Now that we've talked about what we needed and wanted in our future house, let's compare our purchase to our list (made before we saw this property).
Our short list of neighborhoods was:
- Shaler
- Glenshaw
- Hampton
- Wexford
- McCandless
- Indiana Township
- Penn Hills
We looked at houses in:
- Shaler
- Glenshaw
- Hampton
- Wexford
- McCandless
- Indiana Township
- Penn Hills
plus Allison Park, not originally on our list.
The first category were "Must Haves". These were items that must already be present in the house or able to be added with little difficulty or expense.
Our house met the criteria in bold:
- At least 2 bedrooms
- At least 1 bathrooms (no outhouses for us!)
- Off-street parking for 2 cars
- Fenced or fence-able yard
- Central air conditioning
- Reasonable proximity to grocery/gas
Our next category was "Would Be Nice". These items were ones that, while not technically 'deal-breakers', would be icing on the proverbial cake.
Our house met the criteria in bold:
- Garage
- Finished or finish-able basement (see how I add -able to anything and everything?)
- Made of brick or stone
- Outdoor living space (deck/patio/porch)
- Young couples or families in neighborhood
- Semi-private yard (bushes and trees)
- Large closets
- Master suite
Now we head into the more negative categories. We called the next one "Prefer Not to Have". This was for items that we could live with, but thought we would want to avoid.
- Split-level or ranch style home
We ended up purchasing a "ranch over garage", which wasn't what we thought we wanted but was better suited for us than two-story houses in our price range (mostly cape cod-style bungalows). The two-story houses that we could buy often had a small half-bath upstairs and two bedrooms with slanted ceilings. They felt very small.
The final category was for items that would be deal breakers for us. We called this one "Must Not Have".
We avoided the items in bold:
- Dense neighborhood (no yards)
- Planned development (new construction)
- Home Owner's Association
- Major repairs needed
- History of water damage/mold
Byron blogged previously about our adventures with water and mold. To summarize, after we'd made an offer on this house, the inspection discovered mold in the basement and attic, and water in the basement. Luckily, our inspection was right after a huge rainstorm. We were able to negotiate with the sellers to have French Drains installed on their dime and to have mold remediation done in the attic, also paid for by them. We told our agent to tell theirs that if these problems weren't fixed, we would walk away. The sellers had lost a buyer previous to us (they didn't bother getting pre-approved for a mortgage before making an offer!) and were willing to negotiate. Thankfully, it all worked out and we haven't had any moisture issues since.
Overall, our new home lined up pretty well with what we thought we wanted. The list we made really helped us stay on track and get the best property for us.
Showing posts with label housebuying. Show all posts
Showing posts with label housebuying. Show all posts
Monday, March 8, 2010
Saturday, March 6, 2010
When we first began searching for a house (I believe in late July or early August of 2009), we had to decide what kind of property and where we wanted to buy. We were pre-approved for our mortgage through PNC Bank and this set our upper limit for budget. We didn't want to spend this entire amount, so we picked a number slightly lower for our goal. Next we needed a realtor. My (Jeni's) cousin Sarah and her fiance Brett had just purchased a house in nearby Zelienople, PA (aka "Zeli"), so we asked for their recommendation. They wholeheartedly recommended Media Druschel of Prudential Preferred Realty. She also happens to be a friend of theirs and we trust their advice so we gave her a call.
We needed to give Media an idea of what kind of property we were looking for, so we told her our general area (north of Pittsburgh) and our budget ($1 million dollars... just kidding!). Then, she sent us the MLS listings for the properties that fit those criteria.
We looked at neighborhoods/school districts and asked for opinions from people we knew. Our short list of neighborhoods was:
- Shaler
- Glenshaw
- Hampton
- Wexford
- McCandless
- Indiana Township
- Penn Hills
We decided to focus on areas north of the city because of the uncertainty of my employment situation and proximity to Byron's office. Living north of the city means we can get north, east, west or downtown without having to go through any tunnels. For Pittsburghers, this is a major bonus. I won't know where I'll be working for another year or so and for this reason need to live in a flexible location.
