Lodi / Stockton CA Homes For Sale & Real Estate Information

Yesterday’s topic was about getting pre-approved and not just pre-qualified to purchase a home in the Lodi, Stockton, and surrounding CA areas.  Today I’d like to mention what I feel would be helpful once you have been pre-approved and you start looking at homes with your own Buyer’s Realtor®.

2. Play the Game of Nines

Before house hunting, make a list of nine things you want in the new place.   Then make a list of the nine things you don’t want. I call this “NINE OF THIS AND NONE OF THAT”.  You can use this list as a scorecard to rate each property you see.  The one with the biggest score wins!  This helps avoid confusion and keeps things in perspective when you’re comparing dozens of homes.

When house hunting, keep in mind the difference between “SKIN AND BONES”.   The BONES are things that cannot be changed such as the location, view, size of lot, noise in the area, school district and floor plan.  The SKIN represents easily changed surface finishes like carpet, wallpaper, color and window coverings.  Buy the house with good BONES, because the SKIN can always be changed to match your tastes.  Consider each house on its underlying merits, not the seller’s decorating skills.  That is, if it’s occupied.

I hope you are finding this information helpful.  Stay tuned for Tip Number 3…

Make it a great day!