So you’ve decided to buy a house. Congratulations! Now starts the process of searching for your dream home. How many homes should you look at before making an offer?

There is no right answer to this question because everyone’s needs vary.

Some people look at 30+ homes before they buy one, and some people buy a home sight unseen from an internet search. Basically, when you know, you know. Whether you know exactly what you’re looking for or you just have a checklist of your wants and needs, what’s most important is that you are buying a home that you love and that you aren’t missing out on any other opportunities.

Here are three helpful steps to follow when searching for your dream home.

1. Scour The Internet

• Your real estate agent should have a comprehensive search for you that will show every available property in your desired area, price range, and style. It’s important to tell your real estate agent in as much detail as possible what you are looking for so that they can narrow down the search quicker.

• Do some digging yourself in your free time. Many times people look at properties outside of their budget for fun in their spare time. It’s always good to see what else is out there. If you can buy a home that checks off more boxes for a little more money, it may sway your opinion about the homes you are already looking at.

2. Narrow Down Your List With a Drive By

• Once you’ve come up with a list of potential homes with your real estate agent, weed out the bad ones from the start by doing a quick drive by. You can usually narrow down a list pretty quickly by seeing what the street, neighbors, and the house’s exterior.

3. Only Tour Homes You’d Give an A+

• Homes that you go to see in person should paint a very clear picture of what you want. That way, you aren’t burning yourself out by looking at a bunch of homes you know from the start you most likely won’t end up buying.

• Although there’s no right or wrong number of houses to tour, usually seeing 5-10 will give you a very solid option that you can make an offer on and hopefully close on.