The hunt has begun and while it is a lot of fun to look at houses it is pretty stressful too. Buying a house is no small thing, especially these days, and we hope this will be our home for a long time. There are so many things to consider that it is a bit overwhelming. What are the schools like, is it backed up to a busy street, how long will Brian's commute be, is there a lot of through traffic, is our neighbor a stripper....
I am afraid that I will get caught up in the fun of house hunting that I will forget some of these important considerations, especially when I am actually touring the property. I get blinded with the happy prospect of getting out of the rental and calling a place "my home". But I understand that there are certain compromises to make like what is more important to me a big kitchen or a big backyard.
So, I ask you out there who have done this before or are a more seasoned home owner - what do you look for when you are house hunting? What is a deal breaker for you? Is there something that I haven't even thought about yet that in the future will be so important? And when I walk through what should I look for? I learned this the hard way the first time we bought our little house in OR when I forgot to even check if the house had a garbage disposal. Now, I know not everyone has a disposal.
Well, back to packing...
20 comments:
all i have to say is "be agressive." if it's on the market, the seller has put it in the public eye and you should look through everything. look behind the curtains and open all the cupboards and drawers, etc. and take a list of all the things you care about. things like a disposal can be added easily but a backyard can't. just be meticulous and don't feel bad about it. and good luck. can't wait to come visit!
Make sure your backyard isn't facing west.
Good luck!
I'm sorry I don't really have any advice for you, but I am so excited for you guys. I wish your long-term home was somewhere closer to us, but Las Vegas is a good vacation spot so we'll come down to visit.
PS I made you CC cookies for my Sunday school class and they were perfect. I brought a lot extra so I would have something to munch on and they ate ALL of them. I was so hungry I almost had to leave church!
My HUGE thing is schools. I did not know the schools out here are crap. I figured all schools were good. Not true. So even though we like our house a lot, we will be moving when we can. Luckily there are good charter schools for our kids out here. Also I checked out the ward to see if there were a lot of kids. Our last ward I was in YW and there were only a few YM/YW. I would just make sure there were a decent number of kids your kids age so they could have a choice of good friends in the ward. Yes even at this young age. Who know how long you'll be there! So for me I must like the house but my kids school and friends are most important to me. Oh and I wouldn't want my house on a corner or backed up to a street. There usually are alot of hopping the fence robberies that way.
How exciting to be house hunting! I don't have any advice, but I'm totally jealous! Oh, to own a home...
I'm pretty sure there is no such thing as a big backyard here, so don't worry about that...go for the big kitchen!
We've only done it in New England, so it's a bit different back there. Like there are certain inspectors that specialize in old homes (because lots of them are old -- I'm talkin' over 100 years or more). I guess I would say make sure everything works! Toilets in New England are notorious for not flushing all that well (at least our houses were like that) so try flushing, turning on and off water and lights, opening and shutting doors and closets, etc. Also the more OCD the seller is, the better. Like if they save paint for you to do touch-ups, and give you owners' manuals for appliances and stuff that is staying, that's usually a good sign that they have been responsible and have taken good care of things. I agree with what Lizzy says too. You don't have to be best friends with the person you buy from so don't feel bad if you don't like it or are being nitpicky. (It's hard though! My husband walked out of a house we were looking at after no more than 3 minutes. I was so embarrassed, but he was so right!)
One last personal preference tip, I would pick a kitchen with a lot of natural light! I hate a gloomy kitchen!
good luck. make sure the school is good (newer the better) look at your neighbors---cars, toys, the way they treat the house. that way you'll know if it's a trashy neighborhood or not. (not that everyone needs a nice car**i drive a saturn** but you don't want a clunker in front of your house everyday. since you'll be there for a while get a house you can grow into. find a house that has good bones--and the smaller things you can change yourself (you'll save more money doing it that way) you can always change cabinets, flooring possibly, lighting, etc...don't get a house facing west or east even.
if you buy a resale (you can negotiate if something isn't working---but if you buy a foreclosure make sure you look really really good at EVERYTHING. it's "as is." and some repairs are costly. you can get great deals on standing inventory now---and ask for everything under the sky. the worst they will say is no. seriously. and if you look in a "masterplanned community" as for them to pay the sid off. anyway-i'll end my novel. hope this helps. good luck
You need to think about what room your family and you spend the most time in. Make sure this room is spacious. A good Kitchen is key, it is good for resale. Never ever buy a house without an inspection. Good Luck
I think everyone has different wants in a house, but a huge one for me was to have two living areas on the main floor. I wanted to have a room that I could always keep clean, you know so when people just stop by or drop off something to you they think your house is spotless by the look of your front room. That may not be a deal braker for you, but it was for me. It certainly made house hunting more difficult. Good luck!
