How to Prioritize Your Home Buying Wishlist

When you set out to buy a new home, making a wishlist is a great place to start. Whether you are shopping alone or with a partner, putting onto paper the features you want your home to have will help guide your decision and assist your real estate agent in leading you to the right potential properties.

As you make your wish list, you may realize that you won't be able to get everything on your list. Either some of the features oppose each other, or it simply is not realistic to have it all within the budget or location you are working with. If this is the case, it's time to prioritize your wish list, and we have some tips to help you do just that.

Make Your Wish List

Start by listing everything you would love to have in a home. This can be major things like how big you would like it to be and how many bedrooms you want, or smaller details like the architectural style you prefer or a feature like a fireplace. Get all of your wish list items out on paper to start, knowing you can edit them later.

Label Wants and Needs

After you have made your wish list, working together with your partner if you are buying a home together, begin to divide this list into two categories: wants and needs.

For example, items that would go in the needs category might be:

• Location
• Number of bedrooms and bathrooms
• Maintenance level of the home
• Budget range
• Space for a pet
• School district

Items that fall under the "wants" could be:

• Specific features like a covered patio, fireplace, or kitchen island
• South facing yard for a garden
• Powder room in addition to full bathrooms

The way you divide your items into wants and needs may differ from this list or what is typical among buyers. What matters most is that you take the time to decide what is a must-have for you, and what is simply icing on the cake.

Choose Your Top 3

If your list of wants is getting quite long, it may help you to choose a top 3 from that list. You may want to do this with your partner, each choosing the top few items on the wish list. There is no magic or scientific formula to this process, but spending the time thinking through what you are looking for will allow you to think more clearly when you are faced with a variety of properties to choose from.

In order to make competitive offers in a seller's market, one of the most important factors is being able to make quick and confident decisions. Doing the work ahead of time to determine what your must-haves and deal-breakers are will prepare you to make efficient game time decisions as you look at potential properties.

Talk with Your Agent

Finally, take some time to share your wish list with your agent. Choosing a local expert who understands what is available in the market you are shopping in will help you determine how realistic your wish list is within the budget you have set. Your agent can help you understand your local market and make adjustments to your wish list accordingly so that you are are ready to make confident and efficient decisions after viewing potential new homes.

Still looking for an agent to lean on in Northeast Wisconsin? Check out these local experts.