What is the thing you wish you knew during the house buying process?

April 15, 2023 7:31 AM

Have you bought a house? What is the thing you wish you knew during the home buying process? The question you wish you'd known to ask? The area you wish you'd known to inspect? The things you wish you'd known you needed to see (or wish you didn't have) in your condo agreement? The thing that would have let you find your perfect house sooner? The trade off you wish you had made?

A similar question was asked in 2015, but things change and the market got kind of weird since then.

posted by rednikki to Home & Garden (53 answers total)

In the category of things I'm glad I did know: my inspector told me what in the house was in good shape, and what in the house was ugly but fine, and what in the house was nearing the end of its lifespan.

Specifically, he cautioned me that both the AC and the roof were on the edge of death and would need to be replaced soon. So the day after paying my closing costs I started saving aggressively to replace both. Two years later when my roof started leaking and a few monta after that when my AC bricked itself in the middle of a hot night, I was both emotionally and financially prepared to deal with them.

Yes, saving for household emergencies is something you should do anyway, but I had been so prepared for both of these they hardly even felt like emergencies.

Get a good inspector.
posted by phunniemee at 7:45 AM on April 15, 2023 [25 favorites]

I think you need to view the house buying process as a business venture. You need to figure out what cost is going to work for you, what elements bring you the most value to you and what the long term potential of the house is. Do not listen to the realtor when they breezily say things like: “you could easily [convert the attic, finish the basement, add on over here, add an ADU].” The word “easy” means that it’s easy when someone else is doing it. If I had a dime for every client who told me someone said X would be “easy”….well, actually, that’s one part of how I make my dimes so….

Anyway, it’s a business decision with numbers making up the primary part of the go/no go decision but….keep a part of yourself for falling in love with a property. If you don’t love it at all, the endless stream of things that it needs will drive you crazy. You have to temper this. Don’t let it blind you to location and surroundings or major structural issues.
posted by amanda at 7:45 AM on April 15, 2023 [4 favorites]

If there's outdoor space, pay attention to nearby water sources. Is there standing water nearby that mosquitos will love? Brooks/streams/ponds that can flood in rainy weather? Is there poison ivy creeping around the edges? What's the wasp situation like?

I would also suggest spending some time hanging out on the NextDoor for the area the house is in, or on the town/neighborhood/etc Facebook page. See what people are talking about, particularly what they're complaining about, and make sure you can live with it.
posted by invincible summer at 7:50 AM on April 15, 2023 [4 favorites]

Ask about your neighbors. Bad neighbors can make a dream home intolerable.
posted by kevinbelt at 7:54 AM on April 15, 2023 [26 favorites]

There was a huge compromise that we were going to have to make (buying a 2-story house, because single-level houses essentially don't exist here), and I wish we had taken a good cold look at the inventory earlier and realized that our wishful thinking and our deadline weren't compatible. Then we wouldn't have wound up buying a less-great second-story house anyway in a near-panic at the last minute.
posted by wintersweet at 7:57 AM on April 15, 2023 [2 favorites]

You basically don't need a real estate agent to get started.

If you are internet savvy, in many cities you can shop for a house online from the comfort of your couch. Services such as RedFin offer tons of data, pictures, and often 3d walkthroughs. AND they are generally discount brokers, so you pay less (in my case 1/2) of the normal realtor fee, saving you ~2% to 3% of whatever the house price is.
posted by soylent00FF00 at 8:02 AM on April 15, 2023

If there's any renovations you would want to do in the near future, make sure they're legally possible first.

