When buying a new home, there are plenty of things to think about. And even if you write down a list of all your needs and wants, you may still forget some of the things that will affect your life most.

Here are 5 things to look for when searching for your new home:

Schools

If you have children, or are planning to have children anytime in the future, you know how important a school district can be. Make sure you do plenty of research on the schools your children will be attending, but also any news on if the school districts have any plans to change boundaries anytime soon.

Future Development

You never want to be surprised when moving into a new home, and if you realize new construction or road construction will be happening after you move in, it could ruin your experience. However, if you are willing to wait out some construction, being the first in your neighborhood can have many perks.

Family friendliness

If you have a family, this is an important one. You will want to look for location, including convenience to family-friendly activities, as well as the number of children within your neighborhood. You will also want to ask if your community has any family-friendly amenities, like a pool.

If you don’t have a family, and are not looking to be in a neighborhood full of children, this is also an important thing to look for when deciding on your next home.

Amenities

Preferred amenities are different for everyone, so you should never assume your dream house has everything you are looking for. When looking for your home, make a list of what you really want and let your real estate agent know which ones you have to have. He or she should be able to lead you in the right directions.

Maintenance

If you are a first-time homebuyer, a parent, or a retiree, you may have very different ideas on how much work you want to do on your home. Look for yard size and HOA rules to see if someone will be doing landscaping or snow removal, or if that is your responsibility.

If you are looking forward to taking care of your own lawn or building things in your garage, you will also want to look at HOA rules for when you can do those things.