House-Choosing Checklist

Don’t fall in love with the décor. The current owners’ antiques may look right at home in the house, but will your more eclectic furniture fit in just as well? “If you think a room looks very nice because of the draperies with silk linings, you should be aware that those are not necessarily part of the contract for the home,” Rogers warns. The same with the custom-made blinds in the office and the light fixtures that really make the home spectacular. Determine if you can live without details like these. If you must have them, specify in the contract that you want them. The neighborhood is one of the key aspects to consider when thinking about a home purchase. The Neighborhood Proximity. If you’re used to talking with neighbors over the fence, walking together for exercise or even meeting at the local coffee shop, see if your new neighborhood will offer the same. “Be sure that dream house on an acre or two isn’t like a desert island where you have to drive to see anyone,” says Bert Sperling, founder of Sperling’s BestPlaces and author of Best Places To Raise Your Family. On the other hand, if you’re a more solitary person, ensure that the home has enough space between you and your neighbors for your comfort level. Is the house close to the places that are most important to you? Scout out the nearest grocery store, gas station, school and place of worship—not to mention learning how far the house is from your workplace. Will it bother you to drive 15 miles to get to your favorite bookstore? Surroundings. Study other homes in the neighborhood. If you want your property value to go up, it’s better to buy the worst house in a great neighborhood and improve it than choose the best house on the block. If the neighborhood has plenty of homes for sale, it could be the sign of a neighborhood on the decline. Do you see signs of renovation? That can indicate people are committed to the area, which gives a better chance for property values to increase. If you have small kids, do you see pools or bikes or swing sets in lots of other yards? That might mean your kids will have new friends nearby. Do you see cars on blocks in several driveways or yards or old appliances and other junk behind fences at other houses? That’s often a sign of homeowners who don’t care about curb appeal, and it could be an indication of a neighborhood that’s losing value, Sperling says. People. A surprising study by Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam found that the more you have in common with your neighbors, the more likely everyone is to feel a connection to the community. That’s important when neighbors want to rally to oppose a new, nearby big-box store. It’s wise to discover what’s important to most of your neighbors. “In some neighborhoods, for instance, the church is the main gathering place, and you might feel left out if you’re not part of that,” Sperling says. Spend some time in the neighborhood to determine if it’s a good fit. “One of the things I always do is go hang out at night, listening for parties, listening for dogs, checking out the traffic flows mornings and nights, getting a feel for things,” Beneke says. “It adds a whole lot of comfort.” Economy. Sperling insists that the condition of a local economy can make or break your move. “A poor or declining economy is like a cancer and can affect everything from social services to infrastructure to schools,” he says. Typically, cities that are in smaller metro areas or that have colleges or are home to a state government have the best economies. “Good times or bad, those people are always going to be employed,” he says.

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