Childfree House Hunting
Making the right choices during the hunt can be the difference between buyer’s remorse and home sweet home.
A home is one of the most expensive purchases most people will make, so putting a great deal of thought into the process is crucial to get the best living situation possible. While everyone should follow some basic steps to buy an ideal house, the childfree confront additional challenges in their quest.
The first step in the process is finding out how much house you can afford. If you are not going to be a cash buyer, this means getting pre-approved for a real estate loan. Avoid being “pre-qualified” because this is not an official status and will mean nothing as far as actually getting a mortgage. Pre-approval usually requires documents demonstrating employment and income. You may want to use your current financial institution for this process, but it may pay to shop around with a mortgage broker. This may take place in person at an office or online through sites such as LendingTree.com. Knowing exactly how much you are approved for and approximately what your monthly payment will be helps a great deal so that you don’t waste time looking at homes outside your price range.
The next and most crucial step is choosing a real estate agent. In today’s market, having your own agent to represent you as a buyer is essential. Many potential buyers make the mistake of going to an open house of a property they like or calling a number on a “for sale” sign to see a home. The people you see in those circumstances are agents who represent the seller. They are out to get the best deal for their clients, not for you as a buyer.
Finding someone to serve as your advocate takes time but is well worth it. Ask friends for recommendations and interview at least three agents to see how well they understand your needs and suit your personality. Logically, it would seem that a childfree agent would be the best choice for childfree buyers, but this is not always the case. For example, my husband and I used a childfree agent for a transaction, but his lack of experience in the geographic area we were buying turned out to be a liability in making the deal. The agent we use now is a grandmother, but she understands our needs as a childfree couple and is a seasoned real estate professional.
After you have found the best agent, the next step is to determine what you want in a house. This sounds simple, but it is more challenging than it appears. A lot of times what people think they want in theory turns out not to be so great when they see it in an actual house. For instance, the romantic spiral staircase leading to a loft that looked so great in photos turned out to be a dizzying accident waiting to happen once my husband and I visited the property and climbed the steps.
For the childfree, extra considerations may be in order for desirable housing. Agents are accustomed to dealing with buyers who want to live in the best school district they can afford. That may be a criterion for you if you are concerned about resale value, but many childfree buyers find that they can get bargains in nice neighborhoods that are not in the top-rated district or not attached to the award-winning elementary school. How much you like children (and their parents) may also be a factor. Living close to a school can be a nightmare, as few children actually walk these days, thus causing long lines of mini-vans and SUVs to clog the streets for a couple of hours each weekday as Mom or Dad picks up Junior and Suzy to avoid a three-block walk home. Similarly, homes with playground equipment, trampolines, or pools in the yard may not make good neighbors if you like peace and quiet or just don’t want to be around kids on a daily basis.
Another aspect to think about when choosing a home is the rising influence of homeowners’ associations. In many places (particularly with recent construction), HOAs are mandatory and carry hefty annual fees to be used for upkeep of common areas. Those areas are often child-oriented amenities such as pools and playgrounds. If you do choose a property that has a mandatory HOA, it is worth asking to see if any adult-centered activities take place in the common areas. Some associations sponsor adult swims, water aerobics, social clubs, and other activities that are designed to entertain homeowners rather than their children. Others base nearly everything around the traditional two-parent family with kids, so your money would be going primarily to entertain other people and keep up facilities you rarely or never use.
Once you know what you want, it’s a good idea to visit a large number of homes that meet your general criteria. Many agents advise looking at 20 homes and then deciding which ones are most suitable. It’s easy to get a head start on this process by using online real estate sites such as Realtor.com to have a first look at properties. Many properties in the Multiple Listing Service (and even those listed independently) will have multiple photos and even virtual tours available. This visual experience can help you weed out places that might look good on paper but have features that would be deal breakers.
Sometimes after going through this process, one or two homes will stand out immediately as finalists. However, don’t make that decision just yet. Try to go back to the top contenders for a second showing on a different day at a different time to see if this makes a difference in your impressions. Visiting the neighborhood and cruising adjacent streets may also help in making your decision. After all, you are not just buying a house; you are committing to live in a specific neighborhood. You’ll want to know what it’s like to be there. If public transportation is important to you, is it accessible? Where will you shop? How long will it take you to get to work? Are kids often playing in the streets instead of the parks? Are your potential neighbors’ yards full of swingsets and toys? Any one of them could make a big difference in your daily life once you commit to moving in.
After going through all this, having a list of your top contenders in rank order should be fairly easy. Realize that there is no “perfect house;” any selection will have both good points and drawbacks. Your agent can then advise you about “comps” (comparable sales that have taken place in the area over the past six months) so that you can make a fair offer for the property you choose.
Although house hunting can be a difficult process, the work you put into selecting the best property is time well spent. Knowing that you made the extra effort to choose a good agent and find the house that best suits your lifestyle brings peace of mind and a feeling of great satisfaction. In the end, that comfort is a big part of what makes a house a home.
Other Online Resources
Zillow
A great place to look at neighborhoods and use home valuation tools
Agentsonline
A site for real estate agents that includes an active discussion forum.
Copyright . Published 1 September 2007 in The Zone.
Reader comments
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Excellent article! So many people neglect to visit properties on weekends, off hours and look the for signs of the obvious – primary-colored toys and swingsets that do not bode well for the peace-loving.
permalink — 4 September 2007, 09:30