There's a bathroom we want to take from 1/2 bath to 3/4 bath, but the best space to put a shower in may not be code-compliant for that, due to the low ceiling height. We haven't talked to any contractors about doing this renovation yet (thanks, COVID!), but ever since I learned about that possibility, it's been in the back of my mind.
posted by May Kasahara at 8:06 AM on April 15, 2023 [3 favorites]

There is no such thing as a perfect house. The sooner you can disabuse yourself of this notion, the better. In my life, I've bought five homes. Two of those purchases were purely logical. Three involved some degree of emotional attachment on my part. Guess which two ended up being smart purchases and the homes I liked the most in the long run? Have a list of desires and dealbreakers. Stick to that list. Listen to what your inspector tells you. Do not allow emotion to enter into the decision. Know what you can afford and don't exceed that.
posted by jdroth at 8:14 AM on April 15, 2023 [16 favorites]

If you're buying a condo, check the covenants about short-term rentals. Heavy AirBnB usage can really fuck up a building. Terms to look for are things like forbidding rental periods under 3 months, and forbidding lockboxes on any part of the property (or they will be forcibly removed).
posted by seanmpuckett at 8:44 AM on April 15, 2023 [1 favorite]

We have bought 3 houses most recently at the beginning of the pandemic right before it got super crazy. My recommendations would be:

- Get a good realtor that specifically knows the area where you're looking and has experience negotiating. For our last house, our realtor helped us craft an offer that beat about 20 others. We weren't the highest or all cash, and we didn't even forego the inspection. It was all about what was important to the sellers.

- Don't be fooled by a beautiful house in a neighborhood you don't like. The house will never make up for the neighborhood. As far as neighborhood, walk/drive the area at different times of day to get a feel of the vibe.

- When talking price range with your realtor, assume that they are going to try to show you houses $10k - $50k above your range. And of course, you will love them because you will compare them to all the houses in your price range. If you have a hard upper limit, I would state that with the realtor and not even look at the ones above. You will just set yourself up for disappointment.

- Ask around for a good inspector and see if you can see an example of the report they provide. A good inspector will take their time and be thorough. Your inspector should show up with all the tools (ladder, testing tools, etc.) and be ready to get dirty. When getting an inspection, don't forget about the outside (standing water, potential flooding, dead trees).

- Make sure to have a new house fund. You will need to cover all those little things when you move into a new home. Utility deposits/installation fees, cleaning, moving, blinds/curtains, etc.

- Don't get caught up in a bidding war. It's easy to get caught in the frenzy. Stick to the limits that you establish. In our last house hunt, a seller's realtor tried to pit us against another bidder to jack up the price. Thankfully for us, we didn't take the bait and we ended up in a much better place across the street.
posted by jraz at 8:54 AM on April 15, 2023 [7 favorites]

a good inspector is very important. don’t be afraid to read everything you can about common problems with houses and ask the inspector about them during the inspection. also, once an offer is accepted, don’t let the sellers make you feel pressured or like you can’t back out. ask for everything you can: asking isn’t stealing. inspector says the roof is in bad shape? ask them to pay for a new one. see damage they’re trying to hide with paint or otherwise, ask for credit or cash. Also, never agree that they can hire their own contractor to repair issues before sale because they’re going to do it the cheapest way possible to maximize their proceeds. once the offer is accepted you can ask for a lot before anyone backs out, and if it’s inspection related you can get your earnest money back.
posted by dis_integration at 8:59 AM on April 15, 2023 [4 favorites]

At the open house, take time to befriend the owners when you walk through! Take your shoes off, say hi, ask about them, talk about yourselves, and say what you like about their decor and home. Older families love their houses and are usually sad to say goodbye to the memories - so they may choose to sell to a person who loves the house and will care for it and enjoy it, even if they could make a bit more from a flipper who would just do a gut reno for profit.

When you move in, send the former residents a nice gift. You’ll have questions for them (where’s the X, how old is the Y, what colour paint was the Z so I can match it, etc) so keep in touch!

Paint and finish the walls, floors, and ceilings (removing popcorn and patching any water damage) before moving in! Even if you have to scrape up the money. It’s SUCH a pain to do it when all the stuff needs to be moved.

Put all lights on dimmers, especially hallways and bathrooms near to bedrooms (light leaks wake people up)
posted by nouvelle-personne at 9:19 AM on April 15, 2023 [1 favorite]

Plan for the worst. That dead-looking tree in the backyard? It'll have to be removed, it'll cost $1500 to take out. The 13-year-old AC and furnace? They haven't been serviced since they were installed, you'll have to replace both. That garage full of old furniture that the seller hasn't moved yet? It'll all stay, you'll have to deal with it.