We needed some way of narrowing down the properties and evaluating them systematically. We decided to devise a list of requirements and things to avoid in our potential house.
The first category were "Must Haves". These were items that must already be present in the house or able to be added with little difficulty or expense.
- At least 2 bedrooms
- At least 1 bathrooms (no outhouses for us!)
- Off-street parking for 2 cars
- Fenced or fence-able yard
- Central air conditioning
- Reasonable proximity to grocery/gas
Our next category was "Would Be Nice". These items were ones that, while not technically 'deal-breakers', would be icing on the proverbial cake.
- Garage
- Finished or finish-able basement (see how I add -able to anything and everything?)
- Made of brick or stone
- Outdoor living space (deck/patio/porch)
- Young couples or families in neighborhood
- Semi-private yard (bushes and trees)
- Large closets
- Master suite
Now we head into the more negative categories. We called the next one "Prefer Not to Have". This was for items that we could live with, but thought we would want to avoid.
- Split-level or ranch style home
The final category was for items that would be deal breakers for us. We called this one "Must Not Have".
- Dense neighborhood (no yards)
- Planned development (new construction)
- Home Owner's Association
- Major repairs needed
- History of water damage/mold
Other questions that we wanted to be sure to ask about were:
- Typical utility bills
- Taxes
- Flood zone status
I really encourage you, if you're looking to buy a house, to sit down with your partner and make a list about what you need/want/have to avoid in your future property. Next time, we'll compare the house we purchased to our list!
What would be on the "must haves" for you?
We needed to give Media an idea of what kind of property we were looking for, so we told her our general area (north of Pittsburgh) and our budget ($1 million dollars... just kidding!). Then, she sent us the MLS listings for the properties that fit those criteria.
We looked at neighborhoods/school districts and asked for opinions from people we knew. Our short list of neighborhoods was:
- Shaler
- Glenshaw
- Hampton
- Wexford
- McCandless
- Indiana Township
- Penn Hills
We decided to focus on areas north of the city because of the uncertainty of my employment situation and proximity to Byron's office. Living north of the city means we can get north, east, west or downtown without having to go through any tunnels. For Pittsburghers, this is a major bonus. I won't know where I'll be working for another year or so and for this reason need to live in a flexible location.
We needed some way of narrowing down the properties and evaluating them systematically. We decided to devise a list of requirements and things to avoid in our potential house.
The first category were "Must Haves". These were items that must already be present in the house or able to be added with little difficulty or expense.
- At least 2 bedrooms
- At least 1 bathrooms (no outhouses for us!)
- Off-street parking for 2 cars
- Fenced or fence-able yard
- Central air conditioning
- Reasonable proximity to grocery/gas
Our next category was "Would Be Nice". These items were ones that, while not technically 'deal-breakers', would be icing on the proverbial cake.
- Garage
- Finished or finish-able basement (see how I add -able to anything and everything?)
- Made of brick or stone
- Outdoor living space (deck/patio/porch)
- Young couples or families in neighborhood
- Semi-private yard (bushes and trees)
- Large closets
- Master suite
Now we head into the more negative categories. We called the next one "Prefer Not to Have". This was for items that we could live with, but thought we would want to avoid.
- Split-level or ranch style home
The final category was for items that would be deal breakers for us. We called this one "Must Not Have".
- Dense neighborhood (no yards)
- Planned development (new construction)
- Home Owner's Association
- Major repairs needed
- History of water damage/mold
Other questions that we wanted to be sure to ask about were:
- Typical utility bills
- Taxes
- Flood zone status
I really encourage you, if you're looking to buy a house, to sit down with your partner and make a list about what you need/want/have to avoid in your future property. Next time, we'll compare the house we purchased to our list!
What would be on the "must haves" for you?
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