Buyer Intake Questionnaire

Use this questionnaire as a way of downloading a ton of information to share with your real estate agent. The entire premise of The Pursuit of Home is this: The more you know about yourself, the better. And you’re about to go on an emotional journey, whether you like it or not! Print it, look at it, write down your answers and ideas on the pages.

Don’t be afraid to dig into what home means to you. This is the whole game! Home is much more than a transaction.

We can’t wait to hear from you. Share your stories and insights by either going to pursueyourhome.com/contact or email us: info@pursueyourhome.com

Happy House Hunting!

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Your Big Idea

• Think about when you felt at home somewhere recently. What made it feel that way?
• Put down five words that describe how you feel when you are "home."

  1) __________________

  2) __________________

  3) __________________

  4) __________________

  5) __________________

• Now, forget the practical. You have no limitations. It's your favorite time of the day, and you're walking around, so grateful for this amazing new place. What would your dream house look like? How many bedrooms? Would it have a shed, a finished basement, a garage, a home office, a gym, a recording studio?
• What finishes and features in other people's homes inspired you? Add anything new to your list.
• Create a home-oriented vision board. What's that, you say? Houzz calls it an ideaboard. Pinterest calls it a pinboard. Fashion and design websites call it a lookbook. the idea is to put all the images (and words too) that inspire you on one page: your dream kitchen, baths, views, or anything else! NOTE: Create your Vision board at www.pursueyourhome.com/visionboard

Your Why

• Why do you want to move? Is it something you can put your finger on? Or is it something less tangible?
• If you have a significant other, can you predict their reasons? Are your reasons for moving the same as theirs?
• Do you think of these reasons as "good" or "bad"? Do you see your needing to move as an opportunity, or something to complain about?
• When did you realize you were ready for your new home? Did it hit you all at once? If you have a significant other, when did they know? Or did you or they need to be won over?
• Is moving way overdue? What are the financial or emotional costs to waiting?
• On a scale of 1 to 10, how committed are you to moving? What do you need to do before you can be fully committed? If you have a spouse or significant other in this process, what about them? Do you sense any ambivalence?
• You’ll get to go into more detail about your why in Chapter 8 of The Pursuit of Home

Your Housing History

• Let's go back and remember your childhood home(s). How many places did you live in? Did you move to different cities? How was one house different from another? How were they the same? Did you share a room?
• Where in your house were you the happiest? What parts of the house did you like best? Describe these details as clearly as you can.
• What did you like about your childhood home(s)? What didn't you like? Be specific. Was it noisy, smelly, or too cramped?
• What other housing experiences did you encounter as a child? Did you go tent or RV camping? Did you go to summer camp, band camp, bible camp, or some program away from home? Describe what you liked most about them.
• Once you left home, how many places have you lived in? Make a list, along with the dates. Describe what still stands out in those homes. What do they have in common?
• Think about the best place you have ever lived in. The most run-down. The craziest. Describe them in detail, what you loved and what you hated.

Your Current Situation

• Where do you live now?
• What's your marital status? Are you looking to buy a new home with someone else?
• What is your timeline for buying a home? Are you looking to do this in the next three months? Or in the next year?
• Why did you move into your current home? Really dive into why you chose it. Was it the views? The backyard? The kitchen? The nooks and crannies? What else?
• What didn't you realize you would love about it?
• What upgrades have you done that make you love your home even more?
• What bothers you, annoys you, or stresses you out about your current house? Is there one thing that you complain about the most? What is it?
• What do others in your home (a child or significant other, perhaps) complain about the most?
• What don't you have right now that would support the things you do in your house, like working from home? That is, what's missing from your current home? Now add that one thing. Would it be enough to keep you there?

Your Priorities

• In which towns and neighborhoods are you looking to buy? How did you come to that decision? Are you open to other areas with equally good schools? Gyms? Playgrounds? Houses of worship?
• What are your nice-to-have criteria?
• What is the one thing you absolutely MUST have in your new home? What items are deal-breakers if they are missing? What items could you never live with?
• Are you willing to renovate to add any of these things to (or remove them from) your new home?

The Nuts and Bolts

• Buckle up! Now we’re going to talk about money. How much do you want to spend on your home? How did you come to that number? Are you prioritizing your purchase price or how much you want to spend per month?
• Use this back-of-the-envelope calculation to get a rough idea of what banks think your housing budget should be:

  Take your annual income (or your family's). Divide it by twelve to get your monthly income. Banks will look at what's known as a Debt-to-Income (DTI) Ratio to qualify you. This may range from 25% to over 40%.

  Here's the formula in plain English: Multiply your monthly income number by this percentage number to get your monthly housing budget. For instance, an annual income of $60,000 becomes a monthly income of $5,000. If your bank wants to see a DTI of 30%, that translates to a housing budget of $1,500/month ($5,000 x 30%). If this seems like a conservative ratio, don't hold back. Consult a mortgage professional or a real estate agent in your market for other opinions.

  Monthly income Calculation :

  __________________________ ÷ 12 = ______________________
  Annual income Monthly income

  Housing Budget Calculation:

  __________________________ ? ________% = ______________________
  Monthly income DTI RATIO Housing Budget

• Are you financing? If so, have you gotten preapproved for a mortgage yet? We would recommend you have conversations with mortgage professionals as early as possible.
• If you're financing, how much have you saved for your down payment? After your down payment, what will your post-closing liquid assets be?
• You'll want to look at all of your assets (cash, stocks, bonds, retirement accounts) and liabilities (your debts), and your income, in one place. Fill in the blanks on the balance sheet in the appendix to get a basic look. Don't worry about being accurate to the penny, though there are many other resources that will be more comprehensive if you feel this to be necessary, and your mortgage lender will require this later anyway. What's most important at present is to see your finances in black and white.
• IMPORTANT: Take a few minutes to think about (then input) any other resources you have. That is, funds or Money! For example, will your family or friends help you with your down payment?
  
  Depending on mortgage rates, down payment requirements, and the different lending programs and loan products available when you're reading this, you'll have a better sense of the mortgage you can take.

Before We Move On

• Notice how the Nuts and Bolts made you feel. Are you distracted, annoyed, or even depressed now? Let's fix that:
• Review your Why—your reasons for moving—and remind yourself of the emotional costs of staying where you are.
• Reread all the things that you would love in your new home.
• Take another long look at that vision board. Plan to look at it as often as you can, perhaps every morning during your home search.

And One More Thing

• To whom do you turn for guidance? Whose advice do you value? Who are your personal and professional mentors? Who listens without judgment and helps you make important decisions? Not just that, but who are those people that lift you up? Who celebrates your successes with you? How wonderful is it to have these people in your life? My advice is to call them often. Share that you are starting to look for a new home, if you haven't already. Let them know that you might need their help when things get weird.
• As to those people in your life who judge you, or whom you feel hold you back in any way from making big moves—you know who they are. They don't need to be along for this ride, do they? At the very least, they don't have to ride shotgun.