Shopping for the right home

Good real estate agents tell prospective home buyers that they can simply their experience greatly by giving some thought ahead of time to the type of house they want and/or can afford, and also by considering the location where they want to live.

Here are some of your possible choices as far as types of housing you may want to purchase:

Single family detached home, sitting on its own lot, affords maximum privacy. Consider that you will have responsibility for yard and lawn maintenance. Some single family homes are in subdivisions with a commons area (with pool, recreation room, etc.).

Planned unit development homes are grouped close together with small individual lots but with a large common recreational space. You have less yard maintenance yourself, but you may have to contribute to the costs of maintaining the commons. Because the houses are closer together, the price may be lower. There may be development restrictions that limit what you can and cannot do with your home.

Townhouses, attached to other townhouses, but with individual access, provide high density living with a certain amount of privacy. Exterior and grounds maintenance is handled by the homeowners association. Generally speaking, townhouses are less expensive than single family or PUD homes.

Condominiums are basically like nice apartments, except that you own your own interior space in a unit or building that may have many other individual owners. The owner has little responsibility for upkeep and repair of the overall structure, but also has little freedom in choosing how to modify the structure. Depending on location, this may be the least expensive choice.

Duplex, Triplex, Multifamily structures allow the owner to live in one of the units and rent out the other units, all of which are usually attached together. There may be a yard or not. With good renters, the owner may possibly live almost cost-free.

Beyond this, there is a wide range of choices to be made. Do you want a brand new home, a previously owned home, a custom-built home, an historical structure, a contemporary or other style, a two story or one story structure? Each of these carries unique advantages and disadvantages. If you are clear in your own mind about what you want, your realtor will know the market, and be able to show you houses that you are interested in without wasting your time on things you don’t want.

And then, of course, there is location, location, location. How far to your work, to your children’s schools, to a major thorough-fare, to shopping, to a library, to a hospital? What is the noise level in the location? Is there a large electrical power line nearby? What is the local city or county government, and how will it affect your home ownership and your life style? What are the nearby recreational areas? Is the neighborhood established, appreciating in property value, or declining? Is it a safe neighborhood? These and many other questions will enter into your making a good decision.

And a good realtor will have the answers to most if not all these questions and can help you sort out your choices to fit your own needs and desires.

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