Help me figure out what home I want
April 29, 2019 3:15 PM Subscribe
Mid 30s single guy looking into buying an apartment or home. But I don't have any pressing needs or constraints that limit what to buy besides geography. I'm looking for a structured way to think through questions such as
"how much would I be willing to pay for a second bedroom or a deck"
"do I want to be in a main street or not"
"do I care about the age of the building"
I'm thinking something along the lines of a workbook or book.
I agree that looking at and considering a bunch of homes (with good realtor advice about things to cnosider) will help you know when to jump when the time comes. It's like dating :-)
posted by spbmp at 3:34 PM on April 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by spbmp at 3:34 PM on April 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
Some factors to consider:
- How long do you plan to own this house? Is it a long term investment property that you’d hold onto to throughout life even if you bought another home later? A short term “starter home” that you’d sell when you’re ready to move to a new home?
- What do you want from it? Are you looking to buy in an up-and-coming neighborhood to gain a lot of value from the home as prices rise? Is there a particular neighborhood you’d want to own a home in?
- Do you plan to have kids in this home someday? If so, what are the schools like nearby?
- Do you want to put effort and money into preserving an older home, or would you rather buy a newer home with less upkeep?
posted by sallybrown at 3:42 PM on April 29, 2019
- How long do you plan to own this house? Is it a long term investment property that you’d hold onto to throughout life even if you bought another home later? A short term “starter home” that you’d sell when you’re ready to move to a new home?
- What do you want from it? Are you looking to buy in an up-and-coming neighborhood to gain a lot of value from the home as prices rise? Is there a particular neighborhood you’d want to own a home in?
- Do you plan to have kids in this home someday? If so, what are the schools like nearby?
- Do you want to put effort and money into preserving an older home, or would you rather buy a newer home with less upkeep?
posted by sallybrown at 3:42 PM on April 29, 2019
Humans are bad at both big numbers and long spans. Just by virtue of being humans. The key is to get real opportunity costs/benefits by starting small and scaling up.
For something like the deck, think, “How many times per warm-weather month will I use this? Each time I use it, how much would I pay for the privilege, versus something like dining al fresco at a restaurant or bar, minus the associated costs of going out?” Do the math on the willing-to-pay difference in home cost based on that instance-> monthly-> yearly cost, and extrapolate out to associated difference in mortgage amount.
For second bedroom, it could be the opportunity cost of a coworking space for an office, or putting guests up in a hotel. For location it could be the costs of more taxis or more car mileage.
Happy house hunting!
posted by supercres at 3:48 PM on April 29, 2019 [2 favorites]
For something like the deck, think, “How many times per warm-weather month will I use this? Each time I use it, how much would I pay for the privilege, versus something like dining al fresco at a restaurant or bar, minus the associated costs of going out?” Do the math on the willing-to-pay difference in home cost based on that instance-> monthly-> yearly cost, and extrapolate out to associated difference in mortgage amount.
For second bedroom, it could be the opportunity cost of a coworking space for an office, or putting guests up in a hotel. For location it could be the costs of more taxis or more car mileage.
Happy house hunting!
posted by supercres at 3:48 PM on April 29, 2019 [2 favorites]
Start looking around at homes. Hit a bunch of open houses this weekend. I think it will really help you start to develop an idea of what you want - and don't want.
posted by beccaj at 4:16 PM on April 29, 2019 [8 favorites]
posted by beccaj at 4:16 PM on April 29, 2019 [8 favorites]
I tend to think of location (within a geography, ie an urban area) as three different levels; macro, meso and micro. Macrolocation is a high level, broad overview level; things in the macrolocation are (broadly) commute times, regional amenities and so on. The northeast part of my city is close to the airport and my mom's house, has moderate commutes to work, fewer public services, and cheaper houses. The mesolocation is within a region and about things you can walk to; if we were to move apartments, we would want to be within about 600m walk of a decent supermarket, more than a block from the rail line. The microlocation is about the actual unit; our balcony is on the east which means it gets decent sunlight for plants, the living room has a nice view, but the bedroom is on the same side of the building as a noisy bar.
I think it's important to separate out location, ownership type and built form. Instead of thinking that the only options are owning a suburban tract house or renting a downtown apartment, probably most options are available.
When we were thinking about what we wanted, we made a series of lists: "Must have" (dishwasher, in-unit laundry, two toilets); "Want to have" (balcony large enough, walk in closet) and "Nice to have" (reading nook, big bathtub). That helped us compare our existing place and potential others and keep straight what's really important and what seems cool; if something doesn't have a must, move on. To come up with this list, look at a bunch of places, either open houses or on a real estate website and think about what attributes they have.
A useful worksheet is the NY Times Rent / Own calculator, for the financial side of things.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 4:36 PM on April 29, 2019 [2 favorites]
I think it's important to separate out location, ownership type and built form. Instead of thinking that the only options are owning a suburban tract house or renting a downtown apartment, probably most options are available.
