Four tips to narrow your first-time home search

First-time home buyers often are overwhelmed when looking for properties. Are you having a tough time wading through the inventories of homes to find the right one?

Here are four tips to help narrow your list:

1. Get preapproved for a mortgage by a lender. (Preapproval is different from prequalified). Preapproval will help ensure you look for homes within your budget.

2. Don’t get sidetracked by aesthetics that can be easily changed. Paint colors and light fixtures can be swapped in a day. Focus on what cannot be changed, like the home’s location and lot size.

3. Make a list of all the must-haves – the number of bedrooms, baths, yard, school district.

4. Research all of your possible candidate homes on the Internet so you can compare and contrast before you actually visit. This saves time and prompts deeper questions.