Once you’ve determined how much of a house you can afford (see Article 1), you can start the hunt. You’ll want to marshal all the resources at your command to locate the perfect house. However, simply darting about here and there won’t do it. You have to set certain parameters. These usually include the following:

Set Your House-Hunting

Parameters How many bedrooms will you need? Most houses have three or four bedrooms. You’ll probably have to pay a premium for five or more bedrooms. Houses with fewer than three bedrooms are often more difficult to resell, although they may cost less initially. How many bathrooms will you need? Don’t buy a house with only one bathroom. It’s very difficult to resell. Do you want a newer house with all the modern goodies such as better insulation, copper plumbing, high-efficiency heating and cooling, heavy-duty electrical systems, and what comes with all that fewer repairs? Or will you settle for the comforts of an older, established home such as a fully grown garden, larger lot, and developed neighborhood? Do you want something new?

Are there any special features that you must have? (These include breakfast nooks, work area in the garage, washer and dryer near the bedroom, home office room(s), skylights, and wood paneling.) Try to be as flexible as possible. The more you must have, the more it’s going to cost you. Is there a better school district you want to be in? The better the neighborhood, almost invariably the better the schools. The two go together hand in hand. What about being close to shopping? Most people don’t want to drive more than a few minutes for bread or milk. Even if you’re willing, will the next buyer be? If you’re going to commute, what is the maximum distance you are willing to drive? Get a map. Indicate those areas that are within range, those that are too far out. It will help you limit your search area. Do you want a two-story, three-story, split-level, or ranch? Or will you accept any style? What about colors? If you can’t stand a blue house or a green house or a yellow house, you better recognize this fact up front. Are you willing to repaint? Do you want a fireplace? What about a pool? Air conditioning? You’ll pay substantially more for a pool house. However, a fireplace and even air conditioning (in many areas) are standard equipment these days. Expect to pay less for a house without them. Do you want a big lot? Does it have to have a view? Do you mind being on a busy street? What about a corner lot? Big lots are supposed to be better and cost more. But in reality they require much more time, effort, and money to maintain and frequently are harder to resell. A lot with a view will always cost more, but it will bring more on resale. A corner lot means street noise on two sides and is often objectionable. Being on a busy street makes a house almost twice as hard to resell as being on a quiet street.

TIP YOU MAKE YOUR PROFIT WHEN YOU BUY People who buy a home to please themselves often have a harder time reselling later on. People who buy a home that is most likely to please others have an easier time reselling and selling for more money. When you buy, do so with an eye toward later reselling. The important thing here is not to reinvent the wheel. When you begin looking for just the right house, what you’re really doing is gathering information. You want to learn which neighborhoods you can afford and in which you feel safe, what those neighborhoods look like, what the traffic and public transportation are like, the quality of schools and shopping, and so forth. It’s a lot of information, and you want to get it the quickest and easiest way possible. One way is to go around investigating by yourself. In a few weeks you’ll turn up most of the answers.

TIP WHAT’S YOUR HOME OWNERSHIP HORIZON? Most people plan on owning their next home forever. However, statistics suggest that the average length of ownership is only around 8 or 9 years. If you plan on reselling sooner, you may be willing to accept a lessthan- perfect home choice. You should also look for a home that will resell more easily. Another way is to check on the Internet. Information on schools, crime statistics, pricing, and more are available from many Web sites. Check out Online Resources at the end of this article. Yet another method is to contact one or two good agents. Their business requires gathering this information. They already have it. In the matter of a single conversation, they can impart to you information it would take you days or sometimes weeks to gather on your own. They can also be an excellent source for directing you to others who may have knowledge that they don’t possess.

TIP KNOW WHERE YOU ARE Always, always carry a map with you. When a broker says that the Maple Heights and Laurel Park areas are affordable, ask for the price range of those areas and then mark it on your map. You’ll be surprised how 10 minutes later you can’t remember whether it was Maple Park or Laurel Heights or whatever. When an agent tells you about schools or malls or public transportation, mark them on the map. Unless you’re very familiar with the area, the information will be in one ear and out the other in moments.

How Do I “Sniff” Out the Areas? Once you’ve whittled down the general areas that are in your price range, do some investigation on your own.

First, drive the areas. You should look for how people keep up their properties. Are all the lawns nicely mowed? Or are there broken cars and auto parts strewn across lawns? Watch for broken fences, scattered trash, and graffiti sure signs the neighborhood is going downhill and may be unsafe. Check the public transportation. Stop at the bus or train station and talk to people. Find out how long it really takes to commute.

