Buying a home is one of the biggest financial investments you can make in your life but looking for a home is stressful. You know the payoff will be great, but the agents and the time spent on drive-bys can feel like a chore. You also get tunnel vision, where you’ve seen something so many times you lose objectivity. The day you move in is a bad time to realize that the house you thought was your dream home actually has problems you didn’t see coming.
The house of your dreams should be the house you move into.
Affordability
A lot of home seekers get locked into the idea of what they can afford, rather than saving toward something. A useful tip is to start paying the amount of your mortgage now, that way you will be used to the costs upon moving in. Remember that there is more to home ownership than just the mortgage, there is extra maintenance, insurance, and taxes that all have to be paid.
School System
Most people who purchase a home also plan to have children, so it’s important to know the state of the school system around your home. You should know where you plan to send children to school, and try to volunteer for the school if possible to get to know the faculty. There is plenty of research online, with reviews related to the quality of each public and private school in the area. Some like greatschools.org have reviews by parents plus average test scores, teacher student ratios etc. plus they show district boundaries and which school is associated with each neighborhood.
Crime Statistics
Check online or with your local police department to see if there are any crime maps available. There may also be a database of publicly registered sex offenders. They do have to live somewhere, and most don’t represent an active threat, but it’s important to know what’s around you in order to protect your family.
Begin your search on Google, searching the new address and looking for the local police station. Start with their website first, then try a more generic search for violent or sexual offenders in your immediate area. Also research publicly available data about your home to reveal hidden pock marks like a shoot out or a drug lab based in or near your property. Crimereports.com list the location of all the local crimes and can tell you the types of crimes and how prevalent they are in your neighborhood.
Amenities
No one wants to be bored. Search for what’s around your property before you pull the trigger on the sale. It could be a beautiful home with an amazing appraisal, but located in the middle of nowhere. IT could also be near an unseen flight path or a cattle ranch. Google Maps and the “Search nearby” function are extremely helpful for this. It never hurts to cruise the neighborhood one more time before you settle on what you want.
These days developers are creating affordable “active lifestyle communities” that include many amenities like country clubs, golf courses, swimming pools and tennis courts that used to only be available in luxury resorts. For instance, if you find a home at Trilogy, you can choose between all-ages communities and 55+ communities. These communities are built around maintaining an active life style, and they are affordable alternatives to big city living.
Utilities
Check that your mobile phone receives coverage in the area, and that you are dealing with power and cable providers that you are ok with. Some companies have a poor reputation, or you may want to work with a specific company due to loyalty. These are small but serious deal breakers for some home potential home buyers. Remember that some amenities, like a cell phone provider, may offer an alternative to keep you in service or pay for your early termination.
You Might Also Like:
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- Real Estate Investment Myths
- 5 Things to Consider When Buying Real Estate
From Amazon:
- Mortgage Ripoffs and Money Savers: An Industry Insider Explains How to Save Thousands on Your Mortgage or Re-Finance
- Mortgages For Dummies, 3rd Edition
- More Books on Mortgages from Amazon
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
