Real Estate Tips When Thinking About Buying Your Next Home

IT can be completely exhausting looking for a new house. Where do you start? Do you start with the number of bedrooms? The size of the kitchen? The neighborhood? The size of the yard? Finding the perfect house is incredibly overwhelming.

Let’s break it down…

Real Estate Needs

What are your needs? Take a minute to write them ALL down…no matter how absurd some of the wish list items might be. Perhaps categorize them or put them in order of importance. Is the size of the bedrooms important? Is a mudroom necessary? Where will you put all the junk mail before you get a chance to sort it? What room in the house is most important to you. How much closet space do you need? How much landscaping maintenance is needed?

Real Estate's Biggest Suggestion, Get a realtor

A skilled and experienced realtor can make all of the difference. He or she will be able to point out things in the houses you view that may not jump out at you at first glance, but that can mean a lot to your consideration. Before you just go picking a realtor out of the blue, try using one that comes with references or a personal referral from someone you know and trust. This will help you alleviate some of your woes and worries when you start looking closely at various houses. A realtor can certainly take your wish list and tap into a wider range of houses available and help narrow the search more quickly.

Real Estate Neighborhoods

If you are new to the area in which you are looking, this may take a little more time. If you have kids or are going to have kids, what schools are available? What are the ratings of the school districts? Is there a park within walking distance? How busy are the streets? Are the houses you are looking at located on a busy street? Is it a "through street" for other neighbors, or is it a quiet street at the end of the neighborhood? How close to the grocery store is the house or neighborhood? What is it like at night? Have you checked the sex offender listing for that area? Is there an HOA or other neighborhood organization? Is there evidence of kids in the neighborhood? If so, what are their ages? A neighborhood will help keep the value to your home. According to moneytalks.com, if there are bigger chains in the vicinity of your home, your home value goes up because it is more affluent. Another good thing to look for is evidence of home improvements of other houses. This shows that your neighbors take pride in their homes. No one wants to live next to the guy with a truck up on cinder blocks or the house with paint peeling off while the weeds grow incessantly in the yard.

The Real Estate Property's Landscaping And Great Outdoors

One thing I found interesting as I was researching common trends in house buying, was the importance of outdoor living spaces. Not so long ago, a swimming pool was the cool thing to have. Not so much anymore. These days, a lot of buyers (generally those labeled as ‘millennials’ are looking for the built-in brick ovens and barbeque spaces that can be utilized year round. Vegetable gardens are a hot trend these days as well. More and more people are spending remodeling dollars on their outdoor spaces before tackling the indoor rooms. Another trend is low-maintenance landscaping that requires little watering. If there are children involved, how safe is it? Is there enough space for them to play or to have a sing set? The house may have beautiful gardens that are breath taking and intoxicating, but don’t be dazzled too much by them if you are not willing to do the work to maintain it or have other plans and funds to change it — something I wish I would have thought a little more about as I was purchasing my home.

The Real Estate Property Itself

When I walked into my house before I bought it, I fell in love with the furniture. It was perfectly staged. While this helped make the sale, I had to be aware of what furniture was going to actually be there. I needed to think of how it was going to be arranged, how much time am I planning to spend in each room? Are the small bedrooms okay, or is it important for the kids to have space to play in their rooms? Is there enough closet space in each room? How big is the main bathroom that guests will be using? How many kids are going to be using one bathroom? What is the master suite like? Is it functional? Can two people use it at one time? How much counter space and sinks are there? How big is the kitchen and eating area? Is it going to be tight? How many people can fit into the kitchen at one time while doing something? Can I live with the appliances that are there, or will I need to replace them? What is the water pressure like? What kind of countertops and cabinets are installed? The trend for cabinets these days varies, but shaker cabinets still hold true to being one of the more popular choices. How functional are the drawers and cabinets? Is there enough storage to fit my needs? How many spaces are in the garage? These days, people prefer 2-3 car garage houses than one. Although you should plan on being in the house for at least 5-7 years, it is always good to keep resale value in mind.

The Real Estate Property's Extras That We For Get To Ask About

When you are looking at a new house, and overwhelmed by all the possibilities, it is easy to forget about some of the necessities.; for example, water pressure and water heater. If you have a family like the one I grew up with, you want to make sure you know how much hot water you will be getting, or if you need to upgrade it yourself. What about ventilation and fans? Be sure to check all those as you are going through the house. Each faucet, each light switch, possibly the location of each outlet are all important things that may seem small while you are looking, but can quickly become the source of aggravation a few months into living in the new house. Also, which direction the house is facing can have an impact on your decision as well. Will you need to invest in heavy duty black out curtains because your bedroom gets insanely hot being on the westside of the house during the most heated part of the day? Is there a room that seems to be a different temperature even though there is central air conditioning? If there is not air conditioning, is the house set up to have it installed? Where are all the vents in the house? Are they nicely located, or are they right in the way of where a piece of furniture was going to go? If you are a person who loves to decorate for Christmas or any other season, think of how you will utilize the space. How old is the carpet? How new is the paint job? How hard will cleaning be? If a house has vaulted ceiling with some architectural beams and spaces, cleaning can be quite a nuisance if you are not willing to do it. What kind of security does the house already have? Are the sellers leaving it, and if so, how much is the service?

There is so much to think about when you are looking for a new house. There are so many more questions that could be asked and points to be made, but I hope this helped you in even a tiny small way.




Published: August 1, 2016

By: Phillip Gilliam