Time to Go Shopping

“When Looking For a Home Set Your Priorities and Stick to Them.”

Once you know how much you can afford to spend on a home, it's questions and answer time. Before we start looking at homes, you've got to spend some time asking yourself some serious questions about what you want. Emotion is important in choosing a home, but so are the facts.

Think of it as “zeroing in” on your new home. It's out there somewhere. All you have to do is find it. Start with the community and work your way into the specifics, such as number of bathrooms.

When you have the answers, we will be in a better position to help you find your home.

Begin At Home: “The best time to sell your home is when you buy it”, is a time honored real estate motto that means you should be considering resale qualities when you select a home.

Likewise, the best way to determine what you want in a community, a neighborhood or a home is to look around at what you have now. Take stock of where you live now and make notes of what you like and don't like. The more that you know about what makes you happy, the better prepared you'll be.

These questions will help. The answers to some of them will be more important to you than others, and you'll probably have other questions of your own. If you use this as a guide, you'll be prepared for the actual search.

Community: Maybe you have a choice of community and maybe you don't. If you are relocating to, or live in, a major metropolitan area, you can probably choose from a number of communities in and around the city. Surprisingly, suburban communities on different sides of a city can have very different characteristics. Do not assume that moving from one county to another in the same region won't change your lifestyle.

• What kind of community do you want? Rural? Suburban? Urban? Small Town ? Downtown?
• What natural features are important? Hills? Lakes? Woods? Trees?
• Where will you work? Is it important that you live nearby or can you commute? How would you commute and how long would it take?
• What types of public transportation are available? Does business travel make it important for you to be near an airport or a train station?
• What is planned for the community?
• What about the school system? Look at average national test scores, class size, teacher salaries, percentage of students who go on to college, and any special educational needs of your family. Do your children attend parochial schools, and are there any nearby?
• What leisure activities are important to you? What does the community offer in the way of cultural activities, sports activities, nightclubs and restaurants?
• Do you prefer shopping malls? Strip centers? Downtown shopping districts? Think about how you typically shop for food and household items. Can you accommodate those needs?

Neighborhood: Your neighborhood is part of your home. Your neighbors will be your friends, and they will have an influence on your life and the way your children grow up. You may consider your neighborhood just the street where you live, or the area around the local school. However you define it, think of your neighborhood as the “outside part” of your home.

• What does the neighborhood look like? Are the streets tree lined or barren, flat or hilly?
• What kind of traffic flows through the neighborhood? Is it a main thoroughfare?
• Are there driveways or street parking?
• How close is the neighborhood to schools, shopping, public transportation and parks?
• How do children get to school? School bus? Walk? Are there major roads between the neighborhood and school if they walk?
• Do you want a neighborhood with potential playmates for your children? Are you looking for a quiet neighborhood?
• How does the street hold up in a rainstorm? Are there adequate storm sewers? How about snow? You may not want to live at the bottom or top of a steep hill in a region of the country known for heavy snowstorms-we only get a half inch per year… what do you think?
• How will the neighborhood change in the next few years? Is some major construction planned or does the zoning make construction that would dramatically affect the neighborhood a possibility? ( A street may be quiet and settled, but land on one side may be zoned for a shopping center.)
• What are the HOA (Home Owner Association) dues? Are there tennis courts, a pool, or jogging trails? What are the covenants for the neighborhood?
• How have home valves held up in the neighborhood? Have the houses generally increased or decreased in valve? Why?
• How close are police and fire stations and rescue squads?
• As you consider a neighborhood, walk around. Take pictures and talk to the people who live there. This is no time to be shy.

Housing Styles: The type of house you select may be dictated by the neighborhood or community you choose, or the other way around. For example, don't go looking for a two story colonial house in the center of a big city. If your ideal neighborhood is a quiet, tree lined street, you can forget about a high-rise condominium.

The following section illustrates some of the more common house styles available. There are undoubtedly endless variations on these basic themes, but if you know ahead of time what primary style house you want, it will make the home search process much easier for you.

Ranch: One story house (sometimes called a “rambler”) that may or may not have a basement. It can be L-shaped or even U-shaped, with or without a garage. If stairs are a problem, a ranch is the answer.

Colonial: A basic two-story house, usually with bedrooms on the second floor. The stairway may be in the middle of the house (“center hall”), against the back wall or on either side. Entrance may be in the front or on the side. It can be big to accommodate large families, and often has a basement. Also known as Federal, French/Dutch Colonial or Plantation .

