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Now that the initial paperwork has been done, it鈥檚 time to find your new home. No doubt you鈥檝e already been online and have probably seen a house or two. You may even have a good idea of what your new address will be.

But let鈥檚 take a couple of minutes and fine-tune the process a bit. There might be an idea or two here that hasn鈥檛 yet occurred to you.

Ready, set, house hunt!

Once you obtain a聽preapproval letter, you鈥檒l know exactly the price range in which you should be house hunting, and sellers will negotiate with confidence that you can close the deal. This makes a big difference, especially when you鈥檙e looking for a home in a hot market. Plus, real estate agents want to spend most of their time only with preapproved buyers.

Another benefit of having that green light in hand: Since you鈥檝e provided a lot of the initial information to qualify for a loan, you have a head start in completing the underwriting process. That can speed the process along once you have a contract for a particular home. Depending on how long your house hunting has been going on, it鈥檚 likely you鈥檒l have to update some, if not all, of the financial information that you initially provided to obtain the preapproval.

So we鈥檝e laid out the reasons why a preapproval is so important, provided guidance for obtaining a preapproval letter and discussed the benefits of having that piece of paper in your hand. Now it鈥檚 time to do what you鈥檝e been waiting for: hit the streets and find your new home.

Target your potential neighborhoods

You probably have a neighborhood in mind, or at least an idea of what it should look like, how it will feel and its general location: in the city or away from it all; convenient to shopping or next to nothing. Once you start seriously house hunting, you might be surprised how much you learn 鈥� and where you want to be.

Don鈥檛 just walk through the house鈥攎ake sure you spend time in the neighborhood, too. What鈥檚 within easy walking distance? Do you like the vibe? Most people just walk through the open house, but getting a sense of the neighborhood, during the day and night, can be just as important.

If you鈥檙e new to an area, you鈥檒l need all the guidance you can get. In some cities you might be advised to live 鈥渋n the Mission,鈥� 鈥渨ithin the Loop,鈥� 鈥渟outh of the river鈥� or 鈥渦ptown.鈥� Everybody has an opinion. It鈥檚 a good idea to find a trusted real estate agent to guide you through your new city to help find the home that鈥檚 just right for you.

If you鈥檙e already familiar with what will be your long-term hometown, the questions can be even more specific. Single-family or condo? Ranch or Victorian? New construction, 鈥済ently used鈥� or well-worn?

If you have children, deciding on the right school district will help narrow down your neighborhood. If not, you may be more interested in proximity to mass transit, coffee shops or food trucks.

House-hunting tools you can use

Armed with apps, you鈥檙e the mighty house hunter of the subdivision safari. Check out these online tools:

• Trulia聽and聽Zillow: These co-owned websites and related apps offer detailed maps of neighborhoods with lot-level prices, heat maps of crime statistics, school profiles and more. Zillow鈥檚 鈥淶estimates鈥� of home values and future price forecasts are an interesting home-comparison gauge.
• Doorsteps Swipe: It鈥檚 kind of like the Tinder for real estate. You can 鈥渓ike鈥� your favorite listings, which then can be organized by location and even shared with friends. The app promises to 鈥渓earn鈥� your preferences and track what鈥檚 important to you: number of bedrooms, baths, price or location.
• HomeSnap: Drive by a home and want to know more? Snap a photo and this app will offer more information, such as price, interior photos, prevailing property taxes, public school info and more.
• House Hunter: This app helps keep you organized with notes, pictures and a scoring tool that lets you identify houses that best match what you鈥檙e looking for. You can prioritize among 80 different home features and add custom features that are important to you.
• Realtor.com: Promises to update listings of millions of homes every 15 minutes. You can search houses for sale by school and school district and even get alerts on price changes.

Sliding into home

Few homes are perfect, but you can realistically shoot for finding a great home 鈥� one that you can truly love. Just know that there will be some compromises along the way.

The National Association of Realtors says the average homebuyer takes about 10 weeks to find what he or she is looking for. That means you鈥檒l be doing a lot of research, walk-throughs, drive-bys and comparisons over coffee. Take your time; don鈥檛 make a rash decision and don鈥檛 get desperate. Your new home is out there waiting for you. It may just take a little time to find it.