The hubby and I have taken the next step in our house-hunting journey, we’ve met with our realtor and put together a list of houses we want to see in person.

I’ve decided that shopping for a house is a lot like dating. You create a list of qualities that you are looking for and some deal-breakers, then you throw that list out the window once you fall in love.

It’s probably going to be a week or so until we can get out with our realtor to actually start visiting the houses on our list. So in the meantime, I plan to drive by each of the houses and vet the outside and the neighborhoods so we can weed some out. It’s like Facebook stalking your dates before you meet them.

I could get really organized and create a dossier with photos for each of these. I imagine a label maker and color-coding galore!

Just like a first date, there are some basic get-to-know-you questions that I will need to ask:

1. What is the neighborhood like?

I want to check out the position of the house in the neighborhood and what our view will be like. I have also been told to check out the crime rates and sex offender lists for each area. I also want to check out location to freeways, shopping and restaurants.

2. What school district will our future children go to?

3. Is this house part of a homeowner’s association?

4. Is there a garage?

This I can confirm from a quick drive by of the property. We would love an attached 2-3 car garage, so that will bump up a house on our list.

5. What are the neighbors like?

Will we have to fight for street parking? Are we too close to the other houses? Does one of the neighbors have an unkept yard/house?

Are there any other questions or things I should look at? I want to get as much information together in advance so we can really start to narrow down our list before we get to check out the interiors.

For more updates on our house-hunting journey, click here.