When we were thinking about what we wanted, we made a series of lists: "Must have" (dishwasher, in-unit laundry, two toilets); "Want to have" (balcony large enough, walk in closet) and "Nice to have" (reading nook, big bathtub). That helped us compare our existing place and potential others and keep straight what's really important and what seems cool; if something doesn't have a must, move on. To come up with this list, look at a bunch of places, either open houses or on a real estate website and think about what attributes they have.
A useful worksheet is the NY Times Rent / Own calculator, for the financial side of things.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 4:36 PM on April 29, 2019 [2 favorites]
Nt'hing the commentors that said, just get out and start looking. Your question reads as though there is an abundant and varied supply of houses in your area, that you can afford any of them, and that you'll be able to narrow based on a large set of criteria and still have a pool of houses to choose from. You may discover that you don't have that many choices or that the market is really tight and you have a lot of competition or any number of other external factors you can't control for. Those things will be specific to your area and to 2019 and you'll just have to go discover them.
posted by kovacs at 5:17 PM on April 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by kovacs at 5:17 PM on April 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
Brainstorm three lists: Must Have, Can’t Have, and Don’t Care. Brainstorm one list at a time so you avoid decision fatigue, and you build momentum on one train of thought. Don’t worry about further sorting the lists; for example, your Must Have list might include “close to work” and “good closet space” and “newer roof” which are pretty different needs. Take your time making these lists because different thoughts will bubble up at different moments.
In tandem with making these lists, go to a slew of open houses. Don’t discriminate! Go to too small homes, too big ones, ones that are outside your budget, ones whose pictures appeal and ones who photos look immediately ugly. They will hone your lists enormously. You will go to an ugly house and go “at least the appliances are really nice” and realize that matters to you. Or you will go to a home whose square footage seems too small but you’ll realize the floor plan makes it feel spacious anyway and you definitely want an open floor plan.
After visiting a slew of open houses, pull out the core requirements from your lists, like 3bed, 1-2baths, 1200-1600 sq ft, in X general condition (like, “turn-keyl or “cosmetic updates only”). Set aside the Don’t Care for now to focus on the Must Have and the Can’t Have. Starting with the Can’t Have, pick the top ten most important things. No ranking yet! Just a group top ten. Do the same for Must Have. Give the lists a glance to see if you have opposite pairs in your top tens. For instance, if you have “Must Have lots of natural light” and “Can’t Be super gloomy and dark” cross one out and bump up another item into your top ten.
Then, use this decision matrix to rank both top ten lists in order of preference. This is from What Color Is Your Parachute. In section A plop down your list in any order. Then, in section B each item battles it out with another. If my dream home could only have ONE of these qualities, would I want THIS or would I choose THIS? Tally up the scores and voila! A ranked list.
As you look at houses, keep in mind your Don’t Care list. Looking at houses is overwhelming. It’s easy to create a scary equation where you think “laundry on first floor plus half finished basement minus sloped ceilings on second floor plus great deck equals AUGH.” Perhaps your Don’t Care list reminds you that you don’t mind having the washer/dryer hookups in the garage and, honestly, you don’t care about a finished basement even though they’re fun. Let that list be a release valve so you stay focused on what matters.
Finally, you’ll have to compromise. You’re not going to find a house that fits all top Must Haves and avoids all ten Can’t Haves. That’s why a ranked list is so helpful. Knowing what’s REALLY important to you - like those top three Must Haves -will make compromising on other qualities easier.
posted by missmary6 at 5:43 PM on April 29, 2019 [8 favorites]
In tandem with making these lists, go to a slew of open houses. Don’t discriminate! Go to too small homes, too big ones, ones that are outside your budget, ones whose pictures appeal and ones who photos look immediately ugly. They will hone your lists enormously. You will go to an ugly house and go “at least the appliances are really nice” and realize that matters to you. Or you will go to a home whose square footage seems too small but you’ll realize the floor plan makes it feel spacious anyway and you definitely want an open floor plan.
After visiting a slew of open houses, pull out the core requirements from your lists, like 3bed, 1-2baths, 1200-1600 sq ft, in X general condition (like, “turn-keyl or “cosmetic updates only”). Set aside the Don’t Care for now to focus on the Must Have and the Can’t Have. Starting with the Can’t Have, pick the top ten most important things. No ranking yet! Just a group top ten. Do the same for Must Have. Give the lists a glance to see if you have opposite pairs in your top tens. For instance, if you have “Must Have lots of natural light” and “Can’t Be super gloomy and dark” cross one out and bump up another item into your top ten.
Then, use this decision matrix to rank both top ten lists in order of preference. This is from What Color Is Your Parachute. In section A plop down your list in any order. Then, in section B each item battles it out with another. If my dream home could only have ONE of these qualities, would I want THIS or would I choose THIS? Tally up the scores and voila! A ranked list.
