can schedule a viewing.

Ask Lots Of Questions

When viewing homes you want to make sure you ask a lot of questions. Find out how old the home is, when it last got work done, and how long it has been on the market.

No question is wrong. Just ask away and you’ll be able to get the answers that you need before you commit to a purchase.