Quote Originally Posted by RblDiver View Post
Any other thoughts and suggestions for a first-time buyer would be welcome too! Thanks in advance!
I agree with the advice about finding a good buyers agent that you can trust, someone that knows the area you're interested in can be very helpful. If you find someone that has worked the area for a while they'll be able to provide a lot of advice that someone from outside the area can't. We've been working with the same brokers in Highlands Ranch for 13 years now and they know the area backwards and forwards.

Also watch out for common mistakes like a house that backs or sides to a road (just make sure you pay accordingly if you get one). You may think the fact you have no neighbors and a beautiful creek behind your house will be a selling point but many, many buyers will only notice the road that's 1/4 mile away, even if you can't hear it.

Google any neighborhood you're looking at as well, for example - http://www.vsss.com/template.php?id=47

What I like to do when looking for a house is use a combination of tools to research the area before having the broker pull comps. Zillow can give some good info on current homes listed and previous sales (nice because you can use the satellite view to research an area), the listing data on Zillow is also cool. Another tool I use is the county assessor site (should be able to find one for just about any area), you can see when the house last sold, how much it sold for and what the neighbors have paid. Many times you can also get an idea what's going on with the sale, you see a lot of houses purchased by a couple and then quit claimed from the husband to the wife before going up for sale.

Lastly, once you have a good idea what you want, have your broker set up a search for you. We're currently getting emails of every 4+ bedroom home with over 5 acres and a private well that hits the market in Douglas and Elbert counties.