If you don’t know what you want you will never find it. Take the time to clearly define your wants and needs before starting that house hunt. These lists may evolve as you look at homes that are available but at least you will have a starting point. A need is pretty simple. The wants can run up the cost. Compromise will happen in the want category first. Needs are what you must have to move. If you cant fill those needs in your budget then you have a problem moving in the first place. http://lweil.com/ is a good place to start planning.