As you look at houses, keep in mind your Don’t Care list. Looking at houses is overwhelming. It’s easy to create a scary equation where you think “laundry on first floor plus half finished basement minus sloped ceilings on second floor plus great deck equals AUGH.” Perhaps your Don’t Care list reminds you that you don’t mind having the washer/dryer hookups in the garage and, honestly, you don’t care about a finished basement even though they’re fun. Let that list be a release valve so you stay focused on what matters.
Finally, you’ll have to compromise. You’re not going to find a house that fits all top Must Haves and avoids all ten Can’t Haves. That’s why a ranked list is so helpful. Knowing what’s REALLY important to you - like those top three Must Haves -will make compromising on other qualities easier.
posted by missmary6 at 5:43 PM on April 29, 2019 [8 favorites]
Between university graduation / long-term career employment and having our first child, we made "The List."
Three bed / two bath / two-car garage / brick / backyard access / in a good school district / near good neighborhood parks / ideally near a metro library branch / easy drive to work.
Then we went house-hunting with several realtors over the course of two years. We saw many homes in batches, started to buy one that fell through, still remember the basement with the visible high water line and the backyard that had a fall-into swimming pool next to the door.
We had many conversations about "How on earth do you get up that driveway in the ice and snow?" and "Is that...? Oh, no... this is the flight plan for the major airport!"
See houses in all the seasons. Bring inside shoes and see houses in all sorts of weather. Bring a friend (an extra pair of eyes is good, an extra person asking questions is good).
Build your down payment (we had 20 per cent by the time we closed).
You need a WTF fund -- we immediately put up a fence to keep the neighborhood kids from walking through two yards to retrieve soccer balls. Then we put a sun room addition in place when the living room carpet became soaked from spring rains seeping under the French doors to the backyard patio.
Don't rush. Don't be pressured. This is your money.
When you get serious, walk around the neighborhood and talk with people. Let them see you taking pictures of the area. Ask about utilities, trash pickup (mowing season has arrived!), internet service.
Where do people go to take afternoon walks and ride their bikes? Are there local events (Independence Day parades, arts and cultural festivals, annual events sponsored by the public schools or houses of worship?)
Drive around the block. Where is the local police department, the fire department, the ambulance service?
We wound up buying within a few miles of our apartment, in an area where we visited frequently. We actually looked at a house next door, then realized the one beside it was also for sale. It clicked all the boxes, and we've been here since 1985.
The neighborhood has changed a bit, with a mix of long-term family ownership and rental units, some businesses that were in operation when we arrived, and some newer municipal additions. We miss our neighbors who have moved. We miss our neighbors who have passed away.
But we do not regret putting down roots.
Oh, find out about amortization schedules. This was major in paying off the 30-year mortgage in under eight years.
One check for Payment #001. One check for the principal on payments #002 through #020. Next month, one check for Payment #021, one check for the principal on payments #022 through #040.
Halfway in the schedule the principal and interest are about the same. Make sure that you are not going to be paying that interest at the end of the loan period. Find out if the principal is applied each month or at the end of the loan period.
Make every regular monthly payment on time, and note which payment it is on the schedule. We went into the bank in person and spoke to the same loan officer each time.
We spent years eating generic mac and cheese and homemade baked beans, but it was worth it to be out of debt.
posted by TrishaU at 5:17 AM on April 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
Three bed / two bath / two-car garage / brick / backyard access / in a good school district / near good neighborhood parks / ideally near a metro library branch / easy drive to work.
Then we went house-hunting with several realtors over the course of two years. We saw many homes in batches, started to buy one that fell through, still remember the basement with the visible high water line and the backyard that had a fall-into swimming pool next to the door.
We had many conversations about "How on earth do you get up that driveway in the ice and snow?" and "Is that...? Oh, no... this is the flight plan for the major airport!"
See houses in all the seasons. Bring inside shoes and see houses in all sorts of weather. Bring a friend (an extra pair of eyes is good, an extra person asking questions is good).
Build your down payment (we had 20 per cent by the time we closed).
You need a WTF fund -- we immediately put up a fence to keep the neighborhood kids from walking through two yards to retrieve soccer balls. Then we put a sun room addition in place when the living room carpet became soaked from spring rains seeping under the French doors to the backyard patio.
Don't rush. Don't be pressured. This is your money.
When you get serious, walk around the neighborhood and talk with people. Let them see you taking pictures of the area. Ask about utilities, trash pickup (mowing season has arrived!), internet service.
Where do people go to take afternoon walks and ride their bikes? Are there local events (Independence Day parades, arts and cultural festivals, annual events sponsored by the public schools or houses of worship?)
Drive around the block. Where is the local police department, the fire department, the ambulance service?
