YIPEEE!!!!!!
Were looking at houses to buy as this August are lease is up - Thank goodness.
So now we need top tips for house hunting. Things you may not of considered whilst looking for you first home, but wish you did.
Thanks Zed 8)
Open all doors to closets and rooms which are near each other at the same time to see if they interfere with one another.
If I get my hands on the idiot who designed our house so you can't have the front door and the door to the garage open at the same time and who did not seem to think it would be a problem having the basement, downstairs bathroom and main coat closet doors all opening into the same space I'll...... evil
lol
Beat me to it Monster
3ft entry to the master bedroom has attic door, main door and bathroom all opening outwards. Drives me to distraction.
We once looked at a house that had all the doors removed/open.Another ploy to make it look bigger, no tv's in rooms also make it hard to arrange furniture.
Another thing was a small bedroom had a bed in it that fitted perfectly between one wall and the wall to where the stairs curved theough the bottom of the bed. When we lifted the bed skirt, it was not a full size single bed and had it's legs removed also.
Best of luck Zed, and keep us up to date.
The *flow *of the home is very important I mean that i mean can you go from the outside (on a wet day ) straight to the kitchen or pantry so you can dump your groceries with out making a mess on the floor of the living room ,the ideal is have the traffic flow so as you dont alwayd j=have to tread on the same carpet area as you enter the home therfore inreasing the wear on the same area while the rest of the carpet remains untouched and new .
like monster says the excessabity of rooms /closets is important see if you can get into the bathroom and laundry room with ease and can open both the dryer and washer doors without doing some sort of body twist .;-) look at where the back door is situated for same reason going in from outside with wet /muddy feet the back door opening to a tiled area or the laundry room is ideal .
look for where the street lamp is situated does it shine into your living room .? same with telephone poles and water hydrant see where they are situated .look for things like bus stops outside your home ( means you may get folks deposit carbage on your front lawn )
where is the school shops , is there
undeveloped land behind /to the side /or opposite the home ,if so try to find out if there is a plan to develope it .
what are the nieghbouring properties like ,are they well maintained ?
buy A home that not the highest priced in the nieghbourhood but one that is good value this gives you more equity when selling lower priced homes will grow to reach the ones with higher value the most expensive will not grow % wise as much.
Look for a home with record of
maintenence of air conditioning , water tank electrical system etc replacement of any of these item can be a very expensive project .
ask for a home warrentee policy from the sellers.
look for damage done by pets to carpets , woodwork , yards etc
try not to by a home on a corner ( dont resell as well ) front yard get damage from pedestrians , cars , animals .kids etc .
I HAVE MORE BUT IM RAMBLING ON lol
Some great advice so far.
From experience, I'd say don't buy a house on a loop where the cars drive down the street right at you until the curve outside your house. Probably very bad Feng Shui amongst other things. Also, I find that everyone else's garbage blows down the street into my yard.
Try to visualise using the kitchen and whether it will be suitable for your needs. I have about 1 square foot of worktop space and preparing a meal is very difficult.
I prefer dark shingle on the roof to the lighter shade - it shows up moss much less, especially on rooves that face north.
rooves
Or "ruffs" as they say here. :lol:
In my experience, you know when a house is good for you almost as soon as you walk in. It won't have all your wish-list items, but it'll feel good. And the first house that makes you feel that way won't be the only one, so don't worry if you don't get to buy the first house you really like.
Pilgrim and John have very good points, small kitchens are a pain in the ass, as is having to walk though your entire house to get the groceries into the kitchen. However, we did not find a single house without these problems, so we came to the conclusion that Americans just don't cook. Hence no need for large kitchen or efficient route with groceries. Pizza is delivered to the front door, the guy with the wet boots does not need to come inside. :P ;)
Ask about residents associations -their dues, policies, how active they are etc. Myself, I hate them. Other people don't. But it's good to know where you stand.
Look in the cupboard under the kitchen sink.
If a light is on when you go in, turn it off, see if it's hiding anything. Visit once in the light and once in the dark if you can, but that can be difficult at this time of year.
Make sure the garden is big enough to host all the Britnetters for a house-warming BBQ :mrgreen:
Make sure the area is not prone to flooding roll Even if it has only happened once and that was more than 30 years ago still don't chance it 'cos look what has happened to us twice over now and we were silly enough to think the drainage had been improved enough for it to never happen again!
