How to Find a Property in California
- 1). Decide what kind of house you want and how much you can spend. How many bedrooms do you need? How much living space? Are there any additional features that you would like, for example a swimming pool or a large garage. Look carefully at your finances; your mortgage shouldn't be more than 2.5 times your salary and bear in mind there may be additional costs if you decide you want to buy a house that needs renovations or other alterations.
- 2). Draw up a short list of areas. This may be more or less dependent upon your budget as some areas will be more expensive than others. You might have to compromise between the size of the property and its location. If you have children, look for locations with good schools (although this can also push up the price) or with accessible highways or other transportation for you to get to work.
- 3). Use Realtor.com or a similar site to search through the properties available in your short-listed areas to get a better idea of prices and also styles of homes. Hire a real estate agent to represent you and assist you in your search. In California, all agents must be licensed as either brokers or sales people; sales people normally work for a broker but both can be referred to as sales agents.
- 4). When you choose an agent make sure they are active in the areas you are interested in; you can check this by driving through the areas and looking at for-sale signs. If so, then they should be knowledgeable about the kinds of properties you can find in the area for your budget. The agent should also be proactive in helping you find the right house and then in negotiating on your behalf.
Source...