House hunting can be intimidating. A house is a huge investment and affects your lifestyle for years. It's also scary to think of all the things that could go wrong after a sale. There are five key things you should consider when you go house hunting to make it a more successful undertaking.

1. Location, Location, Location

What kind of neighborhood is it? How good are the schools? How close are you to restaurants and where you want to buy your groceries? What is the tax rate? Aside from road infrastructure, location characteristics can change a lot for the better or worse over 5-10 years; location is important but be cautious of giving it too much sway.

2. Structural Condition

Much about a house can be changed. The foundation, frame, and roof are the bones of a house; everything else about a house is built around them. If the bones are good, you can concentrate on changing more stylistic things. If you have to sink big money into structural problems that could cause more issues and could be recurring, it's going to take away from your ability to turn your new house into your dream home.

3. Electrical and Plumbing

Older homes were not built to handle the electrical demands we have today. It is frustrating to have inadequate outlets and potentially dangerous to overload existing outlets by using appliances with higher power demand than a circuit has capacity for or plugging too many things into a power strip or adapter. Old plumbing can be problematic, either just old and leaking or running through lead pipes, to inconvenient with low water pressure. Both electrical and plumbing fixes are expensive but should last the duration of your home ownership. New houses are not immune to problems.

4. Flooring

Flooring is a large part of a house's ambience. Don't hold a house's flooring against it while you are house hunting. Flooring is something which can be changed fairly easily - as long as you follow the right steps to floor installation. Even within the main categories of tile, laminate, wood, and carpet flooring there is a wide range of choices to suit your budget, care, and style preferences. Since it is a change that can last for the entire time you own your house, only painting has better return on investment than updating flooring.

5. Floorplan flow

Is the square footage used in a way that makes sense to you? Is there enough space? Are the areas you use most convenient to each other? Do you prefer an open floor plan or rooms that are set apart? A house needs a floorplan that works for your life. 

House hunting can be intimidating, but knowing what to look for helps simplify the process. If you are looking for a house to build your life around, look for those good in the things you can't change, so that you can afford to change the more stylistic things that will turn your new house into your dream home.