Being a decisive buyer will optimize your success and your time in today's competitive real estate market. A few decisions you should make before you and your real estate agent start actively seeking prospective properties and making offers to purchase include a definitive price range, a relatively specific location, and your ideal type of property, i.e. a house versus a condominium. Let's face it, you're busy. Sending your agent a precise budget, property type, and a short list of towns ensures you are making the most out of the time you spend visiting properties. Do your research beforehand and get to know the area and the communities you're looking in. You can save yourself some time by recognizing that a certain town may not make the best fit for you and/or your family. Ultimately choosing a maximum of four towns you'd be interested in will help you and your agent set up relevant showings. Deciding beforehand whether you wish to purchase a house or a condo is another great way to save time and ensure a proficient search, limiting the types of properties you're shown to the properties you'd be serious about buying. You don't want to continue to be shown properties that are too far out of your set budget and you certainly don't want to fall in love with a house that is $100,000.00 above your finances. On the other end of the spectrum, you also don't want to be shown houses that may be too small for your needs or that may not meet your ideal expectations when you have more money to spare. Understand that making decisions will optimize your search in the long run. Make decisions and stick with them, for now. If you simply aren't finding what you're looking for, you can always change your criteria further down the road. As your buyer's agent I won't be able to make these decisions for you, but I'd be happy to help you optimize your search and success.