Buying a home is a process and while it looks easy (and it can certainly can be), a little bit of planning can make the process so much smoother for you and for me.  My goal is to make sure there are no kinks in the process and that it does run smooth.  However, did you know that there are 88 types of turbulence or things that can go wrong with the house buying process?

Realistically, it starts with your motivation?  Why do you want to buy a home?  What are you looking for?  Are you planning on living in this home for a short period of time or is this the dream home that you've been yearning for?  What's your lifestyle?   Basically, what are your priorities that you'll need in this home?

Let's discuss the main purpose of the home.  Answering some of these questions will give you a clear direction in helping you find the ideal home. 

• 1. How long are you planning on living in the home?
• 2. How important is it that this home realizes has your most valued desires?
• 3. Are you buying or building for the greatest profit or your dream home (retirement home).

They say that there are three important things in real estate... location, location, location.  O.K. I guess there is just one!

1. Do you want to live in the city (urban) or live in suburbia (in the country)?
2. Do you want to be next to a certain urban area but outside city limits?
3. Are you looking for acreage?
4. Are you looking for a planned community?
5. Are you looking for a particular setting ie.  Mountains, hills, trees, sandy terrain?
6. Consider the environment of the neighborhood... is it excitement that you are looking for?  Safety, tranquility, beautiful view?
7. What about the neighborhood amenities?  How important is it for the neighborhood community to contain a golf course, open spaces, particular school, closeness to employer, shopping, water, public transportation.  I had a buyer that loved the quaint village feel of East Grand Rapids but her husband liked more space.  They compromised with Rockford which has a small shopping village, housing communities plus homes on acreage.

If you are undecided between the urban lifestyle and the suburban lifestyle... here are some of the trends and differences between the two.

The urban lifestyle (which is classic for downtown Grand Rapids) tends to gather people who...

Want to be closer to shopping centers, closer to places for their children to play etc..

Preferred mostly by young, childless, and the rich

Young singles and empty nesters are filtering back to city because they want to be around people with similar interest, educations, incomes, hobbies, habits, family status, stages in life

They love the ability to have everything they need within walking distance.

The suburban lifestyle usually involves...

Families searching for bigger homes, more acreage, better schools, safer streets

They are looking for homes to be gathering spaces for family, friends, neighbors

O.K. We've discussed the purpose of the home, the location of the home, now let's get specific with the home itself.  To do this you need to think of some key things that are in a home. 

• Home Style - Ranch, 2 story, multi-level.  A Ranch may be appealing for the fact that everything is on one level (except for the basement) and no stairs to climb.
• Floor plan style -

• - Open - rooms flow into each other
• - Partially open - mainly open with some walls/doors to close off rooms
• - Closed - each room has a defined function or purpose with doors/walls
• - What rooms do you need?

• What rooms do you need?
• What do you picture your home to be... a social gathering place for friends and family, space or enjoyment of the solitude of the office?
• Where do you spend most of your time?
• Will you have visitors and how will you accommodate it?
• Where will you entertain?
• What are essential rooms that you can't live without?
• Are there rooms in your current room that you always use?  Are there rooms in your current home that you could live without?

Why you may want to build... 

  You're not finding what you want currently on the market?

   You want to be in a certain area or subdivision?

   You like "new" things and creating your own place.

   You believe you can build cheaper than buying a home already on the market

   You have specific needs and plan on adding on later?

   You are looking at this home as a more "long" term investment and plan on staying in the home for a longer period of time.

Last but definitely not LEAST...

The good ole' dreaded budget.  What can you actually afford to live comfortably within your means?  Time to seek a good mortgage company that will give you the range of home that you should be looking at to buy or build.  Remember, if you decide to build that you should plan on budgeting 20% more for overages and those "necessary" things that you decided to add to the list.