House Hunting? What to Look For When Looking at Houses

Looking for a new home is so exciting! You can easily get caught up in the idea of something new to you and all the possibilities that a home may offer; however, there are a few things you should consider when you start looking at homes. Remember that a good Realtor will help you with pointing out possible issues that a home may have!

Exterior

The first thing you are going to want to know is whether or not there are external regulations such as an HOA (Home Owner's Association); some HOAs can have crazy CCRs

(covenants, conditions, and restrictions) that homeowners must abide by. I have seen everything from the number of pets that can be kept in the home, no putting a for sale sign in the front yard, no frog flags, hiding your trashcan, and so many more! It is important to understand that you may be looking at a home that comes with a lot more restrictions than you can ever imagine!

You will also want to take a look at the roof. A roof can be a very expensive purchase, especially for a first-time homebuyer. A newer roof can also help you lower your homeowner's insurance, provide better insulation thus reducing electricity bills, and provide better protection during crazy weather!

While examining the outside go ahead and look at the exterior finishes such as siding, brick, and stucco. You want to make sure you do not notice any glaring problems such as large cracks in the brick or siding falling off the house. This can be a sign of much larger and much more expensive problems.

One thing that many people do not take into consideration, but should is the driveway or parking situation in their new potential home. If you have multiple vehicles or like to entertain, you will want to know how many cars you can get in your driveway or if there is additional parking available for guests. You will also want to look at the yard size and see if you are comfortable with the lot size.

Interior

The home's interior is where we usually fall in love with a house. We can envision ourselves and our belongings there. As you walk through the home take note of storage space, size of rooms, lightning, imagine placing your furniture in each room, appliances, fixtures, and look for specific things that are must-haves for you such as a pantry.

When looking at a home I would take the toddler approach. What is the toddler approach? Touch everything! Turn on all the lights, check all the fans, run water in the sink or the shower, flush the toilet, and open up the cabinets. You are going to want to touch everything and make sure it is a great fit for you. You don't want to end up in a home where you hate the sound of the doorbell, the toilet doesn't flush properly, or you realize the water pressure is horrible and now you have additional expenses that you were not expecting.

You will want to assess the age of the air conditioning system, hot water heater, and the appliances that are listed to stay with the home. This can give you an idea of how much time you may have before having to replace or repair these expensive items. I also always check to see if the current homeowner is changing their air filters. If you notice the air filter is full and nasty, then it is a sign that there could be issues with your air conditioning system soon.

Other Factors

There are other things you will want to consider when looking at a home. These factors include commute time to work, community attributes, school district quality, and flood zone status. Forget about little cosmetic issues; it is likely that you will want to paint or change some fixtures. Look at the bigger picture and your must-have list. This will help you narrow down your search!

Happy House Hunting.