FINDING YOUR DREAM! 

 When creating your wish list, take a look at your lifestyle. For example, if you love to cook, you'll want a well-equipped kitchen. If you love to garden, you'll want a yard. If you want to work at home, you may want a room for a separate library or home office. If you have several cars, you may require a garage or parking spaces.

Write down on paper all the things you and your co-purchaser, if there is one, would love to have in your home. You can let your imagination take over, but realize that you will have to cut the list back later.

As you think about your housing needs, it's important to consider how long you may live in your home. If you are newly married, you might not be concerned with a school district right now. But you could be in several years. Will you move then -- or is the house you are looking for now in a neighborhood where good schools are available? If you have aging parents, might they need to live with you in the near future? If so, you may want to look at homes that offer living arrangements for them as well as you.

So, when preparing your wish list, factor in both your current housing needs and what you may anticipate a few years from now.

Beyond commuting distance to work, you need to evaluate the availability of shopping, police and fire protection, medical facilities, school and day-care, traffic and parking, trash and garbage collection, recreational facilities, places of worship, and other community amenities.

Driving or walking around neighborhoods, looking at street maps of various neighborhoods, and talking with people you know who live in the neighborhood will help you better understand the pluses and minuses of communities you are considering.

If you have the time and money to invest in fixing up a home, you may want to buy an older home that needs some work. If you don't, you may wish to buy an older home in which all renovations are complete, or a new home that offers energy-efficient systems and modern materials.