I’ve talked before about home-buying and if you’re at that chapter in your life where you’re considering the change between renting vs buying and you’re ready to start house-hunting… then you’ve come to the right place! While we don’t consider ourselves experts, I am always one that loves to learn through the experiences of others, so this time I thought I’d share what we’ve learned through our own experiences in this Homeowner Hindsight series!
We’ve previously covered some tips before you start the house-hunting process, so definitely start there, but you guys, you don’t want to miss these 6 Essential Things to Consider Before Buying a Home!
Between our own home-buying ups and downs as well as the realtors and homeowners around me chiming in with their insight (and homeowner hindsight), we’re spilling the goods and sharing things you may not always think to consider.
Plus, I wish I knew about Homes.com before! They’re a HUGE resource to help the journey to homeownership from start to finish, especially with the How To section that breaks down everything you need to know about being a homeowner.
6 Essential Things to Consider Before Buying a Home
1. Noise level.
We learned this the hard way with our first home. While it backed up to a creek with plenty of lush greenery and even with a large yard gorgeous views, we didn’t quite think to take into consideration what was on the other side of that creek and beautiful tree line… an elementary school. Even at that, the school was pretty far off, with the playground and field space in between, so really we didn’t think too much of it. Until I worked from home. During the day. While kids were in school. And then I had a baby. And all day long during the school year, I’d hear the bell ring for recess followed by lots of yelling and screaming, until the next bell rang. And then it started all over again. We eventually got used to it, and it wasn’t that bad… but it also wasn’t quite as peaceful throughout the day as I thought it would be, and I definitely couldn’t keep the windows open when the baby was napping.
Suffice it to say, if there’s a home on your radar, consider driving around the neighborhood and nearby streets to see what’s around. Is the home near railroad tracks? A busy highway or road? Backed up to a school? In close proximity to an airport?
While none of these are necessarily a deal breaker, take your time to access the kind of noise you’ll have at different points of the day/season.
2. Added expenses.
When considering expenses, take a good look to see how much you plan to change on the home you’re looking at! We knew we were going to be changing A LOT, and knew that all those little things will truly add up. Thankfully it’s something we planned for, and purchased a home in a price range that allowed us to update! However, I do know some people who didn’t budget for it, and had a whole load of problems. For example, I had one friend who moved into their new house and then a few weeks in they found out they had a termite infestation! They ended up using someone like Termite Control Kansas City, but this was something that they hadn’t planned for, so they really had to budget hard unfortunately. From this example then, it’s just a good idea to just be aware that things can go wrong and just be prepared for them.
Something that is really cool about Homes.com, is the snap and search feature! If you’ve stumbled across your picture-perfect home online, you can now find similar homes for sale or rent in the area you’re searching by uploading any photo you’ve saved, pinned, snapped or posted!
The great thing about finding a home you know this way? Less cosmetic changes! You can find a home with the look and design you already love, and save the money for the unforeseen expenses that can pop up.
Some advice from a realtor friend of mine, “The unseen costs add up over time like exterior painting, roof replacement, pool refinishing, A/C replacement, landscaping, and flooring (cleaning & replacement). Most homeowners don’t save each month for these things and then when they are needed it becomes a HUGE expense. These are some of the things I advise my buyers about… especially first time homebuyers.”
Homes.com can help you assess how much house you can afford by connecting you with a real estate professional in your area. Figure this part out before you begin your home search.
3. Schools and neighbors.
Even if you don’t have children (or not yet), it’s still important to take things like the schools and neighborhoods into consideration. What the ratio of kids in your neighborhood? Have you had a chance to meet any of your possible-new-neighbors while walking through the home?
I’ve heard horror stories of neighbors-gone-wrong, and thankfully we have some amazing one! Even though you won’t be seeing them constantly, the right people around you can make all the difference! You could even have custom home builders build a house in an isolated area for you if you’re worried about neighbors! If you want to learn more, check out buildtrend.
I’m not the only one who feels that way, my friend Kim agreed… “Schools and neighbors, we finally have really good ones.”
4. Layout.
Think about what you do and what you need around you on a day-to-day basis. Everyone likes a different layout and for different reasons.
We knew we wanted an open concept and a large pantry. Thankfully, even though the home didn’t start with these things, we knew it had the right “bones” for it… but if you don’t want to constantly have projects over your head, make sure you make a list of the things you truly value, and stick to it!
Another mama friend of mine, Sophia, said, “The laundry room downstairs means the dirty clothes that go down to be cleaned must go back up to be put away. Next time… laundry room upstairs!”
Need a little help finding home in your area with just-the-right features?! Homes.com Match is like a personalized simply smarter home search. Input those things that matter most, and they’ll do the rest by stacking up what you “must-have” against what’s “nice-to-have” and giving scores for every home in your results – rather than the daunting scroll, filter, scroll process. It definitely simplifies the beginning steps to homeownership.
5. Location.
With a cross-country move from Michigan to Florida, there also came a big difference in the way homes are set-up and maintained, and we had to learn about how to care for a home in our new environment. Every climate had it’s quirks… in Michigan we had basements, which usually meant sump pumps. In Texas, most foundations need to be watered so they don’t crack from the dry heat. In Florida, there is a different way to take care of things because of the humidity (and you definitely want to make sure there’s insulation because of the heat)… etc. Research where you’ll be living and what some of the home maintenance will be. Part of owning your own home means taking care of it and you want to be prepared… especially when you find your dream home!
Photos of our garage turned homeschool room makeover!
6. The Paperwork.
Sometimes the paperwork surrounding the home buying process can seem daunting and overwhelming, but if you’re wanting to purchase a home, you’re in the big leagues now… so it’s time to grab a coffee and get ready for all that “stuff.”
