When it comes to purchasing a new home, it can be easy to get caught up in the aesthetics and surface details. The phrase "curb appeal" has become hugely popular, because it's true that many home buyers base more of their home buying decision than they might realize on what they "feel" when they first look at a home or property. When it comes to buying a home though, it's important to use your head and not just your heart. Just because you love it and it has the exact right number of bedrooms and bathrooms still doesn't make it a good investment. Here are 5 things to look for when purchasing a new home.
1. Location
There is a reason for the phrase in the real estate industry "location, location, location." While you may find a house you love in a location you don't, pretty much everything about the house you don't love so much in a location you do can be changed. The location of the house you love can't. Whether you are looking for good schools, easy access to a highway or urban versus suburban living, you will be far better off making some sacrifices to live in a location you love than getting everything you want in a house in a location you aren't as happy with.
2. Room for expansion
The longer you are prepared to stay in a house, the more likely you are to see a return on your investment. This means you need to think not only of what you need right now, but what you are likely going to need in the future. If you think you're going to need more bathrooms, make sure there is room to put them in. Do you enjoy entertaining outdoors? Make sure that if the home you want doesn't already have one, there is room for a deck, a patio or a pool. If you want a feature like a pool, however, you might also want to investigate swimming pool prices to see if it's more feasible for you to wait and put one in down the road, or buy a home with a swimming pool already installed.
3. Great neighbors
No matter how much you love your home, if you don't like your neighbors, living in your home can quickly become a nightmare. Before investing several years of income into a home, get to know both the neighbors and the neighborhood. It's not just your immediate neighbors that can make life hard on you, but other members of the community. Particularly if there is an HOA and they are on the board.
4. Structural integrity
Long before you ever spend the money on an inspection, you can do some sleuthing of your own to determine the genuine structural integrity of the home. Look for water marks on the ceiling or warped flooring that might indicate water damage. In the garage and basement, look for long, large cracks that might indicate the foundation is not as secure as you might hope. Look for clean, neat gutters that carry water away from your home and if at all possible, climb up on the roof and give it a good visual inspection. Many times it doesn't take a professional to see glaring issues once you are up there.
5. Energy efficiency
While you can always install energy efficient windows and doors, you will be better off purchasing an energy efficient home from the start. One of the best ways to determine this is to ask the previous owners for all of their utility bills for the previous year. Too often new home buyers in particular seriously underestimate the total costs of owning a home and energy costs can be a big one.
Sometimes our idea of buying a home is on par with some of our most romantic notions of love. We think we will get out of the car and immediately fall in love with a home that will meet our every expectation from the second we walk through the front door to the minute we hit the back yard. Most realtors will tell you that is a fantasy. While you can get a home that you love, sometimes you have to buy it first and then turn it into your dream home.
