Most of us have great difficulty translating the way we live into an appropriate floor plan. We can guess at how many square feet of living space we'd like to have; we can perhaps guess at how many bedrooms we need, and how many bathrooms. But the brass tacks and bottom line pleasures of how we live in our home don't really have much to do with the number of square feet it has.

That's why computer programs that help you find a home can actually confuse the issue. You enter the number of bedrooms, the square footage, and other details, and you're served up a smorgasbord of available homes to choose from--but none of them quite fills the bill.

It's another very important reason that you need to work with an experienced real estate professional, not just a computer, when you're looking for the home of your dreams. You need someone who knows the market, who is out looking at all the homes available for sale, and who has a lot of experience in getting to know not only his or her clients' clear needs and wishes, but also the dreams that don't even get expressed, and then translating all of that into the house that fulfills both needs and dreams.

That's what makes it so exciting to be a real estate professional--and why you'll benefit from working with one! For help with all your real estate needs, call Beth at (425) 450-5208 and visit her website at www.bethbillington.com.

Beth Billington is a Realtor® with Coldwell Banker Bain in Bellevue, WA.