10 Tips to find the perfect home
Now that you're ready to purchase a place, you want to make sure it's the right one for you. Follow these tips to find a home that's a perfect fit for you:
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Go for the long haul
When looking for a home, search for one that you could see yourself living in for several years -- at least five to seven years is ideal. Buying -- and moving -- to a new home takes a lot of time and effort, and can add up significantly in closing and moving costs, etc. Staying in place longer will help you avoid those added expenses. Plus, the extra time spent in your home could be just enough to help you ride out a downturn in the real estate market.
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Leave room to grow
Aim for a home that can adapt to your needs as your life changes, say, if you have a new baby, or Junior moves back in after college. If you can't afford a place that's large enough to meet your anticipated future needs now, look for one that will allow you to build on later on.
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Be flexible
Consider a place with rooms that can serve multiple functions, so the home remains highly functional for you through the years. For example, an open-floor-plan-style home is very adaptable. A kitchen that overlooks a family room is helpful when one's children are young (you can cook while watching the kids), while such a kitchen is also great for entertaining your friends once the kids leave the roost.
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Go for your type
Think about what style of home fits you best -- house, condo, townhome, etc. -- they're not one size fits all. For example, a single-family home -- which sits on its own lot and must be maintained by the homeowner -- may be great for a person seeking privacy, but not so wonderful for somebody who doesn't want to worry about mowing the lawn, fixing the plumbing, etc. Meanwhile, a condo might be perfect for somebody who wants a "lock 'n' leave" lifestyle, but not for somebody who doesn't like sharing a wall with his neighbors.
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Check the surroundings
When you purchase a home, you not only get a house, you also buy into a neighborhood. Think about whether that neighborhood will suit you. Sure, you might love the house itself, but will the loud neighbors next door or the school across the street become too bothersome for you? Also, do you like the feel of the neighborhood and does it offer everything you need? It's best to find a place in a community that you'll enjoy.
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Buy what you can afford
It's easy to shoot for the sky and overspend when buying a home -- you understandably want the best your money can buy. Examine your finances, keeping in mind current and future expenses, and don't exceed your means. It's smarter to buy a home you can easily afford than one you have to stretch to get into. Stay down to earth, and you'll be better prepared should unexpected financial commitments and problems arise later down the road.
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Think "home" first
When purchasing a home, don't imagine the dollar signs you'll see the day you sell it. A home is just that -- primarily a "home," and not an investment. So, buy a place that'd be great to live in first and think about its resale value second. Predicting real estate cycles and home appreciation is tough enough for the experts -- and much more for the average home buyer. Plus, while home renovations tend to add value to a residence, they rarely recoup more than what was spent on them.
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Look at both old and new
It's nice to move into a place that's brand-new. But, new isn't always better. Consider both old and new. While you might not like a previous homeowner's decorating decisions, you might like the owner-installed upgrades -- like a finished basement and a backyard deck -- that a new home might not have.
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Location, location
You've heard this tip before, but a home's location does matter. A house that's located on a busy, noisy street may be less enjoyable to you as a homeowner than one situated on a quiet, secluded cul-de-sac. Plus, a home on a cul-de-sac is likely to be worth more than a poorly located one when it comes time to resell. So consider a home's location before you're smitten by a spectacular interior.
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When it comes time to sell
While you want to think of your place as a home first and not an investment, it doesn't make sense to purchase a white elephant, either. You should put at least some thought into how easy -- or difficult -- it'll be to resell the home one day. If a home is so unlike other nearby homes in terms of size, style, price, etc., you might want to skip it and look elsewhere -- it could become a burden should you want to someday move on.
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Deciding whether it's best to buy or rent a home isn't an easy decision. There are financial pros and cons to each. Plus, whether or not you want to become a homeowner may depend on your lifestyle, so it's very much a personal choice. Take a close look below ...
By Trulia | 18 Comments
Comments
The older a house the more maintenance it is likely to need. If the plumbing is 40+ years old you know it will not last forever. Septic systems also have limited lifetimes. Do you really think a 15 year old roof will last another 10 years? Do not count on it.
Look at the electrical system. Is it modern or is it so old and outdated it could actually be a fire hazard? How old are the heating and a/c systems? Look at the appliances (if included) If these are over 10 years of age (perhaps less) it means they gobble energy compared to todays models. It is often cheaper to trash an older furnace than it is to use it.
