Things to look out for when buying a house

Buying a new house is always a period of great excitement and confusion. You know you want a nice living room with a fireplace where you can curl up your feet on cold winter evenings and read your favorite book. What you don’t know is how much you will finally end up paying to realize that dream. Since buying a house is as much an emotional decision as a practical one, here are some tips that will help you gauge all the advantages and disadvantages of the homes you see and help you rate them on your priority list accordingly.

Once you have decided on your budget and basic requirements in a house, like the number of rooms, etc. its time to shortlist a few locations. The most important factors you need to consider in terms of location, while buying a house are:

Locality:

• Proximity to your workplace, good schools, hospitals, utility stores etc.
• If you are looking at a suburb, you need to ensure it’s well connected to the main town area so that commuting is not a problem.
• To get an idea of your prospective neighborhood, drive around it to see if the area and the houses there are well maintained. That should tell you a lot about the standard of the area, the security etc.
• Make sure you are aware of the topography of the area you have shortlisted for your house. This is especially valid for those looking at buying a house in another state/city. You don’t want to end up buying a house in an area that is prone to the vagaries of the weather like hurricanes and floods, etc.; make sure you’ve done a thorough research.
• Is the cost of living in that area within your budget? Check the rates for essential utilities like power, water and gas and also for regular bills you will end up paying like school fees, auto insurance, phone, cable etc. These will be a part and parcel of your everyday life for the time you stay in your house so you don’t want to end up buying into a cost of living that you cannot keep up with.

After finalizing a location, your next checklist pertains directly to the structure of the house you intend buying:

Structure:

• Unlike the other stuff you purchase, you cannot return a house once you buy it and it doesn’t quite turn out to be what you expected it to be, so don’t just get enamored with a building that looks good on the outside. You want to go more than skin deep and ensure it has a strong structure too. Over time a building weathers and many elements such as masonry start eroding. Make sure you don’t end up buying a house that presents you with a huge maintenance bill as soon as you shift into it! It’s a good idea to invest in building inspection.
• Mold is another thing you would want to stay miles away from. It’s a good idea especially when you are buying an older structure, to get Mold testing done before taking a decision.
• If the house you are planning to buy has a swimming pool, or covered garages, or other structures built alongside in the compound, it will affect your home insurance rates. Make sure you take that into account.
• Also decide whether you are paying for a house that is ready to shift into or are you looking at renovations. If you have renovations on your mind, make sure you factor that in your house buying budget.
• Last but not the least, make sure all the paperwork is in order. Once again it’s a great idea at this point to invest in a professional that will check the paperwork thoroughly so that at no point in future you get caught with hidden expenses that you did not consider while buying your house.

Though buying a house can be extremely confusing where your heart and head often give conflicting opinions, keeping a checklist handy will help you take an informed decision. Take into account the various factors that make a home a good value for money and ensure you have a comfortable life ahead in your new house.