We wound up buying within a few miles of our apartment, in an area where we visited frequently. We actually looked at a house next door, then realized the one beside it was also for sale. It clicked all the boxes, and we've been here since 1985.
The neighborhood has changed a bit, with a mix of long-term family ownership and rental units, some businesses that were in operation when we arrived, and some newer municipal additions. We miss our neighbors who have moved. We miss our neighbors who have passed away.
But we do not regret putting down roots.
Oh, find out about amortization schedules. This was major in paying off the 30-year mortgage in under eight years.
One check for Payment #001. One check for the principal on payments #002 through #020. Next month, one check for Payment #021, one check for the principal on payments #022 through #040.
Halfway in the schedule the principal and interest are about the same. Make sure that you are not going to be paying that interest at the end of the loan period. Find out if the principal is applied each month or at the end of the loan period.
Make every regular monthly payment on time, and note which payment it is on the schedule. We went into the bank in person and spoke to the same loan officer each time.
We spent years eating generic mac and cheese and homemade baked beans, but it was worth it to be out of debt.
posted by TrishaU at 5:17 AM on April 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
A couple of other things to consider: noise and light. If it's on a busy street can you hear it from inside the unit? Can you hear neighbors through condo walls? Or when you're sitting in your backyard? Are there super-bright streetlights? Do neighbors have super-bright floodlights? Would those bother you?
If you live in an area where it's warm much of the year and condos have pools consider that. You'll have more leisure time in a condo, no lawn to mow, no gutters to clean, no major repairs to worry about. the other advantage- which can also be a disadvantage- is instant community of sorts if you get involved or hang out at the pool.
If you think you might want to have a housemate be sure you have separate bathrooms if at all possible.
posted by mareli at 6:46 AM on April 30, 2019
If you live in an area where it's warm much of the year and condos have pools consider that. You'll have more leisure time in a condo, no lawn to mow, no gutters to clean, no major repairs to worry about. the other advantage- which can also be a disadvantage- is instant community of sorts if you get involved or hang out at the pool.
If you think you might want to have a housemate be sure you have separate bathrooms if at all possible.
posted by mareli at 6:46 AM on April 30, 2019
For me an important consideration is whether I want to deal with lawns, gardens, trees, etc. and their maintenance. I don't, so I'm looking for a condo or apartment and not a house.
posted by primate moon at 11:08 AM on April 30, 2019
posted by primate moon at 11:08 AM on April 30, 2019
On lawn maintenance: our house had no trees on it in 1985. We changed that, and are now back down to one pecan tree (we don't harvest the nuts and they are a pain to pick up or mow) and one spindly regrowth wild plum tree. On the other hand, the neighbors on either side have planted pecans (over our driveway, which can be a problem with bird shit and possible storm damage) and a majestic sugar maple (mega shade, no branches to clean up).
The easy fix with a yard is either mow it, or hire a local teen. One neighbor has in-ground sprinklers, the other neighbor and I lay out hoses when we think it is needed.
One side of the house (the backyard access) is concrete and in connection with the front gives us a three-car driveway. The other is loaded with iris and vinca major (currently in bloom).
Landscaping is more time consuming than just pushing a lawnmower.
On backyard access: one of our local suburbs recently passed an ordinance saying that boats and RVs cannot be left in the front yard. Now those owners must either put their rigs in the backyard, or pay for storage.
A generous side yard with clearance under the roof overhang is highly desirable.
posted by TrishaU at 3:22 AM on May 1, 2019
The easy fix with a yard is either mow it, or hire a local teen. One neighbor has in-ground sprinklers, the other neighbor and I lay out hoses when we think it is needed.
One side of the house (the backyard access) is concrete and in connection with the front gives us a three-car driveway. The other is loaded with iris and vinca major (currently in bloom).
Landscaping is more time consuming than just pushing a lawnmower.
On backyard access: one of our local suburbs recently passed an ordinance saying that boats and RVs cannot be left in the front yard. Now those owners must either put their rigs in the backyard, or pay for storage.
A generous side yard with clearance under the roof overhang is highly desirable.
posted by TrishaU at 3:22 AM on May 1, 2019
This thread is closed to new comments.
In my mind, you need to rate how important the following is to you:
Distance to work
School District
Neighborhood perceived quality
Newness of home
Size of home
Layout of home
Price of home
Any other various amenities
For me, the most important were layout of home, distance to work, and price.
Then, put in all your preferences into zillow and draw the boundary where you are considering. And start looking at homes.
Then, find a buying realtor. Ask them to take you through homes that you like on Zillow. They can usually get keys to the home really quick and easily and can stack up a few in a day for you.
Walking through homes will likely give you a good idea of what you're looking for a lot more clearly.
posted by bbqturtle at 3:26 PM on April 29, 2019 [2 favorites]