Finding the right house is mostly about location, location, location. Size and
condition of the house and yard are two other considerations. It all depends upon your
taste and your circumstances. Please take some time to chew on the following points:
School District: This factor may seem inane at first glance, especially
for a buyer without children, but it definitely is among the more critical points in
determining the value of a particular house - the better the school district, the higher
the value. A good school system may not be important for you, but odds are that when you
go to sell the house, it will be important to your potential buyers. Which school district
the house falls into is among the first questions to ask when looking over a particular
house. And watch for the houses on the town or city borders. A house may be located in the
desired town or city and yet may be zoned for the neighboring school district. Conversely,
the house may be located in the desired school district, but the post office address may
not be in the desired municipality.
Proximity to Job(s): It is up to you to research the area surrounding your
prospective home with respect to commutation. How close is the house to a major highway or
a train station? How long will it take you to get to your job? If you choose a house that
is located an hour away from your job, this is two hours that you must be willing to carve
out of each day. Weigh heavily how your commute will impact on the quality of your life.
Proximity to Conveniences: My father recently retired and moved from Long Island
to rural Pennsylvania. He has found quite a paradox. On Long Island, it took him five
minutes to get to quality restaurants where he would wait twenty-five minutes to be seated
at a table. In Pennsylvania, it takes him twenty-five minutes to get to the restaurant,
but he is seated immediately by the owner who knows him by name. The pros and cons
sometimes balance evenly. Like I said, though, he has retired. This means that he has
reached the age when he will be more dependent on doctors. The nearest hospital is
approximately forty-minutes from his house, and he has had a heck of a time finding a
nearby doctor who is registered with his particular insurance plan.
Proximity to Family: For some of you, there is no issue when it comes to
proximity to family. It simply does not matter. For others, proximity or the lack thereof
is crucial. If you’re a young couple looking forward to having children, perhaps you
would like the convenience of having family members (aka babysitters) within a short
driving distance from your home. For others, the further you can get from your family, the
better. There are always telephones, right? I am caught somewhere in the middle. I am a
few towns away from my nearest family member, but most of my family lives within a
half-hour drive. For me, it’s a beautiful balance.
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Condition of House: One theory is to look for the worst house in the best
neighborhood. This way, you are more likely to get a good purchase price, and you can fix
up the house after you buy it. Unfortunately, today’s sellers are getting wiser, and
they have figured out that they are not so much selling a structure as they are selling a
piece of a community. Lately, I’ve seen fix-me-up’s sell for as much as
fixed-up’s.
Size of House and Property: How about the size of the house? Do you want to buy a small
house and move out when your family outgrows it? Would you like a small house that you
could expand later? Have you considered buying a bigger house into which your family could
grow. And how do you feel about the property size, also known as lot size? Children and
yards go well together. However, if you are a career person, a traveler or older in age,
perhaps a big yard will just be a big burden. A small yard can be maintained more easily,
and in the case of a condominium or cooperative apartment, your payment of the monthly
maintenance fees covers your responsibility for the "common areas".
Chapter
2 - How Expensive a House Can I Afford?
