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When you’re ready to shop the homes for sale in Fairfax, VA, you need to create a wish list. This list will help you save time when working on finding the right home for you. It will become your template and will include what you need to have and what you want to have.

Maybe you’re relocating to Virginia and you want to find the right home for sale in Fairfax for you. You’ve already been pre-approved for a home loan and you’re ready to start your home search. Before you do this, make sure you create a wish list.

How to Prepare to Search the Homes for Sale in Fairfax

The first thing you need to do when preparing to search the homes for sale in Fairfax is to get pre-approved. Nobody will take you seriously until you have a mortgage pre-approval. Contact a lender and make sure you have a pre-approval letter, not a pre-qualification letter before you start your home search.

After you have been pre-approved, set your price range. This will likely be based on the pre-approval, but don’t forget about your own budget. Consider what you can put down on the home and all the expenses including insurance, taxes, and future home repairs.

The final thing you need to do before you start searching the homes for sale in Fairfax is to figure out if you’re willing to take on a home that needs renovations. Do you prefer a move-in-ready home or are you willing to take on a few renovations?

After you prepare to search the homes for sale in Fairfax, you want to create your wish list. Let’s look at a few tips to help you create your wish list for your dream home.

Tips for Creating Your Wishlist When Searching for Homes for Sale in Fairfax

1. Separate Wants from Needs

You might need three bedrooms, but you really want four. It might be necessary to have a fenced-in yard for your dogs, but you’d really like a one-acre lot. There are things you have to have and things you would like to have.

When you want to search the homes for sale in Fairfax, separate what you need from what you want. Having a list of things, you need in a home gives you the non-negotiables and your search parameters. If the home you find also has some or all of the things you want in a home, that is a bonus.

2. Consider How You Live Now and How You Will Live in the Future

Buying one of the homes for sale in Fairfax based on how you live now is fine. However, it will likely mean you need a new home, again, if your lifestyle changes.

Maybe you are just a couple now, but you plan to have children. Maybe you have one child, but you plan to have more. Plan for your current lifestyle, but make sure you are also planning for the future.

If you’re retiring and downsizing to one of the smaller homes for sale in Fairfax, you might need certain things in the future. Some things can be added on later, but if you get a two-story home or a home with a basement, it might not fit well, if you struggle with stairs in the future.

3. Consider the Location, as well

While it’s not really a part of your needs or wants list for your actual home, the location should still be considered. There might be neighborhoods you prefer over others, but you do have to know which neighborhoods in Fairfax you are simply not willing to live in.

Maybe you commute to work and you want to be close to where you work. If you have a specific commute time in mind, make sure you add this to your wish list to ensure you’re close enough to work. Then, you can search homes for sale in Fairfax found in your preferred and ideal locations.

4. What Size Home Do You Need/Want?

The average size home in the United States is about 2,500 square feet, according to NewHomeSource.com. According to BobVila.com, the average size home in Virginia is about 1,896 square feet.

While these are the averages, you may need a larger or smaller home. It has already been shown that the size home you think you need might not be the same as what you really need. People used to live in much smaller homes. In 1960, the average size home was just under 1,300 square feet.

Square footage is just one of the things to consider. The layout of one of the homes for sale in Fairfax may use the space better than another. You might need a large amount of storage space or maybe you don’t need as much.

The size of the home you need will likely be different than what you really want, too. Plus, just as one of the other tips said, make sure you consider the future. If you get a three-bedroom home, but you plan to have two or three more children, it might not be larger enough for you.

There are many things to consider when you want to start searching the homes for sale in Fairfax. With the right real estate agent in NoVa and a good wish list, you can find the right home for you.