Recently, my husband and I bought a house. You may say, "oh what great fun." Well, I say "oh what a pain in the lower posterior region." All in all, the whole house hunting adventure, as we like to call it, wasn't all sour grapes. We learned a lot of valuable lessons which I plan to pass on to all of you wide-eyed souls who think house hunting is like what you see on television. I've complied a list of the ten most important things that I learned during this year and a half long hunt for the "perfect house." The main thing to remember when you set out on a sunny Sunday afternoon to look for that infamous "Open House" sign is your search will be so much easier if you find a good realtor first.

My top ten reasons to choose a good realtor:

1. She is well-informed when it comes to all of the "perfect" properties currently on the market.

2. She knows which bank will be a good fit as well as the ones that aren't.

3. She is well organized and checks in with you on a regular basis with new listings or an, "it will be fun to look at this house."

4. She enjoys showing houses.

5. She doesn't get annoyed with your endless texts asking the same questions over and over.

6. She calls at a moments notice and says, "Drop everything, I think this one is worth looking at!"

7. She encourages you to take a leap of faith when you're afraid to jump over a puddle.

8. She goes to bat for you when you have no swing left in you.

9. She doesn't mind ruffling feathers in order to get things done.

10. A good realtor actually knows the difference between a good house and "the perfect house."

These ten things are things that I found so useful as we searched for our "perfect house."

We were lucky enough to find two nearly perfect things that came as a pleasant surprise during this very stressful journey...a beautiful home and a realtor who has become a very dear friend.