Where to Start When Buying a Home?

I spoke last night at an event for University of Pennsylvania Alumni who are thinking of buying a home in Philadelphia. The event was loads of fun, partly because it was held in the top-floor penthouse of the Aria Condominium building which has amazing views to justify the close to two-million dollar asking price. Many of the attendees at the event were potential first-time home-buyers and I was bombarded with questions ranging from which neighborhoods in Philly are going to be the "next big thing" to whether or not looking at foreclosure listings is a good idea. The thing that stood out most to me though was that many first-time, and even repeat buyers, just don't know where to start when it comes to thinking about buying a home. For that reason I put together a little brainstorming exercise (see below) that I think will be very helpful if you're just starting to think about home-buying.

I would recommend going through these questions before speaking with an experienced real estate agent. Jot down the answers to the ones you can answer, and make not of anything you don't understand. With these topics in mind you will be able to have a very productive conversation with your agent and hopefully make the home-buying process a smooth and enjoyable one.