What are the walls made of? 2x4, 2x6, 2x8 construction? The thicker the walls are (if insulated) the cheaper the heating will be. How thick is the insulation in the attic? What are the r-values of all the insulation in the house? Are the windows modern, are they double pane, have the special coatings that make them more energy efficient? The answers here will cost or save you a lot in years to come.
Everything I have read shows me that building a new house with foamblock (like quad lock) with concrete poured in the middle is the best building method. No air leaks, no rotting on you, no bugs eating the concrete like they can wood. A lot less outside noise is heard in the house, and did I mention that energy costs are a lot less than in a conventional house? It is said to cost about 5% more to build this way. BUT you will almost certainly save that 5% in energy costs. Some are saying you will save lots more than that in energy. I look at it more as wind-proof, bug-proof, hard to set on fire, and much quieter inside. Maintenance-wise it just looks better to me.
If you buy a very old house (pre 1970) it could still not be insulated. If it is insulated it might not be well insulated. Odds are the walls are 2x4 construction. Unless everything has been renovated already it likely will need redoing soon.
Old houses may also have asbestos, lead paint, air leaks, drafts, rot, and termite damage. Add in the fact that everything in the house is worn. The flooring, the shingles (unless just replaced), the plumbing, the furnace and everything else. I do not say to never buy an old house. I simply say make your offer much lower than a new one as you will be paying more in several ways for the old house. This includes more for house and fire insurance for a house made before the mid 90's. Give that a few years and that time frame will work. Also, be aware of how close the house is to a fire dept. That can affect rates.
Old may be gold, but old also requires more cash inputs.
All in all, buy the house that feels like a home to you and your family.
Trish Giassa
http://www.Homes-in-Crested-Butte.com
• Interview at least two Real Estate professionals.
• Don't necessarily go for an agent who offers you some money back.
• That commission rebate looks attractive, but can cost you way more if you don't know the market place, the agents and strategies applied in today's changing and challenging word
Charo Bhatt http://www.HomesByCharo.com
Best, Tommy Lorden http://www.ColoradoCommissionRebate.com
First, a properly done septic will work fine pretty much forever, provided you don't dump a lot of chemicals down it.
while you can have some of those other problems, you may not. Homes in many cases were built far better in the 50's 60's and 70's than they are now in some regards. All of my relations live in brick ranches built 35 to 45 years ago, and I am buying one built in 1971 this month. They all are in good shape.
AND, Bonus, older homes don't have fraking HoA gestapo! Nobody is telling us what color curtains we may have, or whether we can hang a plant on the porch!
Dan's post about the styrofoam block walls for construction is a nice idea, but friends of mine who went through it found that it ended up being expensive and in the middle of the concrete pour their wall started to "bulge". They were very lucky to be able to save the wall in the middle of the pour, and it wasn't due to "contractor error" in setting up the foam bricks. Hint: have many extra people around and additional emergency form lumber, just in case, when you go do this kind of concrete pour.
Additionally, homes that are brand spanking new can also have lots of environmental hazards for those who are sensitive to this kind of stuff. After about 10 years, that stuff has pretty much outgassed.
Energy efficient stuff is great, yes, but new new new is not always great great great. Some of the building materials that are "new" - like the technology that used poly tubing for in-floor radiant water heat (early 90's innovation) is found to fail about 10 years after it starts into use. I know folks who were sure unhappy when that "new technology" ended up failing in their slabs. It's nice to give construction ideas a chance to weather a few years of actual field testing before jumping on their bandwagon.
There is no perfect home. Period. At least I have not found one in NJ.
So be prepared to manage your emotions and think logically.
New construction and old, there will always be problems because the homes are typically constructed simpletons who can't or won't read the manufacturer's installation manuals. Put on the coffee, and just Google new construction problems/nightmare.
It is our ethical charge to protect our clients best interests and advising our clients of pending risk is vital.
Looking at the rest of this article, I leave with one strategy ...ask your client what they like in a home, but more importantly ask them "Why" it is important. All buyers needs and desires vary, and approaching them with a one size fits all approach can cause frustration and long searches for a home.