House Hunting
Once you know how much you can afford, you can decide what and where you should buy. The choice is yours and you can take as long as you need to make up your mind. It is a time consuming business, so it makes sense to consider your options carefully at the outset. This will save you time and effort because instead of sifting through piles of estate agents details and looking at a number of unsuitable homes, you can narrow the field by specifying the features you are looking for. The following are just some of the basic questions you should be asking yourself.

Where?
Location is one of the most important things to decide on. Even though Jersey is a small island if you work in St Helier and choose to live in St Ouen the traffic can have quite an impact on the time you need to get up in the morning. How important is it to be close to your family or friends? How important is it to be close to shops or a park? What are the local school and facilities like? Is there a regular bus route?

How Big?
Is your new home just for you, for you and a partner or for you and your children ?

Garden?
How important is it to you to have a garden and if you want one, do you simply want somewhere to lounge around on a sunny day or somewhere you can do some serious gardening?

Condition?
If you are practically minded, you may be happy to buy an older property and work on it yourself, increasing its value, often significantly. If you are less practical, you may be better off buying a newer property which is decorated in a way that you will be happy with from day one..

Utilities?
Is it important to be connected to mains drains, electricity or gas ? mains water ? Do you need broadband internet access (some properties further than 5.5km from the nearest telephone exchange can't receive broadband). All of these are good things to check out before you commit to anything.

Re-sale Potential?
Unless you are planning to live in the home you are buying now for the rest of your life, you should consider how much you might gain or lose when you come to re-sell the property.

See the Estate Agents
Once you have an idea of what sort of property you are looking for, both in terms of the property itself, its surroundings and your price limit, it is time to visit an Estate Agents to see what they have got on their books. A good Estate Agent will take the time to listen to what you want and do their best to help you to find it. Often they will even know about properties that have not come onto the market yet. A good Agent can save you a lot of time and hassle, making the whole experience a much more pleasant one.

Remember to check the local newspapers and look out for the free Property Guides, published by many major Estate Agents and widely available through newsagents. A more relaxed way of looking for a house is to pick the area you really want to live in and have a walk or drive around. You may spot houses for sale that have not been advertised in the newspapers or Property Guides. Take a note of the Estate Agent handling the sale, so that you can contact them later. Doing this will also give you a feel for what sort of neighbourhood it is.

See some Properties
When you get details of a property that sounds as though it might be what you are looking for, contact the Agent to arrange a time to go and view it. When you go, take time on the way there to have a look around. Remember you are not just Moving Into a property, you are Moving Into an area, so check out the district.

Talk to other local residents and ask if there are any developments in the offing that could improve the area or blight it altogether.

Also try to bear in mind that you will be living in your new home 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. However attractive it may be, look at it critically. If it is a sunny day when you visit, try to imagine it on a wet weekend evening or a wet Monday in winter. If it is night when you make your first visit, make sure you go back for another look during the day.

When viewing properties, take a notebook with you and jot down information that will help you remember which property is which, it is easy to get confused when you might be viewing a dozen properties over a fortnight. Try not to make any snap decisions, you do not want to end up "repenting at leisure" over the next few years.

It may also be worth taking a camera as it's not uncommon to forget the size of rooms or which way the window faces when planning if your furniture will fit.

From a financial viewpoint it's always worth taking mortgage advice before you start looking for a house so you know exactly what you can afford or what you could spend on improvements. See a financial advisor before you find the home of your dreams to avoid disappointment.