Also check out the neighbors. Bad neighbors can make your life hell evil
Good luck sweetie. I hope you find what you need mrgreen
rooves
Or "ruffs" as they say here. :lol:
:lol: Doh! Fell for the old "roofs, hooves, dwarves" trap.
Thanks guys,
So on average how many did you look at before buying?
Zed
Hi, make sure fridge and oven door aren't too close or else you will have a huge scratch on your fridge door. It happened to us and it is a brand new fridge! twisted I would also visit the area at different times and different days to get a few of the traffic and who is living in the area. Get someone to check for termites, and everything else. I would be cautioned to buy a house from someone who has pets, fleas live in carpets even though you cannot see them. Unless the owner uses frontline, the cat or dog may have fleas. Everyone else gave you good advice, and good luck on your house hunting experience!!!
If the home you choose is in a flood plain you may ahve difficulty with finding a lender .
at the least you will be required to carry flood insurance which can amount to a few hundred dollars extra a year ..
steer clear if possible .
termite inspection will be required by any morgage company you choice and its adviseable to have a home inspection done before settlling on the contract .
most of the things mentioned above should be covered if you use a realtor and as its no cost to you that the best way to go .
they can preview the home for you so only choosing to show any that meet your requirments . many of the things mentioned above cannot be seen from the road and wil not be mentioned in a printed discription of the home .
look twice at a home that is deviod of furniture, the plus will be you can see flaws/ damage in the carpet . walls etc but the home will seem cold and the rooms larger then they really are .
Take a tape measure with you to see if your existing furniture will fit....first though remember to take measurements of your furniture, write them down and have with you.
Talk to the neighbours if you can and see what the neighbourhood is like.
Check out the proximity and performance of the local schools/pre-schools.
Don't be put off by other people's decor...that's a reasonably easy fix, but if the house needs a lot of updating and fixing be sure that you're up for it.
A level lot is great for kids...easy to place swing-sets and play games...also better for outdoor parties, however, a sloped lot is good in the winter for sledding...depends what you want.
Good luck!
Debs x smile
Flood insurance as of last years rates were $1200 per year for zone A. We put an offer in on a house that was not advertised as such, and when we found out we withdrew the offer. You cannot get it for cheaper as it is sold through some sort of FEMA program. Don't buy a house in a flood zone as you know that insurance is only going to go higher because FEMA need more money to buy trailers that sit unused. roll
The door issue is a good one as in another house we could not have the dishwasher open and the back door into the kitchen which is a pain if you have kids running in and out all the time.
If you're really interested in a house you can sit outside at various times of the day or walk up and down the street to get an idea of what the neighbours are like.
Have a really good home inspector who will catch things that you won't, even if it is a brand new house they are advising people to do this.
One thing we had to check for was subsidence and shifting soils, though in the part of the country you're looking at you probably won't have a problem. However, I think each area has problems particular to it. One house we looked at was wired badly with aluminum wiring and the inspector recommended the whole thing was replaced. When someone had put in more wiring to the basement they probably had it done on the cheap so when any large appliance turned on all the lights dimmed. Didn't buy that one either.
If you're looking at older homes, consider stuff like the furnace, water heater etc to make sure they're not on their last legs. Replacing one right after moving in is probably an expense to avoid.
We saw about four houses before buying this one. We walked in and it felt right. We've bought all our houses, back home and here on feeling.
Mind this was a fixer-upper. We had to put a new roof on and double glazing in and thru the years have added a new furnace, dishwasher and such.
Checking out at different times of the day is a great idea. Weekends and end of school day are good times to see whose about.
Best of luck smile
Some great ideas on this thread. The most important is have an inspector check it out prior to buying the you will know what ,if any, problems to expect.
First off, I say buy a ranch type house, one floor with a FULL basement, make sure it has at least one sump pump9I know people on Long Island do not need them because the ground is so sandy..No houses with extra stairs for me.
A one story is easier to maintain,roofs,gutters painting etc.
Big lawns are a pain to look after.
I always turn on the taps and taste the water for a good taste and flow.
Good electrics are important and aluminum wiring is a deadly no-no.
On roofing, I go the opposite from Pilgrim .I say lighter is better cooler and seems to last longer. In most cases roofs only last 20-25 years or so. Therefore expect to replace your roof in the near future.
As with cars all houses, even new ones are a compromise,after a few years you can always find some improvement that you would like made.