(Tamra)
Schools schools schools! Oh and if there if there is a piece of furniture or some accesory that you LOVE ask for it in the sale- they may say no, but you could end up with a perfect little thing!
adi!! this is sooo exciting! go for the gold! you are a good little cook so look for a good kitchen, i agree, it should be light. ours is a dungeon and i hate it. go to the master bedroom and have emery and sage get in a fight in the tv room and see if you can hear it. sound proof walls, wish i had them!!! good luck. how fun.
I am with Shannon...school is a big thing for me. I don't like our elementry school where we are so I take the boys to a private school, it takes us 20 min to get there! Now we are looking for a new home, or we might build and that is one of my first things I find out about. I like when there are other young kids in the neighborhood, and I like to visit the ward too. We are in Utah so chances are we won't have a stripper for a neighbor, but it would make for a good story! The main thing for my hubby is he wants a big backyard. good luck! Can't wait to hear how it goes!
Definitely be sure to get an inspection. They are required in some states, not in others, but they are always a good idea. Also, personally, I think the neighborhood is as important as the home, but ideally you will be able to find the house and neighborhood you like at the right price. :) It can be a long process to find the right house, but so exciting too! Good luck!
This is fun!
No split or tri-levels. Seriously, don't go there if you don't have to. I hated my multi-level home. Not good for kids and your house is all chopped up onto different levels. I am so happy to be out of that house.
Location is everything. Drive around and look at the neighbors. Check to see if they have a bunch of yucky cars parked on the street or in the driveways (or you know, a camper that someone might live in, right?). HOAs are a good thing and protect your property value (and keep your neighbors from parking their motorhome in the front yard).
You can never have too many or too big of closets. Make sure room sizes are good, if they are too small it will be difficult to resale later down the road.
You know what to do. You have done this before. Take lots of pictures and be sure to post them soon.
SO exciting that you are looking for a HOUSE!! It can be so stressful, but so fun too. When we have moved around to different neighborhoods we go around and knock on the neighbors doors. I know that sounds weid, but this way you can get a feel for the neighborhood and if there are kiddos too! Also, home warranties and such..like termite problems??
Good luck!! I can't wait to see pics!
Well hello my dear! Always fun to stop by and pay you a cyber visit. My hubby and I are obsessed with Lost too! I started giggling as we pushed play on the DVR! Unfortunately I'm finding that I can't remember anything! I spend the whole show saying, "Now who is that? What was their story?" Bugg!
On another note...happy house hunting! I'm actually obsessed with this. My grown up mommy dream is to become a real estate agent. Oh, someday! So, here's my input. Location, location, location! I want my kids to be able to play outside, their school to be in walking distance, and their friends within a few streets. Picky, I know. My next house will be in a col-de-sac or preferably next to a park. Ours is down the street right now, but I would seriously love to be right next door to it. The more kids the merrier!
If I can get those "location" details figured out, who cares about the house as long as the floor plan fits your basic needs. You can change practically anything!
Have fun!
Oh, please, please, please tell Summer to invite me to her private blog. I don't check blogs enough to catch when people go private and I don't have her email.
katie dot zaharis @cox.net
Thanks!
check out the ward before you buy a house. go and visit, see how friendly people are, notice the age of kids, and look for people that you can relate to. for me, it's all about the ward.
Make sure there are enough rooms on the same floor that your girls can still be next to each other. We only have one bedroom besides our master on the main floor... so I have NO IDEA what we're going to do when we have more kids. You can't really move a 3-year-old to the basement by herself... Also, make sure there is a grocery store relatively close. Silly, but completely necessary. :)
(And the big kitchen is a must for me, too.)
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