You don't have to be cynical or bitter about it, just be realistic.
posted by Slinga at 9:22 AM on April 15, 2023 [7 favorites]

Advice from a friend of mine who was an exterminator for decades and did lots of termite remediation work that got him very familiar with the home inspection racket:

Pick an inspector from a county or two away from the house you're looking at. The inspectors and agents in any given area all know each other a little too well and mischief happens more than you might think. If you have to pay a little more for their travel time, it's worth it. Definitely do not choose someone recommended by either your agent or the seller's.
posted by spitbull at 9:22 AM on April 15, 2023 [18 favorites]

Nthing the conversation about neighborhood. You can change the cosmetic features of a house. You cannot change the make-up of your neighborhood. Life is 100% easier if you're not constantly having to deal with assholes. Also, if you're buying in a place with an HOA, be very clear on what you're getting into with your HOA. Like, what their general vibe is, what they will/will not allow, and whether or not there are any known assessments coming down the pike (I was told, before closing, that I'd get charged a TBD assessment (not small) to rebuild the dam on the neighborhood dam, but I have a friend in another state who didn't find out about the situation in her neighborhood until after she'd closed, and it was a big issue). If you've never owned a house before, consider prepping for animals/insects/invasive plants. Have someone check for termites, in particular.

Buying a house was one of the most rewarding things I've ever done, but the process was stressful and complicated. Give yourself plenty of air. It's a roller coaster.
posted by thivaia at 9:25 AM on April 15, 2023 [2 favorites]

When you're viewing the house, always turn on the shower to check the water pressure.
posted by essexjan at 10:32 AM on April 15, 2023 [5 favorites]

Go by the place at different times of day. Is there no street parking left by four pm? Does the neighbor turn on bright flood lights at dusk that shine right in the windows? Is the street a commuter corridor and full of cranky speeders at eight am?
posted by skycrashesdown at 10:37 AM on April 15, 2023 [10 favorites]

I would like to second either knowing your HOA, or better, not buying a house with an HOA.
posted by corb at 11:23 AM on April 15, 2023 [12 favorites]

Are there a lot of dogs? Always check the neighborhood at night, although that's when the owners bring their dogs in.

And hire your own inspector, don't use the one supplied by your buying agent.
posted by Rash at 11:24 AM on April 15, 2023 [4 favorites]

Plan for the worst. That dead-looking tree in the backyard? It'll have to be removed, it'll cost $1500 to take out.

More like $2500+ each, from my recent experience with exactly this.

These days, I think the most critical thing is to make sure you understand how your local market is working, both at the broad level across your city/metro and specifically in the neighborhoods you are looking at. Where I am living, right now across the city average prices are down from last year and houses are taking longer to sell. But, in the more localized area where I live, price have continued to rise and houses are still selling within days because there is almost zero inventory for sale.

Your strategy will need to be different if locally houses are still getting bidding wars and all-cash offers, or if they are sitting longer so you can take more time to consider and make a lower offer, for example.

I very strongly agree with the comments above that you are buying the location/neighborhood more than the house. With enough money, you can change literally everything about a house (to the point of tearing it completely down and rebuilding from scratch) but you can't change the location. Neighborhoods change, but much more slowly and not necessarily in ways that you have any influence on.

