It's an enviable position in which to find oneself, but it happens. You're approaching the end of your home search, and you're torn between two or more homes. The major deciding factors -- asking price, quality of the neighborhood, quality of school district and commute time to your office as well as your spouse's -- are relatively equal, so those won't help you favor one home over another. What to do now? The decision could drive you batty. If you lean toward one home, you'll be looking over your shoulder longingly at the other home. All of those "What ifs?" questions will run through your mind. Maybe the carpeting in the other house would have been more versatile. Maybe the layout of the other home would have been more agreeable both for your furniture and for your family's lifestyle.

Undoubtedly, after you make your decision and move into the home of your choice, you'll encounter situations during which you may question -- if only for a brief moment -- your decision. And it's natural for those thoughts to cross our minds at some point because it's human nature to view the grass on the other side as greener.

But depending upon the process you go through before you select your home and close the deal, you'll either settle that question in your mind with the knowledge and satisfaction that in general, you're happy with your decision; of you'll be in a state of regret, which will ruin what should be one of the most exciting times in one's life (attaining the great American dream of homeownership).

As with so many other aspects of the home-search process, you should get out your trusty pen and paper and prepare to take some notes that explore your preferences and those of your family. When you're having trouble making a decision, you'll need to consider which amenities are most important to you and then do a side-by-side comparison of homes to help you narrow down your choices, ultimately pinpointing the best choice.

Ideally, you should sit down before you even begin your home search and list all interior and exterior amenities that are preferable to you. Place a star beside the amenities you consider mandatory (for example, a garage, a fourth bedroom or an eating area open to the family room). Before you arrange to view a home with your Realtor, make sure the home in question contains your "required" amenities. Your Realtor will appreciate the time you're saving him or her by stating up front what it is you're looking for, so that the two of you won't spin your wheels viewing homes that clearly aren't of interest to you.

As you make notes of these features, you may place stars beside the amenities that were of particularly high quality (i.e., extra-large bedrooms, three-car garage versus two-car garage, etc.). This will help you later when you review your notes. As every prospective homeowner knows, all of those homes you viewed tend to run together in your mind within a few short hours after you've walked through them with your Realtor.

To help you get started as you begin to consider important interior amenities on your personal priority list, make sure you list the following -- and feel free to add more as you see fit:

Published: May 17, 2000

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