I need househunting advice!

[Planogirl]

Our loan has finally gone through and we're ready to go out househunting. And let's just say that it's been a while since we bought a home. I would appreciate any and all advice and hints that anyone is willing to share.

So far we've only picked the area (due to schools and amenities) but even that is flexible. For anyone from Dallas, we're very interested in Frisco. There's me and DH and DS and the most important features to me are privacy and storage. Any other thoughts?

 

[jldriscoll]

Big Kitchen, big garage, big master bathroom

(my wish list last year while house hunting )

 

[Planogirl]

Those sound good too. Did you get all of them? I guess that I need to make a list.

 

[jldriscoll]

My dh said we probably couldn't find a house with them all..... we found one...3 car garage, HUGE Kitchen and dinning area big enough to get a 10 seat dining table and....a bath with shower and gardentub!!!!!! We bought it!!!

The only real sacrifice we made is we have no trees. That was pretty high on our list, but we figure we can plant some.

Good luck!! and yes... a wish list is really helpful!!!!!

 

[Planogirl]

Well, even if I don't get another post, I do have one good bit of advice. I tend to run amuck and NOT make lists. But a list is definitely a good thing in this case. Thanks!

Ooh, a big kitchen....

 

[janette]

Our biggest thing was street location. We had lived on a circle for the last 13 years and knew how nice it was not to have cars driving by all the time. We were close to a pretty busy street there but our new house is not on a circle but not a through street that is only a block long. Very little traffic, now there isn't a busy street close so it is very quiet. We are on the curve so that also gives us a huge backyard, a premium in Carrollton where they keep making the lots smaller and smaller.

I also wanted a real laundry room, used to have a closet. I also needed a room for me, and another bedroom.

We don't plan to move again so didn't want something too big, we don't have lots of room for entertaining or over night guests but that's okay.

Two of my nephews are buying new homes in Frisco out by Little Elm. They said the builders are offering some really good deals. You might check that out if you don't mind the drive.

 

[Planogirl]

janette, Little Elm seems to be all the rage right now! Unfortunately, with my hours and my need to pick up DS from daycare on time, I can't go for Little Elm. The biggest problem is that the roads going into that area are only two lane and the backup is quite amazing during rush hour. But you can get a decent house for under 100K out there!

Thanks for new ideas. I hadn't even considered the street. A cul-de-sac would be nice. Hmmmm....

 

[SplshMtn99]

I HAVE ONLY ONE PIECE OF ADVICE ---- GET A HOME INSPECTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And make sure it is from someone licensed who has absolutely NO connection to the realtor or seller.

My co-worker is the PROUD owner of a home that was condemned only after ONE YEAR of ownership. It is structurally unsafe & has been ordered to be torn down. She moved out last October & has spent the past year with relatives & then got an apartment, ALL WHILE paying attorneys fees ON TOP of her MORTGAGE PAYMENT and now RENT! She may have to declare bankruptcy. And is trying to get out of her mtg & home equity loan payments by sueing the inspector -- but is getting no where.

Yes, she had an inspection done. It was her first house. So, she went with someone the realtor suggested. If you think about it, the inspector is not going to "kill" the sale. He'll never be used again if he does. So, he never "noticed" or mentioned the uncorrected fire damage above the drop ceiling, NOR the lack of support walls. They knew they were buying a fixer upper -- but never imagined this. They only discovered the damage a yr later when a roofer was hired. The towns structural engineer can't imagine how the (flat) roof hadn't collapsed the previous winter with all the snow we had in addition to the SIX layers of roofing material the house had & lack of support wall.

 

[Kermit]

When we get a new house, I'm going to make sure that we have a big enough yard and a garage with extra storage space so that it's not so hard to fit the lawnmower and other stuff in it. Things that we have right now that we really get a lot out of are big closets, a big kitchen, and lots of extra space.

You also need to think about how you feel about open floor plans. They're very popular in newer houses, and I love the way they look. However, it's not great for noise. We're fine with it now because it's just DH and me. But when people with kids come over to visit, it can be bad. There aren't any doors downstairs (except for the coat closet and the powder room), so you can hear anyone who's downstairs, regardless of what room they're in. And since the foyer, kitchen, breakfast nook, and dining room make a big circle, kids always want to run around and around in circles. (They always fall in the foyer because the hardwoods are slippery. )

 

[annemariec]

We just sold a house...

Do you have an agent? If not, (and are getting one) be sure
you set the time frame you want to commission him/her to represent you. It's your right and it's key. That way if the agent doesn't work out, you can move on, on your terms w/o a penalty.

You could choose 30, 60, or 90 days. Or anything in between. Our agent did the "quick run through" for the signing of all the papers and he chose 90 days. He didn't explain anything and we were newbies to the process. So we were kind of both at fault. Anyway, it worked out --- but there were some trying times. It would've been nice if it were a shorter time to deal w/ some easily solved problems (that he didn't tend to). You can always extend the commission if you wanted.

If you have children, you can sign up for the UPromise program and certain real estate companies will contribute a portion of their cut of the purchase towards your child's education. Check out www.upromise.com . It can add up to a nice chunk of change.

