Home Buyer Checklist
Before You Buy
Congratulations, you've made the big decision to buy a home. Now
What? There are many questions you will need to ask yourself
before moving ahead. The biggest question is: where do I want to
live?
All of us have different likes and dislikes. The needs of one
person may be of little consequence to another person. If you
are moving to a new community your questions may be different
from somebody who is moving within the community. If you are
single, your needs will be much different compare to a married
couple with kids or the needs of a retired couple. As you see
you really need to think about where you want to move and live.
Often an unthinkable phenomenon kicks in when searching for a
new home. This is the emotional phenomenon. You may be drawn to
some neighborhoods and homes more than others and are unable to
clearly explain why. You may be fortunate and drawn to a home or
neighborhood that meets your needs. A suggestion here is to
bring with you a list of things you would like to have in your
new neighborhood and home and decide on the ones you must have
and the ones of lesser importance.
This section of the guide is designed to help you provide
resources and provoke thought to make a decision on where you
want to live. Ask yourself these questions and decide what
importance they have in your decision on where to move to and
live. Write the answers down so you have a quick list as you
view homes and make sure your agent or broker is clear on these.
Schools
What are the schools like and are they nearby?
If you are a single person, this may need little consideration
unless you are planning on starting a family whilst living in
your new community. If you are married or single and have kids,
this most probably will be high on your list of needs. You may
want to check out how good these schools are. There are many
ways to do this. You can contact the schools directly and talk
with the principal or you can generally find this information on
the internet.
You may find information on the internet by checking out the
local district website or going to:
http://www.theschoolreport.com for detailed school comparisons.
You will find contact names, numbers and locations as well as
student teacher ratios and class sizes. Sat score information as
well as how many students go on to college and the awards and
recognitions the school has achieved are also posted on this
site. TheSchoolReport.com is an excellent free resource when you
are moving or relocating.
Public Act 92-0604 requires school report cards to be published
on the district Internet site so check these out and look for
awards and recognitions the school has achieved. The secretary
of education has initiated the Blue Ribbon Schools program in an
effort to meet the requirements of the "No child Left Behind
Act". This award is given to schools that fall in the top 10
percent of state assessments or to schools that have at least
40% of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, who has
dramatically improved on student performance in accordance with
state assessment systems.
Home Resale Value
Does the home have resale value and how important is it to you?
Although we generally think that a home is an investment that
will grow in value over the years, this is not always a
guarantee. A mansion in a neighborhood of small homes will have
a lower resale value than a small home nestled amongst larger
and more affluent homes. You need to ask yourself how long you
plan to live in this home. If you plan on staying to rear a
family, resale value may not be of high importance. However, if
you are single and plan to move in a couple of years, this is
something you will need to think about. Generally we live in our
homes for about 5 to 7 years.
Location, Location and Location
What's nearby and what do you need to be nearby?
Depending on your situation in life you may need to be near a
hospital or need to have stores within walking or at least
within short commuting distance. You may have hobbies and need
to have an easy access to facilities such as a gym or you may
like the great outdoors and want to live near a park. There may
be more questions to ask yourself such as:
* Is there a public golf course nearby?
* Is there a public library nearby?
* Are there public tennis courts in the community?
* What other recreation facilities are in the neighborhood?
A swinging single may want to be near or in an area with an
active nightlife whereas a family may not need or like this at
all. You may like to be nearby good restaurants and the theatre.
Is your job within easy commute distance and time and can you
get to the highway or interstate quickly and with ease?
Remember the old but true mantra, which is "location, location
and location". Living beside a used car dealership on one side
and with a busy bar on the other side may not be the most ideal
location. It's important to think about this beforehand.
Taxes
One of the certainties in life is that we all have to pay taxes.
Property taxes also called "ad valorem" are locally assessed
taxes. The monies collected are used to help pay for public
schools, city streets, county roads, police, fire protection and
many other needed services.
Generally property taxes are assessed every couple of years so
check with your realtor to find out when they were last assessed
in the area you are planning to move or relocate. Based on the
taxes, you may decide that the area is too expensive to move to
as the taxes generally form part of your monthly mortgage to the
lender. Lenders generally collect the taxes in monthly
installments and pay the taxes when they are due. A lender will
also look at the taxes to decide if you can afford the monthly
payments. Remember, your monthly payment to the lender will
generally include principal, interest, taxes and insurance
(PITI).
Taxes are generally paid in advance for the upcoming year,
though some counties collect the taxes in arrears. Always check
this out. Also, check out when the taxes were last assessed and
when they are due for another assessment.
One can also contest and appeal the appraiser's evaluation. This
is done through the local district. An appraisal review board is
in place to hear and attempt to resolve these contests.
Finding the Right Neighborhood
If you are thinking of moving to an established neighborhood and
want to live "in area" or a family area, you may want to check
out the local papers to find out what's happening in the
neighborhood. It is always a good idea to drive and walk through
the neighborhood during the day and also at night. A quiet
neighborhood by day may very well be very busy at night. You may
want to live in a new and upcoming community so check out
whether the surrounding area has the services you need.
Remember, many new neighborhoods will go through natural growing
pains as they strive to establish themselves with stores and
services. If you are retired you may want to live in an area
where there are people in the same age bracket as you and where
the community services and activities reflect the needs of the
mature citizen.
There are many resources to check out neighborhoods you may be
looking to move or relocate to. The easiest resource is the
Internet. Do some investigation on the area and community
through the local district website.
Information on the area is generally divided into four sections
and is compared to national averages:
1. Demographics, which provide statistics on such things as
average age in neighborhood and average household size as well
as median household income.
2. Cost of Living provides statistics from as average household
education costs to average household retail expenditures.
3. Housing Characteristics provide information from the cost of
homes to average dwelling size.
4. Quality of Life provides information on crime rates and
weather related topics.
Planned Communities
Planned community is a little neighborhood within a community
with builders building several different types of homes. You can
go and see the models and pick out your upgrades. The community
is generally maintained from a budget that is met by resident
contributions or fees known as homeowner fees or HOA fees. These
fees generally pay for landscaping and street and path
maintenance.
The advantages of this type of community are that residents do
not need to wait until the property tax dollars they pay
actually reach the community to pay for landscaping and other
things that make the community look good. Tax dollars will
generally pay for infrastructure development first. With new
developments springing up all over the place, tax assessments
may not be carried out immediately. This is a very useful way to
ensure there are dollars available to maintain the community and
not let it get down trodden and reduce property values.
Some planned communities may be also gated. The homeowners
association will generally be more expensive there.
All in all, there are numerous Internet resources available to
you to help you investigate communities that you are considering
moving or relocating to.