Articles » House Hunting: 10 Things Every Buyer Should Do
House Hunting: 10 Things Every Buyer Should Do
With affordable interest rates and a plentiful supply of houses, now is a great time to house hunt. Prices have leveled out and are there are some good values out there if you can keep your wits about you.
Buying a house can be a very emotional purchase, especially for women. Women tend to visualize how the furniture will look, mentally calculating which bedroom for which child and how convenient it will be to have that large tub and oversized closet.
Enthusiasm can sometimes overpower common sense. It’s easy to miss flaws in a house, even obvious ones, when you fall in love with a view, vaulted ceilings, etc. To make sure you stay on track and get the right house at the right price, here’s some guidelines before you buy.
1. Get qualified before you go shopping. It’s critical to know exactly how much you can afford; you don’t want to find a dream home that’s out of your price range.
2. Make a list of all the features you’d like to have in your new house. Start with the most important to least important. Things like “large kitchen and plenty of storage” or “fenced yard for the dog”, etc.
3. Get an idea of the area or areas of town where you might like to live. Take an afternoon and drive around if you don’t know.
4. Buy a folder or a notebook with pockets to keep you organized. If you’re working with a Realtor, take the MLS listing pages of the homes you like and put them in the folder. As you visit the homes, discard the ones you don’t like and make notes on the ones that are “possibilities.”
5. Take a digital camera with you or use the one on your phone. It will help you remember some of the features of the house when you are comparing homes. Place these photos with your MLS listing sheet and you’ll have a packet to reference.
6. Separate the “bones” of the house from the “cosmetics”. Bones would be the overall structure, square footage, layout, etc. as opposed to the cosmetics (anything that can be changed easily such as carpet, wall color, etc.) Go back to the list you made before you started. How many items can you check off in your “must have” list? Do you like how it’s laid out? Are the rooms large enough? How are the bathrooms? The kitchen? Does anything need to be redone immediately? And if there is remodeling to be done, how much will you have to spend?
7. Once you’ve narrowed down your choices, go visit the house or houses again with a friend or family member. Ask them to look at it objectively. They may find things you overlooked the first time. Another pair of eyes without rose colored glasses is a good thing.
8. Visit the neighborhood; drive around and see if the yards are kept up, if there is a lot of traffic, etc. If you’re lucky enough to find a neighbor out in their yard, ask them about the area. Do they like living there? Is it quiet? How about crime? The more information you can get, the easier it will be to make a decision.
9. Get the home inspected. Even the best looking homes can have some serious problems. Fresh paint could be covering a multitude of problems. Homes that have been staged can be even more distracting; you tend to look at the furnishings rather than the structure itself.
10. Take your time and look around. Don’t buy the first thing you see. And if you find a deal that’s just too good to be true, remember what your mother always told you….if it’s too good to be true, it probably is…
Debra Howard is a former interior designer, antique dealer and retailer who now spends her time helping small businesses in Tucson get more exposure on the web through her websites www.tucsonhomeandgardenspot.com and www.creativeedgemarketingco.com