In any given area, there are a small number of realtors who sell a large number of houses, and a very large number of realtors who are basically part time and sell few houses. Dealing with one of the ones who is full time has been a lot easier, in my experience. It's more business-like and straightforward. Be prepared for some slippery ethics, of course, since everyone makes their money by making deals happen.
posted by Dip Flash at 11:25 AM on April 15, 2023

I wish I had known about mortgage brokers and credit unions. I have never had anything but an extremely unpleasant experience getting a loan from a bank. My second purchase I used a mortgage broker, on the advice of a friend, who found the loan and then dealt with everything and it wasn't at all traumatic, like my first purchase. I haven't used my local credit Union for a house loan but I've gotten other loans from them and the difference between them and my bank is astounding. The loan officers at any banks I've tried to deal with seem to be strangely sadistic while the credit union officers seem to want to actually help me get a loan.
YMMD but that's been my experience.
posted by BoscosMom at 11:26 AM on April 15, 2023 [1 favorite]

Since you mention a condo, it would be great if you could get a sense of what the condo association is like. When I was in one, the association was a difficult nut to crack, very cliquish and condescending/over-bearing, to the newcomer.
posted by Rash at 11:26 AM on April 15, 2023

Have all your money ready to go, all loan paperwork ready etc. before looking. If you find something perfect and you have to move fast don’t expect your lender to also be able to move fast.

Also yes, the giant dead tree in the yard will be $2.5 - 3K to remove.
posted by Vatnesine at 11:28 AM on April 15, 2023 [2 favorites]

HOAs and condo associations are hard on the soul if you're a nontraditional thinker. By which I mean, pervasively depressing and motivation destroying. OTOH, you could move where I live and help take over the HOA here.
posted by amtho at 11:30 AM on April 15, 2023 [6 favorites]

This is tangential to your questions, but might give you some ideas about what to ask. Every time we sell a house we leave a notebook with things like operating instructions about appliances and HVAC, etc. We give the location of the septic tank and how to best get access to it. We name wall paint colors, and mention any things that might be covered by a warranty. You get the idea.

After our last renovation our contractor brought us a notebook in which he had listed all the vendors he had used, along with compliance letters from the city when he had to get permission for something. We had never received such a thing and were very glad to get the info. Something like this would negate all the discussions you hear on HGTV shows about “well, we have to make sure this addition was permitted” and so on.
posted by serendipityrules at 11:35 AM on April 15, 2023 [6 favorites]

Ask to see the HOA's reserve study. If they don't have one, ask why.

I'm very happy to have purchased my current home, but I would have been better prepared for some unpleasant financial surprises if I'd looked at the reserve study.
posted by goodbyewaffles at 11:43 AM on April 15, 2023 [2 favorites]

I bought a condo last year and I deeply regret it! Here’s what I would tell 2022 me if I could:

Gather recommendations on realtors from friends. Meet with multiple realtors to see what they’re like. Probably ask them a list of questions sourced online.

Use an inspector that is not recommended by your realtor.

Check on the insulation or lack thereof. See if you can tour the place after working hours when people are more likely to be home.

These may be more specific to my psychological makeup, but just in case:

Don’t make a fear-based decision. Don’t feel pressured. Trust. Your. Gut.

Ask yourself: do I actually want to be a homeowner, or is this just what society tells me I should want? Do I care about crap like buying the exact refrigerator I want? Will I feel trapped and immobile?
posted by sugarbomb at 11:53 AM on April 15, 2023 [5 favorites]

I’ll just add in terms of COVID/hot sellers market much of the advice above wasnt possible (but this also depends on local laws/regulations.) In NC you “have” to do pay due diligence which is like a deposit and lost if the buyer backs out of the deal. Is used to be $500-$1000 but ours was around $10,000 because of the ridiculous market. This also meant we were somewhat making an offer without an inspection (or we would have lost that money even with bad inspection results.)

That said, a good inspector is still so important even just from a home maintenance stand point.

Also due to the hot market, we weren’t able to get the HOA by laws until after the sale (my memory could be offer- it was definitely after we put in an offer). Our HOA is fine, not too awful and they do maintain community trails that merit at least some of the fees. But again, that was just the reality of buying in 2021.

I felt like a lot of house buying advice we got was idealistic and not at all relevant to the market when we bought.
posted by raccoon409 at 12:01 PM on April 15, 2023 [3 favorites]

Hire a plumber, not a home inspector, that can do a video camera inspection of the sewer/septic system all the way from the house to the city connection.

