How to Shop for a Home on Your Own?

After you’ve gotten a preapproval letter from your lender, you’re good to go. Working with an agent can make house hunting much easier, and the seller normally pays the buyer’s agent. But if you feel for some reason that you don’t want work with an agent, you’ll need to line up a real estate attorney to write up the deal.

The next step is to check in the local Yellow Pages for a home inspector who is a member of the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI). With these resources lined up, you’re ready to check out classified ads and homes-for-sale publications.
Deciding what homes to look at from ads can be a frustrating experience. Owners as well as real estate agents often omit the address or price, forcing you to call them. The Internet is a little better, but in the end you’ll still need to call the owner for an appointment.

If you know the area and the neighborhoods you want to live in, the battle is half won. The strategy then becomes driving through the neighborhoods looking for signs that pop up. When you find one, get the phone number and call the owner to see the house.

If you are new to an area and don’t know the neighborhoods, you’ll need to do some homework. First, determine how far from work you want to commute. Second, from homes-for-sale publications, ads, and going to www.realtor.com, make a list of the neighborhoods in your price range and drive through them. This will take some time and a few tanks of gas to narrow down the list to neighborhoods you want to live in. Once you’ve done that, it then becomes a matter of scouring ads and looking for lawn signs.