Do you know how to choose a home that really suits you? Is it a feeling you get or is it a matter of simple requirements that must be met?
Over a year ago, my husband and I decided to casually look for another home and move only if we found the "right" place.
This was, at first, mostly Rob's idea. I had moved, on average, every three years since college, and I was not anxious to do it again. When we got married, I sold my place and moved into Rob's house, so the idea of choosing a house together appealed to both of us.
And, the man wanted a pool. On our honeymoon, the hotel had a pool, and Rob could have stayed there morning to night. While many people would run from a house with a pool to avoid the maintenance, it so happens that cleaning a pool will คอนโดมือสอง be right up Rob's alley. It appeals to his slightly obsessive nature when it comes to cleanliness. I can see it now: he's wading around the pool and using his fingers to remove, one by one, any leaves, bugs, or debris that happen to be floating around.
Online searches of houses in our price range yielded a lot of very ugly, poorly-maintained houses. We weren't about to shy away from a fixer-upper. But, in the right neighborhoods, even they were scarce. Then, one week when I was away on business, he went to look at a place. Two weeks later, we were under contract and two weeks after that, we closed on the property.
So, what was it that made this place "the one" for us, rising above the hundreds of other houses we'd seen online or in person? What we learned in our search led us to what we think is our forever home, and you can do it too.
How to Choose a Home
1. Location, location, location! You can change many things about a house, but you can't change the neighborhood. Pick a neighborhood that fits the lifestyle you want. For example, we are both over 40 with no intentions of having children, so we were keenly aware of backyard playsets and treehouses during our search. Not that kids aren't great, but we were looking for a quiet, calm setting that would match our desired lifestyle. We ruled out a couple of places because the surrounding houses looked badly in need of maintenance or had disabled cars parked in the driveway. To us, that says a lot about the neighborhood. Specifically, it says, "Don't buy here!"
2. Have a vision. Look beyond ugly paint colors, carpeting, and furniture. Not everyone understands the importance of staging a home for sale, and some people just think their ugly stuff is the cat's pajamas. So, deal with it. It's their home, not yours. Once it becomes yours, the dated furniture, dust-collecting figurines, and creepy doll collections will be out of there. If you're not afraid to open a can of paint or pull up some carpet, you'll reap the rewards by having a blank canvas to create your own look and feel.
3. Bring a contractor. Bring an expert with you for a second look at a house you like. Remember that vision stuff? It applies to other things like the layout of the house, kitchens and bathrooms. For instance, we like the charm of older homes, but the layouts can be "choppy" with smaller rooms. When our contractor told us that it would be easy to take down a couple of walls here and there to create a more functional space, we started to consider the house more seriously. Without his expertise, we would have missed the potential of our new home.
4. Invest wisely. When you buy a home, you and your mortgage lender will look at "comps", or the values of comparable homes near the one you want to buy. If you decide on a fixer-upper and you want to invest $25,000 in renovations, add that amount to the sale price and see if it matches up with the comps. You don't want to have $400,000 invested in a home if others around you are selling for $250,000.
5. Focus on the positive. Don't get hung up on the fact that the bathroom doesn't have a double vanity, but focus instead on what the house does have that can contribute to the lifestyle you want. When we looked at our new home, we tried to "divorce" the house itself from the outdoor space for an objective evaluation. But, we couldn't. When we considered the sparkling pool, stunning landscape full of specimen plantings, and the huge sunroom overlooking it all, we knew we had to have this house. We spend so much time outdoors most of the year that for us, these features far outweigh the small bedrooms upstairs or the lack of garage.
6. Don't ignore your gut. Some houses we toured just felt a little cold. If you don't know what I'm talking about, go visit a home that was abandoned in a foreclosure and has sat vacant for many months. Other homes, for reasons unknown, had a different vibe. They felt like happiness had lived there, and we should too. The "warm fuzzies" matter, so pay attention to them!
7. Be patient. It took us more than a year, and that's all I have to say about that.
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