Choosing a Good Neighborhood   Good schools Check test scores available at the district office.   Low crime rate Check with the police department’s public affairs officer for crime statistics by neighborhood and block.   Pride of ownership Check to see that all the homes are well kept.   Extras Look for parks, wide streets, tall trees, cul-de-sacs, close to schools and shopping.   Balance Look for a mix of homes, apartments, condos, and townhouses. That produces diversity a good place to live.   Anchored Look for a neighborhood that has few homes for sale and no detracting new influence (such as a commercial or industrial park coming in nearby). If you’re going to be driving on a thruway or freeway, wait until rush hour, then try it yourself. Use a watch to determine just how long it takes you. (You may be surprised!) Check out public facilities. Look for libraries, fire stations, police departments, and hospitals as well as malls and grocery stores. Are they convenient and well located? Walk the area. Once you’ve winnowed down the areas even more on the basis of items you discovered (above) by driving around, stop, park your car, and start walking. Talk to anyone you meet. Ask about problems in the area, about schools, about bad neighbors. When you’re doing this, you can also ask if people know of any house not yet listed that might be coming on the market soon. (We’ll have more to say about this later.)

TRAP GET OUT OF YOUR CAR Don’t be the sort of person who shops by car. Probably the biggest mistake that buyers make when checking out an area is not walking it. Nothing substitutes for shank’s mare when it comes to discovering the kind of neighborhood you’re in.

How Do I Find a Specific House? By now you should have narrowed down the neighborhoods. You can afford and want to live between Ethel Street and Oak Boulevard or in the Pinewood or Horizon Hills or Wildfield tracts. You’re ready to find the house. What you need to do is to quickly get a handle on every for-sale house in your price range in those areas. Isn’t that an overwhelming task? Not really. Be aware that in most areas, 90 percent or more of the homes are listed with agents. The reason is simple: The vast majority of sellers don’t have the time, expertise, or energy to sell their property themselves. (Also, it’s a fact that buyers rarely purchase a home they “drop into” because of a “For Sale by Owner” sign. It’s much easier to check with an agent who can produce a list.) So start with the agents. Have an agent show you the listed houses in the area you’re considering.

TIP CHECK OUT THE “FSBOS” You should check homes that are offered for sale by owner and are in the geographical area where you want to live. You might get lucky. See Article 13 for more info on how to do this.

Can I Find Properties Before They Are Listed? There is another category of property that, though rarer, offers potentially greater financial opportunities to you, the buyer. This is a property that has not yet come onto the market.

Sellers have a world of reasons for selling. Sometimes it is a wellthought- out decision determined over a long period of time. In other cases a sudden event such as job change, illness, or death may cause a quick decision to sell. Regardless of how it happens, there is always a period of time between when sellers make the decision (or are close to making the decision) and when they actually list the property with an agent. I call this the “golden time.”

How Do I Find “Golden Time” Homes? During the golden time, the sellers are willing to sell, but haven’t yet fully committed to an agent or anyone else. If you can come in at that point with a reasonable offer, the sellers are very likely to accept. They will be thinking about all the hassles of selling that you will save them. No agents to deal with. No commission to pay. No time spent showing the property and waiting for buyers. You’re a lifesaver if you come during that golden period. Unfortunately, the golden time lasts only a few days to a few weeks. Also unfortunately, it’s very hard to learn about sellers who are in that golden time. Often it’s only through friends or acquaintances or associates at work that you learn that Jim is considering selling his home or Mary is planning to list her property. When you do learn of this, however, act immediately. Contact Mary or Jim that very day or evening at the latest. Tell them you are actively looking to buy a home and would very much like to consider theirs. Will they just let you come over and look? Then go look. Chances are the house will be in a terrible location or will be too small or too big or too crazy. But every once in a while, it’s just right. When it is, strike a deal right there and then. Presumably by this time you know what houses are going for in the area and you know what a good price is. Come to terms and have your agent or attorney handle the paperwork later. By getting to a house before it gets listed or goes up for sale, you can often save a lot of money and get superior terms. (Of course, you can hire an agent on a fee-for-service basis to handle all the paperwork.)

TIP CONSIDER A FIXER You should also at least consider a fixer-upper, a home that is selling for less because it needs repair work. Sometimes you can find a sweet deal. Check Article 10 for details on how to find these.

Beware of Overbuilt Homes You’re looking at a house in a neighborhood that typically has threeand four-bedroom, single-story homes. Suddenly you come across a house with two stories and six bedrooms. The owner has “added on.” There’s an extra bath, a remodeled kitchen. In fact, the house looks like a palace. And the price is palatial. Nevertheless, it offers so much that you’re thinking of some way that you can get into it. Sell the car, the boat, the dog? Work an extra two jobs? Anything to get this wonderful house. Forget it. The house is a loser, a white elephant. The only reason it looks so terrific is that it’s a BMW surrounded by Fords. Put it with BMWs and Mercedes and Rolls Royces, and it’ll look common. There are a relatively few things that an owner can do to add on to a house and still recoup the money invested. Remodeling a kitchen is one. But start adding floors and rooms and very quickly the house becomes overbuilt the neighborhood doesn’t justify the work that’s done. Typically in such a situation, the owners are asking far less than the actual costs of the remodeling that they spent, but far more than surrounding houses cost. It’s going to take them a very long time to find a buyer. And if you’re that buyer, it’s going to take you a very long time when you want to resell. Buyers (like you) look for location first, the building second. If a house is too big or overbuilt for a location, it becomes a problem. You don’t want to purchase someone else’s problem.