Quick Tip

Quick Tips

Determine a radius of how far you are willing to travel to work.
Tell your agent what is important to you: transportation, medical centers, schools, etc.
Check the noise level - is the property near a highway or interstate?
Look at the neighborhood - how do neighbors maintain their homes?
Will the children have other playmates in the area?
Are you near main travel arteries or commuter vessels necessary for travel to and from work?
Take pictures of your furniture with you as you look at houses to better picture your pieces in a room.
Make a columnar comparison of the properties with your specific needs and wants and whether each property has them.
Rank every 3 houses shown in order of preference. Use a separate list for each spouse, if married.
If sellers have children or pets, recognize them and you will be a step ahead.
When viewing homes try to hold in emotion and excitement to not tip sellers of your desire to own that specific home.
If you see a home advertised in the paper, a yard sign or a For Sale by Owner sign, call your Realtor first.
View San Diego homes when there is plenty of light; it's too hard to view homes after dark.
Be available to go see new listings as soon as they become available.
Ignore furnishings and color. Picture your personal items in the house.
Look out the windows. What you see is what you will always see. Make sure you like it.
If you are looking at San Diego real estate re-sales, look for location, floor plan, utilities and structural soundness. Don? be "blinded" or unduly influenced by fresh paint and/or new carpet.
Don’t assume everything you see in the house (drapes, ceiling fans) is being sold with the house. Ask!
If you really like a particular property do not place a lot of conditions on the contract because this could cause the seller to reject the offer.
When making an offer, make the best down payment offer you can. Your offer will carry more weight, and your payments will be less.
Write a personal note to go with your offer. All other factors being equal, sellers will go with the buyers they "know."
Get into the Orange County real estate market even if you can't get all the fixtures you want in your first house.
Don’t get so emotionally involved with the house that, if you fail to purchase it, it becomes the standard for everything else you look at. This compromises your ability to make a second choice.
Contracts should always be contingent on a home inspection, a good investment.