There are many homes that function just fine with a collapsed/deteriorating sewer line when a little old lady lives there alone. When a family of 4 moves in and suddenly is doing their normal load of laundry and bathing you get backups. Really bad, house damaging ones.
posted by JoeZydeco at 12:12 PM on April 15, 2023 [6 favorites]

We bought a house in August, and I am so tremendously happy we ended up with one that 1) did not have an HOA and 2) did not need really anything done to it before we moved in. Both closing and moving were really hard, and I can't imagine how much worse it would have been if we had needed floors done, walls painted, new appliances, bathroom remodel, etc. like a lot of other houses we looked at. The furnace needed servicing desperately, and we've done a number of small cosmetic things, but nothing so far that required us to not be living in the house with all our stuff.
posted by hydropsyche at 12:40 PM on April 15, 2023

Watch out for add-on construction like bay windows or porches: That thing hanging down from the bottom might well be a rotten board and have so much water damage it can't be repaired. Our inspector just chuckled over it, though, and said it wasn't a big deal. It was a five-figure big deal.
posted by limeonaire at 12:53 PM on April 15, 2023 [1 favorite]

Location is EVERYTHING. Pristine, new home you adore with tons of space that is located 15 minutes by car to everything? You will end up hating it.

It is far, far better to buy a lesser home in a place that you love with a neighborhood you adore.

This is from a person who is sitting on the wraparound porch listening to and watching the river flow, and my house is 200 years old, has a ton of things wrong with it and way too much space, and I couldn't be happier.
posted by yes I said yes I will Yes at 1:14 PM on April 15, 2023 [6 favorites]

I wish I had known how quickly the process would become very very personal. It’s easy to start off in business mode but by its nature part of the process is to envision what your life would be like in the new home. With that vision comes an attachment and you may find yourself forgiving or overlooking large defects in order to bring it to life.

I’ve abandoned buying at least one dream home due to the observations of uninvolved friends invited along on an inspection tour. I’m glad they were there and I’m glad I listened.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 1:49 PM on April 15, 2023 [3 favorites]

Look up the flood zone! If the house is in one, do not buy it. (This will not prevent all house flooding - see above re: sewer lines - but it's a start.)

For condos, read up on condominium association governance and reserve funds to get an idea of what a healthy condo's finances look like. Read a few years' worth of board meeting minutes and financial statements. At least where I am, the standard disclosures will mot give you much indication of how the finances are going.

For both single-family homes and condos: be prepared to spend lots of money on surprise upkeep.
posted by mersen at 2:05 PM on April 15, 2023 [4 favorites]

A couple of comments hinted a this above, but if there appear to be any additions or modifications to the house (new porch, finished basement, addition with a bathroom, anything involving electrical or plumbing), call city hall and ask for a record of permits pulled for the work, and if any are still open.

If anything is unpermitted or is permitted but still open, walk away.
posted by JoeZydeco at 2:08 PM on April 15, 2023 [3 favorites]

We wish we had paid more attention to the fact that there was no electrical outlet outdoors, and that each bedroom had only ONE double outlet (no ultra-moderne three-pronged grounded outlets either, youngins.)
posted by BostonTerrier at 3:20 PM on April 15, 2023 [1 favorite]

We bought a place with a Nest thermostat. Our seller didn't transfer the Nest account over to us. Nest was very helpful in leading us through the hoops to give us control of our own thermostat, but there sure were a lot of hoops. Make sure your seller gives you control of all the smart systems, not just the house keys.
posted by Jasper Fnorde at 4:04 PM on April 15, 2023 [8 favorites]

Make sure your seller gives you control of all the smart systems, not just the house keys.

^^^^^THIS. ^^^^^^^^
posted by thivaia at 4:20 PM on April 15, 2023

Check to see how close you are to public transportation because cars break down and you’re trapped. If you are near a river or other body of water, make sure you’re on a hill because floods destroy everything. Find out if the houses either side of you are inhabited.
posted by Peach at 4:45 PM on April 15, 2023

I set up a Gmail account last time we sold and bought, and it was easier for the new owners to get in touch. They had some questions, we needed to pick up some mail -- it helped.

