Read the standard guidebooks about how to find your home and you'll get some good and basic info. Check out the heating system. Have a home inspection. Find the right mortgage.
This is all good and well as far as it goes and yet you could still find yourself in your "dream home", easily able to pay the mortgage and yet miserable. Why? Because of some elusive factors that aren't always obvious.
Here's what I'd suggest to make sure your Dream Home isn't really a Nightmare in disguise:
1 . Check out the neighborhood firsthand. Walk through it a few times, preferably in the morning and evening, even in the middle of the day. What do you notice? Does anything bother you? Do the houses near you have anyone who plays loud music or anything else that might bother you? If you're the type who likes a lot of bustle and noise, this may not matter.
2. Is there a neighborhood association? If so, how strict are the rules? Will you get in trouble for certain window coverings?
3. Drive by your prospective home in rainy weather. Is the yard a swamp or does it drain properly?
4. Talk to the neighbors. They'll often open up about the area, the schools, any issues.
5. Consider what is important to you when it comes to comfort and your home. Do you care about exterior noise or do you plan to stay inside a good deal of the time? Do you need a low maintenance home?
6. Be sure you have enough storage and that all major and costly basics are in good order - plumbing, heating, roof, windows, etc.
7. Don't be afraid to "kick the wheels" or, in this case, open and close cabinets, turn on faucets, check out the various focal points in a room.
8. Notice any loud or barking dogs that never seem to stop? Again, this may not matter to you but it might drive someone else batty.
9. EXTREMELY IMPORTANT - please, please (I beg you) do NOT try to time the housing market perfectly. That is like timing the stock market and is best left to experts. If you ARE an expert, of course, you can ignore this step but I have bought homes in down markets and up markets and have stopped thinking of a home as a "foolproof investment." Instead, I think of our home as a refuge, a sancturary and as shelter. If you make a profit when you sell, great. If you break even, that is fine, too. What is MOST important it buying a home that you can consider a true "home" in every sense of the world, a place you look forward to being.
10. Consider getting a book about home inspections and figure out if your inspector is hitting the high points, not overlooking details.
11. Try not to buy either the most expensive or least expensive home on a block, unless you are in love with the home, aren't planning to move soon and are willing to do extensive renovations (if the home has flaws).
If you have other suggestions, I hope you'll chime in. These are just some of the things we've learned from living in 3 separate homes.
rate
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 9
Also, buy a kit at Home Depot, etc. to check for radon levels in the ground. In our area this is a big deal and there are ways to deal with it but not cheap!
Also try to figure out the median value of homes in the neighborhood compared to your pick. If one house on the block has a bunch of add-on's and improvements, it may actually hurt your chances of selling in the future because that will affect the price your home will go for on the market.
We have had a unique advantage in some ways. His house is up for sale in another town and his soon-to-be X is living in it, so we have had to rent here. It has been a great way to get to know the community and figure out where we will buy when his house sells and the divorce is final. When we moved here, we thought of it as a temporary thing, but found that we really like it and know where to look now:)
I think renting is a great way to get to know a town and a specific neighborhood. IN fact, we would have bought our first rental except for the fact that we did not like the school system and we couldn't afford private schools. I still think of that house with fond memories, though.
We just bought our first house a few years ago, and boy did we get lucky! It's been a great house and I have enjoyed remodeling and renovating.
Feel free to join my group Sell Your House, if you have more articles like this one to share.
If it has vertical siding is it the recalled T-111? I have this nightmare stuff, avoid it if you can.
When was it last painted? Ours was painted for the second time since 1975 when we bought it in 1998... I wish we'd known this bit of information.
Check the pipes under the sinks, what kind of fittings are there? Pressure, sweated or Threaded, you want threaded. Are there signs of leaks? Smell musty?
Ugly and solid are far more important to me than pretty and cheap.