For most of us, buying a home is the largest purchase decision we will make. Keep these factors in mind as you shop:

•  Consider the location. Is it close to the services important to you? For example, schools, shopping, parks.

•  Visit the property at various times in the day (early morning, noon , late afternoon and late at night on both weekdays and weekends).

•  Have the property inspected (by your own choice of inspector).

•  Walk or bike around the neighborhood. This will give you better feel for the location and surroundings.

•  Consider the house in other seasons. For example, how bright will various rooms be in the winter?

•  Consider the neighbors. Are yards neat and cared for?

•  Bring a friend and ask them to play "devil's advocate". An impartial 3rd party removed from the stress of making a large decision can point out factors you hadn't considered.

•  Check for external sources of noise e.g. heat pumps, highways, neighbor's dog, industrial buildings.

•  Consider potential changes to the neighborhood e.g. planned roads, highways, apartment blocks, parks, other housing developments. A visit to the city planner in the local municipal hall is often helpful.  

Before You Buy Your First Home - Tips for First-time Home Buyers

It's not uncommon for a first-time home buyer to say to me, "Gosh, just last week I called you about buying a home and now I'm in escrow! How did this happen so fast?"

The answer is it didn't. First-time home buyers start the search long before most even realize it.

Here's what you can expect from your home shopping experience.

Figuring Out the Benefits

You should buy a home. That's what you've been hearing from friends and family, right? So, by now you have likely already weighed the benefits and decided that home ownership was the best decision for you. That's a major hurdle now passed. You are focused and certain. Good.

Defining Search Parameters

Almost 80% of all home searches today begin on the Internet. With just a few clicks of the mouse, home buyers can search through hundreds of online listings, view virtual tours, and sort through dozens of photographs and aerial shots of neighborhoods and homes. You've probably defined your goals and have a pretty good idea of the type of home and neighborhood you want. By the time you reach your real estate agent's office, you are halfway to home ownership.

How Long Should It Take to Find What You Want?

Mostly people look home for years, but buyers who do that aren't motivated. A motivated buyer will find a home within two weeks.

Good real estate agents will listen to your wants and needs and arrange to show only those homes that fit your particular parameters. Your agent should preview homes before showing them to you as well.

How Many Homes Will You See?

Studies show that the your memory dramatically improves after consumption of carbs and slows upon consuming sugar. So, layoff the soft drinks and have a hearty meal of carbs before venturing out to tour homes. The average number of homes that One show to a buyer in one day is Four. Any more than that, and the brain is on overload. Therefore, don't expect to see 8 or 10 homes; although it's physically possible to do so, you probably will not remember specific details about any of them.

The "Red Shoes" Experience

Women will relate to this. Say, you need a new pair of red shoes. You go to the mall. At the first shoe store, you find a fabulous pair of red shoes. You try them on. They fit perfectly. They are glamorous. Priced right, too. Do you buy them? Of course not! You go to every other store in the mall trying on red shoes until you are ready to drop from exhaustion. Then you return to the first store and buy those red shoes. Do not shop for a home this way. When you find the perfect home, buy it.

How to Rate Inventory

• Bring a digital camera and begin each series of photos with a close-up of the house number to identify where each group of home photos start and end.
• Take copious notes of unusual features, colors and design elements.
• Pay attention to the home's surroundings. What is next door? Do 2-story homes tower over your single story?
• Do you like the location? Is it near a park or a power plant?
• Immediately after leaving, rate each home on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest.

View Top Choices a Second Time

After touring homes for a few days, you will probably instinctively know which one or two homes you would like to buy. Ask to see them again. You will see them with different eyes and notice elements that were overlooked the first go-around.

At this point, your agent should call the listing agents to find out more about the sellers' motivation and to double-check that an offer hasn't come in, making sure these homes are still available to purchase.

Making the Selection

I'll let you in on a little secret. I generally know which home a buyer is going to choose, and I suspect most other agents operate the same way. It's an intuition. But I make it a practice not to steer buyers, and I insist that buyers choose the home without interference from me. It's not my choice to make.

Real estate agents are required, however, to point out defects and should help buyers feel confident that the home selected meets the buyer's search parameters.  

Before You Buy a Home - Look at Eight Reasons to Buy a Home  

If you're like most first-time home buyers, you've probably listened to friends', family's and coworkers' advice, many of whom are encouraging you to buy a home . However, you may still wonder if buying a home is the right thing to do. Relax. Having reservations is normal. The more you know about why you should buy a home, the less scary the entire process will appear to you. Here are eight good reasons why you should buy a home.

Pride of Ownership

Pride of ownership is the number one reason why people yearn to own their home. It means you can paint the walls any color you desire, turn up the volume on your CD player, attach permanent fixtures and decorate your home according to your own taste. Home ownership gives you and your family a sense of stability and security. It's making an investment in your future.

Appreciation

Although real estate moves in cycles, sometimes up, sometimes down, over the years, real estate has consistently appreciated. The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight tracks the movements of single family home values across the country. Its House Price Index breaks down the changes by region and metropolitan area. Many people view their home investment as a hedge against inflation.

Mortgage Interest Deductions

Home ownership is a superb tax shelter and our tax rates favor homeowners. As long as your mortgage balance is smaller than the price of your home, mortgage interest is fully deductible on your tax return. Interest is the largest component of your mortgage payment.

Property Tax Deductions

Capital Gain Exclusion

As long as you have lived in your home for two of the past five years, you can exclude up to 250,000 for an individual or 500,000 for a married couple of profit from capital gains. You do not have to buy a replacement home or move up. There is no age restriction, and the "over-55" rule does not apply. You can exclude the above thresholds from taxes every 24 months, which means you could sell every two years and pocket your profit--subject to limitation--free from taxation.

Preferential Tax Treatment

If you receive more profit than the allowable exclusion upon sale of your home , that profit will be considered a capital asset as long as you owned your home for more than one year. Capital assets receive preferential tax treatment.

Mortgage Reduction Builds Equity

Each month, part of your monthly payment is applied to the principal balance of your loan, which reduces your obligation. The way amortization works, the principal portion of your principal and interest payment increases slightly every month. It is lowest on your first payment and highest on your last payment. On average, each 1,00,000 of a mortgage will reduce in balance the first year by about 500 in principal, bringing that balance at the end of your first 12 months to 99,500.

Loans against Property (LAP)

Consumers who carry credit card balances cannot deduct the interest paid, which can cost as much as 18% to 22%. Property loan interest is often much less and it is deductible. For many home owners, it makes sense to pay off this kind of debt with a loan against property . Consumers can borrow against their home for a variety of reasons such as home improvement, college, medical or starting a new business.