Many people find house shopping to be extremely stressful, intimidating and sometimes down right difficult for those new to the experience. The question becomes, what kinds of things need to be thought about when getting ready to look for a home?

1. Deal with Finance first. Are you pre-qualified for the mortgage? Getting pre-qualified before you begin visiting homes is the best way to know what is truly affordable. Many people fall into the trap of looking first, falling in love with a house that's well out of their price range and then meeting up with huge disappointment when they find out it is too much house for what the bank will give a loan for. Get pre-qualified and then only look in the price range you are qualified for.

2. Where do you want to live? I recently read an article that stressed, "a house needs to be near what's important to you and your every day lifestyle". How important is it to you that you live close to your church, school, or a particular kind of grocery store? Does someone in your family need medical treatment on a regular basis? That alone would necessitate the need of living close to doctors and hospitals. Remember, location is very important when looking for a place to call home.

3. What kind of house do I need? What kind of square footage do you and your family require? Does it have enough room for you to grow if future growth is in your plans? How does the house feel when you walk in? Does it feel comfortable? Do you feel like you belong there? Please pay attention to your feelings. If this house doesn't feel like home to you, then keep looking elsewhere.

4. When you need to sell again. We live in an age of transition. We change furniture more often than our parents. We move from city to city, job to job more often than previous generations. Keeping that in mind, many people do not live in their house for the full term of their mortgage. When looking for that right house, keep in mind that at some point you will probably want to put your home on the market, so don't compromise in what is important to you. If you decide a house has some aspect that you can pass over, you need to be aware that someone else may not feel the same way. When looking for the right house, choose one that is not only appealing to you, but there is a high possibility it will be appealing to someone else down the road when you list it "for sale".