looking at houses
- Thread starter LostAndConfused
- Start date
I didn't make any lists. It was pretty obvious right off the bat if a house was going to work or not. After looking at 30+ houses, there were only a couple that we even thought about putting an offer in on. Most every other one, we could walk in and out in 5 minutes and we knew it wasn't going to work.
See if your city/county has a crime report website. I looked up the address of all potential properties to see what sort of police reports had happened in the area. I also compared it to where I was currently living to have some sort of barometer.
Ask for copies of the current owner's utility bills, if possible. OMG, I had no idea how much it cost to heat a house this size with oil (the only option in this neighborhood). We may very well have avoided putting in an offer if I had known that it was going to cost us $3k per winter.
Second/thirding driving around the neighborhood at various times of day.
Definitely read through any community documents carefully. I WANTED the HOA. I wanted my neighbors to be held to a certain standard, but found out when reading over the massive documentation that it was only a few small things that were regulated (size/location of fence, parking of boats/trailers, etc).
Drive the commute from the house to your work during rush hour and make sure it's not awful. Here, a mile can add 20 minutes to your commute in the morning if it's the wrong direction. Make sure you are comfortable with the drive!
House hunting was fun. We had a list of "must haves" when we started, and the list gradually changed as we realized what we did and didn't want. It got to where we could literally open the door, walk a loop, and walk out. Some houses were seriously under a minute because you know, that quickly, that they aren't right.
See if your city/county has a crime report website. I looked up the address of all potential properties to see what sort of police reports had happened in the area. I also compared it to where I was currently living to have some sort of barometer.
Ask for copies of the current owner's utility bills, if possible. OMG, I had no idea how much it cost to heat a house this size with oil (the only option in this neighborhood). We may very well have avoided putting in an offer if I had known that it was going to cost us $3k per winter.
Second/thirding driving around the neighborhood at various times of day.
Definitely read through any community documents carefully. I WANTED the HOA. I wanted my neighbors to be held to a certain standard, but found out when reading over the massive documentation that it was only a few small things that were regulated (size/location of fence, parking of boats/trailers, etc).
Drive the commute from the house to your work during rush hour and make sure it's not awful. Here, a mile can add 20 minutes to your commute in the morning if it's the wrong direction. Make sure you are comfortable with the drive!
House hunting was fun. We had a list of "must haves" when we started, and the list gradually changed as we realized what we did and didn't want. It got to where we could literally open the door, walk a loop, and walk out. Some houses were seriously under a minute because you know, that quickly, that they aren't right.
When you finally decide upon 1 or even 2 houses you'd like to make an offer on, be sure to visit the home in the morning, day, and night as well as during the week and weekends to see what the neighborhood is like. If you happen to see a neighbor outside, stop and tell them you're thinking of buying the house and was wondering how they like living there.
You could also check with the police station to see how the neighborhood is.
Remember, paint colors can always be changed so try not to judge it on that. Also, many people put too much into rooms which make them look smaller so consider this also.
You could also check with the police station to see how the neighborhood is.
Remember, paint colors can always be changed so try not to judge it on that. Also, many people put too much into rooms which make them look smaller so consider this also.
we're going out today to take a second look at the one we loved on Wednesday. Then on Saturday we have 7 to look at and on Sunday we have a handful of Open Houses.
As a side note, have I ever mentioned how awesome/ridiculous my MIL is. I received a package in the mail the other day that contained a Men's Large T-Shirt with a Rottie head on it. I was very, very confused on why she sent that to me. Ben told me this morning that his mom sent it because she knew I was sad that I didn't have a puppy. To get a large breed dog, she had to go with a Men's Large sized shirt, so that's what she did.
As a side note, have I ever mentioned how awesome/ridiculous my MIL is. I received a package in the mail the other day that contained a Men's Large T-Shirt with a Rottie head on it. I was very, very confused on why she sent that to me. Ben told me this morning that his mom sent it because she knew I was sad that I didn't have a puppy. To get a large breed dog, she had to go with a Men's Large sized shirt, so that's what she did.