And turn over (instead of throwing out) any warranties or manuals or notes for things at the old house. It's trash to you now but will be gold to the new owners.
posted by wenestvedt at 5:08 PM on April 15, 2023 [2 favorites]

If you are in a major city, the local market for apartment will have way weird quirks that don’t make sense anywhere else. Think co-ops in NYC, it’s a system that makes some sense locally but no where else.

But +++1 to having your financial ducks in a row, and then being realistic about what you can afford and how that matches up with both your long and short term plans.
posted by larthegreat at 6:04 PM on April 15, 2023 [1 favorite]

The biggest thing I wish I knew was how to write up the contract to make sure that the previous homeowner vacates the property on the closing date. Apparently the best way to do this is to write in a huge per day rental charge for each day over the time. Failure to do this left us having to move all our (excessive amount of) stuff over a 48 hour period completely by ourselves (friends unavailable due to holiday weekend). By the end of it we were both so exhausted we were hallucinating.

Also, read every bit of the mortgage paperwork. Our first house, the rate was written wrong on the paperwork (!), and in our current house, we read all the info about the CPR (like a condo), but our previous neighbors apparently hadn't.
posted by LadyOscar at 9:50 PM on April 15, 2023 [4 favorites]

I came here to talk about the flood plain. I live in Texas and grew up in Houston and know that the flood plains as mapped in my part of the country are optimistic as a result of overbuilding and climate change.

Some things I learned from buying my current house in Dallas in 2018:

House #1 was sniped from under us by someone who bought it without an inspection. I think they were coming from CA and were used to a market that was that hot. I thought that was insane. Lesson: some buyers are willing to do unreasonable things to get the house you want, and you should let them instead of doing something super risky.

House #2 we had earnest money down on and our inspector didn't like the work on the flip. It rained hard between when we looked at the house and the inspector visited and the hardwood floors had warped. Nope. Lesson: be willing to walk away because the earnest money won't be as much as fixing whatever is wrong.

House #3 was close to water and turned out to be in the hundred-year flood plain. We'd had friends flooded out in Houston repeatedly after hurricanes and bad storms. Lesson: there's not enough money out there for it to be worth buying in the flood plain, and the flood insurance isn't cheap either.

House #4 is in a great neighborhood but backs onto a four-lane divided road that's a main drag. It's walking distance to a number of shops and restaurants even for partially disabled/arthritic me. The noise is a bit of a pain, and even after having been updated recently it's needed some repairs (fence and roof right now). I love it and I'm not sorry we bought it even though it was more expensive than we wanted. But one of the reasons we picked this house over other candidates that were less expensive and better for our budget was that my mother-in-law was concerned about the quality of other neighborhoods because of concerns I don't share. She passed away last week and had been in the house fewer than a dozen times in the five years we've been here despite living no more than 30 minutes away in traffic the whole time (thanks, COVID). I don't regret our decision to live here but every time money is tight I think about how much we would have saved with another house that would have suited us almost as well. Lesson: don't let someone else's ideas overrule what you want in a house.

Hope this helps. You've got a lot of good advice in this thread, much of which I wish I'd had when I bought my first house.
posted by gentlyepigrams at 9:50 PM on April 15, 2023 [4 favorites]

How the basement handles rain. I live at the bottom of a hill, and have a sump in my basement and wrangling the sump pump is a low-grade annoyance for me as a homeowner. I've decided the very comforting noise, when it's raining or there's a lot of snow-melt happening, is hearing the pump go on, run briefly, and then shut off again. Also, if there's a basement sump, whether or not it's currently pumping water out legally - in this area, it used to be legal to route sump and gutter outflow to the sewer system directly, but that hasn't been the case for years.
posted by rmd1023 at 4:02 AM on April 16, 2023 [1 favorite]

I thought of a few others...the age of the home and the property lines will end up mattering a lot.