Cape Cod: Easily identified by a steep roof, often with dormers. A steep roof makes for a slanted ceiling in the upstairs rooms or attic. The upstairs may not be finished but can be a master suite or combination bedroom and attic.

Farm House: Sometimes called a “country house”, These usually have one and a half or two stories and wrap around porches.

Victorian: An ornate home with a lot of architectural detailing. They usually have large porches, gingerbread trim, round turrets and pointed roofs.

Townhouse: These are attached houses of one, two, or three stories that are also called town homes, row house or even patio homes. Often found in new planned communities where “clustering” of homes allows for more open space. May have a basement.

Split Level: A split-level has been designed for maximum living space in a minimum land area. One wing of the house is on a single level, usually with kitchen, dining room and/or living area, while the other wing is two stories, often over a garage. Split-levels often have large family rooms and basements.

Split Foyer: Not the same as a split-level, a split foyer home is built on a slope with the entry to the house between floors. The downhill section or what would be a basement on flat land, becomes livable space, often a combination of living and utility space.

Contemporary: Often described as “none of the above,” contemporary homes are usually dramatic and striking in appearance. They make the most use of an architect's imagination and non-traditional use of building materials. They usually feature large open spaces and may be single or multiple stories.

Condominium: Not a house style, but a type of ownership. They may be apartments that have been renovated or they may be newly constructed. When you buy a condominium, you buy your own quarters and share common land and streets. Condominium owners are charged a monthly fee to cover maintenance and amenities and sometimes water. Other utilities are usually billed.

Cooperatives: A cooperative is a special type of home purchase in which the entire unit (in most cases a single building) is owned collectively by a group. You don't own your individual unit, you own stock in the company that owns the building. In return you have the exclusive right to use part of the building, your unit, and shared rights to the common areas. The most important difference is that you do not hold title to real estate and therefore do not enjoy the tax benefits of real property ownership. The major advantage of a co-op is that the cost per square foot is usually lower than that of a condominium.

On Target: You know what you want in a community, neighborhood and house style. Now for the fun part – zeroing in on the things you want in the home itself.

As we said earlier, the first thing to do is look around your current home. What do you like and not like? What do you have that you don't need and what do you need that you don't have? Keep asking questions:

• How many people are in your family?
• Do you have any special needs, like one floor living or a basement or a workshop? Do you need a rec room, office, library, den, or all four?
• Does your family composition impose certain requirements? (Families with lots of teenagers may want a house with lots of bathrooms.)
• What kind of yard do you want? Do you enjoy yard work or does the thought of raking leaves make you sick?
• What amenities are important? Think about fireplaces, garages, air-conditioning, decks and swimming pools.
• Is cooking a pleasure or a necessity? Some kitchens are more fun than others. Do you want a gas or electric oven?

Discuss these features with your family and weigh the importance of each. You may not be able to find everything you want in a home (although it has been done!), so you should know which features you are willing to compromise on and which you are not.

You'll be looking at many houses in a relatively short period of time, so make a list of the features that interest you. Then make enough copies of the list so you can make your own notes about the quality of those features as you visit each house.

The Great House Hunt

“Searching for a Home on the Internet is an Easy, Efficient Way to See What the Market is in the Community Where You Want to Live.”

You know how much you can afford and you know what you want. We have selected several homes that meet your needs. It's time to get started.

Debra and I will have prepared your “Home Buyer's Search Book” and scheduled the showing times. On the day of the showings we'll pick you up and off we will go. We use GPS systems in our vehicles so we can maximize your time viewing homes. A detailed map is provided showing where all the homes are located as well as the MLS fact sheet on each home. All of this information will be in your “Home Buyer's Search Book.” As you view each home, the MLS sheets are designed to be moved into different sections of the HBS Book. We highly recommend you always keep your “Possible Homes” section limited to no more than three properties… hard to do but it helps to narrow the playing field.

There are two parts to your evaluation of any home – physical (the house itself) and financial (the price, down payment, taxes and financing options available to you). Let's deal with the physical evaluation first.

The Physical Evaluation: As we view the homes, we will help you learn about home features, both good and bad points as we walk through the homes. The first few homes take longer, because you will be learning what to look for and what feels important to you. MLS fact sheets are available for each house you visit, but you should take your own checklist and rate each home yourself. Write your notes directly on the MLS fact sheet.

