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Composing lists can be a very helpful way to quickly see a great deal of organized information. When considering a significant decision such as buying a home, making lists can be the easiest way to get a grasp on what you are looking for.

First, put together your dream house list. This includes all your desires such as a pool or wraparound porch. If you are married, you and your spouse should try to agree on one list; after all you are only buying one house. After you are finished with your list, set it aside and formulate your minimum home list. What is the bare minimum you would both be willing to live with if you absolutely had to? Any potential houses you consider should fit in between one of those two lists. If it doesn't, you wouldn't like it.

Another way to approach this idea is to make a 'needs' list and a 'wants' list. Confusing needs and wants is probably your biggest challenge to avoid when crafting this list. Your wants list will most likely be the much larger of the two lists, but that's okay. The goal of this exercise is to get an idea of what you are looking for in a house. What are the selling points that will appeal to you or that you want to actively look for? What are some of the features you are not willing to compromise on? Does the laundry room need to be on the same floor as the bedrooms? Is a finished basement a priority? Are you looking for single story houses only? Making these lists should be a fun exercise. If at any point you get stressed out or upset, take a break and come back to them when you are fresh and relaxed.

As a way to prioritize the lists you made, create one last list of your top five or ten criteria. The top things that must be present in a house before you will consider it at all. This is your no compromise list. Your realtor will benefit from this list the most as it will help him understand which houses would be most interesting to you.

Then you are ready to go house hunting! After a while though, it might seem like all the properties blend together. How can you remember which houses had the features that you wanted? One idea is to make a simple scorecard for each property you visit, noting features for each room and whether the residence was acceptable to you or not.

Buying a house shouldn't be a stressful event. By dreaming a little and staying organized, you can have fun and find the house that is a good fit for your family. Who knows, your realtor make take one look at your dream house list and drive you right to it. Okay, probably not. But you never know.