Buying a new HOME??? few tips..

Congratulations to who all have a nice home and good luck to my friends who are looking to buy one.As I mentioned in my earlier post ( http://preethi-pretty.blogspot.com/2014/02/watch-for-deals-even-after-you-buy.html) we recently bought a house in the US. Thanks to our friends and family for giving us valuable advise on things to keep in mind while purchasing one.This post is a compilation of everything that we thought through before we signed the contract.
Everyone has a dream house in mind. But in reality very few are lucky to get a very good house with all that they want. You have to compromise on certain things. Make sure that you dont compromise on any of the below.

*”MORTGAGE” What is the price range you are looking for and the max you can go to get your dream home.Do the math first before you jump into this.

 * “LOCATION” this is the most important thing to be considered.We lived in this city for  around 4 years so we kind of short listed certain locations which were reasonably closer to work and grocery shops etc
* “SCHOOL”since in US the houses have assigned schools. Make sure that elementary,middle and high schools are good based on the age of your kids.Though you can try to enroll your kids in other schools it is not guaranteed you will get a spot.
* “STRUCTURAL PLAN”  Do you want a one story or a two story house?? How many bedrooms in the house ??. Master bedroom upstairs or downstairs??Are you particular to have a room and a bath downstairs for your parents when they visit you and things like that.One tip is never have your bedroom and laundry in different floors that is really a pain.Do you want two car or three car garage??.Based on your requirements choose a good floor  plan.
You cannot change the above things once you have bought a house. For all other interiors make sure you have  the list of things that you really want in the house (a must) and what all you can compromise.Owning a house  is a very big commitment .Think well before you take  the big step.