Gotta run. If I think of anything else I'll post it later.
Annemarie

 

[ahutton]

We thought about where do we spend our time, and what rooms in our previous home did we never use. We used to have a living room/formal dining area, and then had a large family room open with the kitchen and breakfast nook. In 3 years I can easily count on one hand when we used the living room. This time we bought a house that didn't have one. The family room is a bit larger, has a fireplace... Larger kitchen area... Significantly larger master bedroom... That is where we spend most of our time so we made those areas high priorities. Sure there are other tings I would have loved, but this is the most workable house we could get.

 

[Planogirl]

Yikes SplshMtn99! How awful for them!

OK, independent licensed home inspector for sure. Open floor plan? An agent or not? UPromise (cool!). No unnecessary rooms.

These are great and all being added to my list. And Kermit, I agree with you about the storage space. It's impossible to ever get enough IMO.

This information is exactly what I needed!

 

[janette]

If you need an agent let me know. Ours was great. Unless you are buying a new house you definately will need an agent, it's hard to look at houses on your own.

I'd also say as far as extra rooms sometimes you just have to do it a little different. Our "formal" living room is my office / DIS / TV room. The girls & I have our computers here, a TV and chairs for all of us. Someday I want to add a little seating but it won't be a living room. I did buy dining room furniture but I'm working on that room being my scrapbook space. The furniture has lots of storage for dishes, it will work great to get my scrapbook stuff organized.

 

[mrsv98]

Sit down and think about your everyday routine , especially if you have kids. For us, it was important to have a family room in close proximity to the kitchen so I can make dinner while DD plays. Also, we had to have an enclosed back yard for DD and DDoggie. We got really lucky and found a house where the kitchen flows into the eating area and then the family room. No one area is particularly large but since they are open to each other, it is very roomy and convenient. Also, the eating area has a floor to ceiling window so I can watch DD in her sandbox while I make dinner. Oh, another big deal for me was a first floor laundry room as opposed to one in the basement. It is so nice to be able to do laundry while DD is right there.

I second the independent inspector. DH's sister is a lawyer and she told us to use our own inspector but to go ahead and use the real estate lawyer the realtor reccemended. Our realtor acted put out that we didn't want to use her inspector, but I didn't care, I wanted someone non-biased.

Good luck house-hunting!

 

[bfeller]

We have bought 5 houses in the past 11 years. A Home Inspection is a must.

One of the things that I have liked in a house is a second story laundryroom. The room has a drain in it just in case of accidents and it was so convenient to all the bedrooms. I was afraid of the noise it would make on the first floor and we had no problems.

 

[BCVOwner2002]

I agree with what's already been posted but you may also want to think about appliances. I know you will be getting the home inspected but . . . when we bought our house, the appliances in the kitchen were 11 years old and we had every one of them replaced before we moved in. Make sure you keep these expenses in mind when purchasing.

We also made a list prior to looking. Some things to keep in mind: the communities you would like to live in, style of the homes, features such as fireplace, masterbath, # of bedrooms, # of baths, dead-end street, size of lot, separate laundry room, two-car garage, family room, porch, central air and swimming pool to name a few.

Realtors will show you anything so making a list and knowing the maximum you can afford will wean out the homes that you can't afford or wouldn't be interested in.

Good luck!!! Annmarie

 

[bfeller]

Oops! I forgot to mention that if you are buying a house that is not new, get a home warranty. They are worth every penney!!!! This is a must.

 

[janette]

Our appliances are about 10yrs old but that wasn't a real problem. I miss my good Maytag diswasher I had in my old house though. I'm starting to shop for a Cooktop & Diswasher other than that I'll just replace what breaks. The Diswasher & Cooktop work but I kind of feel like the person on the commercial with the broken washer - the one that got broken with a sledgehammer. Don't like them at all!

 

[annemariec]

Planogirl, I would probably get an agent --- especially if you are purchasing an existing home from someone.

You could get a real estate lawyer and he/she would handle all of the legalities. The expense would be a fraction of what a real estate agents would be. On the other hand, a real estate lawyer might not be as readily available to help you. And you would be dealing with the seller's agent (most likely). It's worth it to have a representive that will give an informed, timely answer on your behalf.

You may want to interview a few real estate lawyers and find out how available they would be for you throughout the process. If they are available for more than the transaction phase, I'd probably go with one as a buyer. (As a seller, all the work of showing, interviewing etc. would fall on your shoulders.)

No matter what side of the fence you are on buying or selling, there are a lot of real estate terms and conditions. And you need to know what your rights and obligations are. As the seller, my agent kept asking me to do more and more stuff for the buyer and finally I asked, "Well, what exactly is my obligation?" And he answered, "You've met them." And to that I stated, "Well, that's all I'm doing then." It made me wonder who he was working for!!

I'll check the thread later.

Annemarie

 

[d.kurz]

This may seem like a no-brainer, but make sure there's more than one bathroom!!! We moved FROM a house with 2, to a charming older house with just one. It didn't seem like a big deal. HA!!