One of the first steps in finding the perfect home to buy is browsing listings. Now, if you're like most people, you find a lot of listings you like — but once you visit those homes, very few of them actually meet your needs. How can you avoid wasting time and instead browse those real estate listings like a seasoned professional? Well, you can start by following these tips.

If something is not shown in photos, assume there is an issue with it.

Sellers want to show off everything that is nice about their home. So if there are no photos of normal living spaces like the kitchen or the bathroom, you can assume it's because those rooms are in some way deficient or lacking. Now, this does not necessarily mean you should not look at the home. If you don't mind working on rooms or projects, then you may enjoy visiting the house. But if you're absolutely not interested in doing a bathroom remodel and a listing shows zero photos of the bathroom, you can safely cross that home off your list.

Look at the square footage rather than relying on adjectives that describe the size.

It's easy to get caught up in descriptive language like "spacious" and "open" and make assumptions about the home's size. But everyone's idea of what these adjectives really mean is different. The seller might think their 1,800 square foot home is spacious, but you might think that's too small. Rely on square footage — not flowery language — to determine which homes fall within your size preferences.

Don't look at listings in school districts you aren't interested in.

In some towns and counties, school district lines are a bit confusing and unclear. You may go look at a home in the town you want to live in, only to realize it is not in a school district you want to live in. Most real estate listing sites will allow you to filter the listings based on the school district. Set this filter so you don't have to scroll past listings in the wrong district.

Don't let urgent language hype you up.

If an ad says "seller motivated," "must sell quickly," or "urgent sale," try your best to read right on past this language. Go look at the house if it seems to meet your needs, but not because you're afraid it will disappear before you have a chance to make an offer. You don't want to make an offer on a home that ends up not being right for you just because you thought you were under pressure.

To learn more about browsing the listings of residential homes for sale in your area, contact a professional like Vickie Gallimore: RE/MAX Central Realty.