You may do nothing more that assign a number rating on a one-through-ten scale, but don't try to rely on your memory. After you've seen several homes, they'll start to run together. Using the HBS Book we provide you with, we recommend that you place your rejects in the “Rejected Homes” section and place the possible homes in the “Possible Homes” section.

Take pictures. A picture may not be worth a thousand words, but it certainly will make it easier for you to compare homes later.

Look at the automobile traffic at different times of the day to determine whether traffic flow changes. A quiet street at high noon may be a busy commuter route during rush hour.

Scout the yard and evaluate it in terms of your own interests and desires. Look, listen and feel.

Determine how much work will be required to maintain it. Weeding extensive flower gardens may not be your cup of tea.

Do you need a fenced yard to contain man's best friend?

Is the roof in good shape? How old is it? If the roof is in bad shape or near the end of its life cycle, be aware that new ones can cost a lot of money.

Look at the condition of the paint on the outside of the house. Note the condition of the shutters and the trim. A brick home that has been painted will have to be repainted at regular intervals.

Examine decks and porches. Look for signs of rotting or termite infestation. Make sure you know what sort of storage space is available for things such as lawn mowers and bicycles.

A word you'll start to run across is “Convey”. Something that conveys stays with the house as part of the package and something that doesn't convey leaves when the owner does. You should note what conveys. As a rule, anything that is built-in, such as appliances, will stay. But don't assume such things as fireplace fixtures or washing machine will be there when you move in unless you spell it out in your offer. Some will be negotiable. This is a major area where we help.

Note the age and working conditions of the major systems such as heating, cooling and plumbing. If the house is not air conditioned, is the electrical system heavy-duty enough to allow you to install it later or use window units? You should also know that the electrical system is up to current safety standards. Plumbing issues can be a real deal breaker. Is the house plumbed in Polybutylene with plastic fittings or Poly with copper fittings? This can make a big difference with homeowner's insurance.

What types of fuel do the heating and cooling systems use? A fact sheet or MLS summary may tell you what the current owner has paid in utility costs but if not, be sure to ask.

What condition are the major appliances in? (Stove, refrigerator, oven, dishwasher, etc…)

Look for the signs of water leakage in the basement and around windows and sinks. Look in the attic and see what kind of insulation is there and if it is adequate.

You should also consider health factors like asbestos insulation, radon gas and mold issues.

Determine if major improvements are necessary or desirable to accommodate your family and lifestyle. If you want to remodel, can you? Are there physical or zoning limitations?

Note the number and location of such things as phone jacks and wall outlets. Is the house wired for cable television? Note the home's orientation to the sun. Do you want the sun in your eyes first thing every morning?

Be sure to know whether the home you are considering is covered by local homeowners' association restrictions. These association guidelines govern what you can or cannot do to the outside of your home, even down to whether or not you can erect a basketball goal, and are designed to ensure neighborhood standards. These types of restrictions have survived court challenges.

Such restrictions have good points as well as bad, but what it boils down to is this: If you don't want anybody telling you what you can and can't do to your house – for any reason – avoid communities with these restrictions.

There are also some special considerations to keep in mind for condominiums and cooperatives. Ask to see a copy of the By-Laws and Master Deed or other covenants and a current statement of financial condition of the homeowners' association. These will bind you if you move in. You'll also share the responsibility for upkeep on the major systems, such as heating and plumbing, so find out what condition they are in. Find out exactly what your association fee covers.

There are also special things to consider when evaluating newly constructed homes. Since they are usually under constructions when you buy, you may be able to choose options like paint, wallpaper, carpet or patios.

You can also check on the work as it progresses. Take pictures; keep an eye out for poor workmanship in all aspects of the construction. See that the yard is graded properly to avoid low spots or basement leakage.

Commit this word to memory as you conduct your home search: Patience.

You're going to live in your new home for a long time. Take all the time you need to make the right decision.

The Financial Evaluation: Consider whether the home you are looking at fits your needs and still allows you to stay within your budget.

Is the existing mortgage assumable? This may be a beneficial way for you to purchase the home, though few homes today have a mortgage that can be assumed without a huge down payment.

What is the required down payment? What financial methods will the seller accept?

What are the annual property taxes? Find out if there are any local or special assessments you will be required to pay.