Going into a new home with a solid homeowner’s insurance policy with warranties isn’t something you want to take lightly. In fact, with both homes we’ve purchased, we’ve had a homeowner’s warranty and ended up being SO grateful. In our current home, our water heater blew (along with a hole through the wall too, which leaked into our closet!). I woke up to the sound of running water. Thankfully, it was covered… it took a little effort and I had to pull the paperwork from it’s safe place, but that big bill was taken care of!
So, ask your realtor, take the time to read through the paperwork, and make sure you’ve got good coverage going into it! Be prepared to search for property management companies near me. There’s lots of things you need to remember if you’re buying a house so make a list!
For another bit of the nitty-gritty, my friend Josie mentioned, “Taxes are expensive… especially if the previous homeowners have been there long.” So check into it before you get too far into the process.
Photo of our big pantry makeover!
These are things to consider before buying a home that I wish I knew the first time around. What about you? Have you purchased a home? What are some homeowner hindsight tips you have?
If you haven’t seen our House to Home series on YouTube yet, make sure to check it out! I’ll leave our first episode below where we take you all through the NEW house!!!
Loving these tips? Click here now for more of my Home Buying Essentials!
Unless you already know one, there is no way to really know if you are going to have good neighbors until you move in and live next to them. I got lucky with all of mine.
That is so true! You really do never know. Although, we’ve always walked around and chatted with neighbors in the area that we’re looking at and find it helps us get a scope of how the neighborhood is, if there are a lot of kids, etc. 🙂 Usually there are some neighbors outside (at least in Florida!).
Check what the taxes are because they will probably go up when you purchase the home. Check what the monthly utilities bill were as well. More than just buying a home.
These are definitely things to consider when you buy home. For me noise level is a big one. I am kind of picky about how loud it should be and so I do not want to hear somebody’s dog barking all night long. You you have some great tips here!
Great tips Had never heard of homes.com, but that sounds so helpful. Will definitely have to look into that.
This is all so true. We bought our house for the first time 2 years ago and it was a process, that’s for sure. We had to make sure the house worked for our family.
These are some great things to think about. We have never bought our own home though I would love to manage to one day but it would be such a stressful time I am sure. So these things to think of are a great help.
We considered all these things when we bought our second home. The location of the school was so important to us and the kind of neighbors too.
These are such great tips! We hope to buy a new house in the next few years and I will keep these in mind. We have always found amazing houses and been incredibly lucky with finding good deals too!
Such awesome tips. I think there are quite a few useful tidbits in your post for home buyers. Sometimes we get so excited about finding the ‘perfect’ place for our family we forget about the daily things that we then have to live with. Thank you for writing this.
All super important! To me, location is the number one thing—you can change a lot of things about your home but you can never change that!
Such great tips and your home is so beautiful! I LOVE your kitchen remodel! That’s really cool that Homes.com has a similar search feature.
These are great tips for buying a house. It’ll likely help new home buyers think of details that may otherwise be forgotten.
We’ve learned to pay more in a desirable area in case we have to resell. NOTHING is worse than sitting on a house that’s not selling. Once we wait 18 months for the house to sell. Everyone loved the house but not the location.
These are great tips to be aware of! Layout and location are very important to me.
Those are some great tips to consider when buying a home. For me, I think the noise and neighbor is a big factor for me.
These are all excellent tips! We’ve been in our new home just two weeks shy of a full year (that flew by!). We have purchased and lived in four new homes together and until this one, I feel like we always made some obvious mistake along the way. The, “Dang, why didn’t we think of that?!” type of mistakes were carefully thought through before this move. I LOVE your pantry makeover and absolutely need to get onboard with that!
These are great tips. Great for renters too. Especially the neighbors. We really lucked out with our neighbours. They are decent and it’s a super quiet hood
These are definitely some great things to consider before buying a home. Thank you for sharing these.
I’m glad that you mention how it’s important to consider added expenses, such as if you’re considering making changes to the home you’re looking at. This would be important to figure out if the property fits in your budget. In order to do this, you might want to ensure you have a budget before you start looking at potential properties and make sure you include everything, such as utilities and the cost of your real estate agent to figure out what you can afford.
Buying a home can be a very big decision, so you’ll want to make sure that you take all of the appropriate factors into consideration before buying one. As the article points out, one thing that you’ll want to look into is the surrounding neighborhood. This is especially important if you plan to raise a family in the house as you will want your kids to have plenty of schools and parks to choose from.
Thanks for that tip about budgeting for unforeseen problems with a home. Right after you buy a home, you could be financially unstable. Having that lack of stability can be stressful. Planning for it can really help though, as you said!
You’ve got great tips for buying a good home. I like how you said to see how loud the neighborhood is going to be. I hadn’t thought about that before, but you’ve got a great point! The last thing I want is to move into our dream house only to be woken up every morning by dogs or kids.
Buying a home is expensive. I think that there is so much to consider as you said besides the baseline price of the home. I will have to think about that as I seek out the perfect home for me.
My husband and I are thinking about buying our first home soon and we are not sure what to expect or what to look for in a home, so I am glad that I found this article. I like that you say to think about the layout of the home and prioritize which aspects of the home are most important for you when you start searching. Having an open kitchen and dining room is extremely important to both me and my husband and will make it easy to watch our kids in the future, so that will be one of our top priorities.
My wife and I want to buy our first home this spring so thanks for sharing this. I like your point about planning for added expenses even after you move in. I’ll be sure to keep this in mind and set aside some of our budget for things like repairs.
Thank you for this post, as usual filled with great content.