I have a 200 year old awesome farmhouse, but because it's ancient, I can't ever remodel (legally) because the house is filled with asbestos and other things. For example, I wanted to get some siding replaced but because of the asbestos, it would cost a fortune to do it legally. I can't ever replace the siding, so I had to learn to live with it.

Older homes often have higgeldy-piggeldy wiring and piping and ductwork, and when a wall is opened to do one thing, 4 other serious issues come to the surface. Those things will not be evident to a home inspector.

And be sure you get a real surveyor's report about your property lines, not the suggested lines from the realtor. This ends up mattering a lot if you ever want to put in fencing, entertain in your yard, build out or even tear down the home.
posted by yes I said yes I will Yes at 4:29 AM on April 16, 2023

Find out if the wiring is up to code. If it isn’t, there will be no point in renovating anything until you rip everything out at vast personal expense. Ask me how I know (sobs.)
posted by 41swans at 6:10 AM on April 16, 2023 [1 favorite]

Find out if the wiring is up to code. If it isn’t, there will be no point in renovating anything until you rip everything out at vast personal expense. Ask me how I know (sobs.)

I have a friend who is dealing with this. They are feeling stuck and unable to do even smaller renovation/upgrade projects, because working on any area of the house would come with a multi-thousand dollar additional cost to deal with that portion of the house's electrical issues. At some point they will need to find the money to simply rewire much of the house, because in the meantime it is blocking them from making needed fixes, and would probably be needed for resale anyway. They were aware that the wiring wasn't modern when they bought the house, but didn't realize what how much of an issue it was going to be.

Basic systems (like wiring and plumbing) are really expensive to deal with if major work is needed, since it means opening up walls and floors.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:44 AM on April 16, 2023 [1 favorite]

With respect to condos:

1. In California, condo buildings of 5 or more units have to pay much higher rates for earthquake insurance than 4 units or less. So much so that none of them have earthquake insurance. They're all basically self-insuring (i.e., owners will have to pay to rebuild if it falls down) or hoping FEMA will help them if there's a problem.

2. I sold my condo because our HOA board voted to drop our earthquake insurance. So, even if you buy in a building with EQ insurance, it can be dropped without your consent if you are outvoted. You can get outvoted on an amazing array of scary stuff.

3. My condo was in a 4 unit complex. I bought when I was 36 and pretty naive about these things. It was great for awhile, while I was the newest owner and the other owners took care of everything. Once the more experienced owners sold and left though, all of a sudden I was the most experienced owner, and the new clueless owners expected me to take care of everything from financial decisions to vetting repairmen and making decisions about repairs. We didn't have a good condo management company (just a bookkeeper) because as a group we were cheap and wanted to do it ourselves. So much stress! Because of this stress, I will never buy in a small condo building again.

Regarding Realtors: Get your realtor to agree that they will not dual represent. My realtor had to really stand up for me on a few things. A dual-representing realtor could have cost me a lot of money.

Regarding Hot Market: View each offer you get in as "If I get the house" not "When I get the house". If you let the emotional attachment and hope start to form when you put in the offer, you'll be really beaten down by your Nth rejected offer. I think I got the 5th house I offered on, and that was before the super crazy times.
posted by bluesky78987 at 9:07 AM on April 16, 2023

The inspector you hire will only check for things they understand and can do. That can leave out quite a few aspects unchecked, unless you hire based on overall expertise. Don't let the realtor choose the inspector, pay for one yourself out of pocket.
It's a good idea to think about sightlines and seasonal changes in lighting. How's the sun going to slant in those south facing windows in the winter? Is that tree going to block most of the sunlight during the summer? Think through living all year long in this house, what kinds of challenges are going to come up, say on an icy day, or when it's blazing hot outside.
Electrical systems have become sort of background for much of what we do. Check everywhere you might think about plugging in an electrical device. Is there a plug there? Are there enough outlets? Is the breaker panel located in a convenient location and up to code?
Walk the neighborhood and talk to potential neighbors. We lucked out in that respect, contractor we like on one side, single person on the other with low or no drama.
What are the services like in the neighborhood. Any nearby bus lines? