FIND A SOLID LOCATION

Reason:

Conventional wisdom in realestate says that it's better to buy asmaller house in a good neighborhoodthan to buy a bigger house ina neighborhood that's not so nice.Although you could buy the downscalehouse and trade up whenyou're in better financial shape,many realtors would advise you tobuy a smaller house in the neighborhoodwhere you eventually wantto settle. When the timecomes to trade up, the price of yourhome will most likely have keptpace with property values in itsarea, while prices of houses in lessaffluent locations may have lagged.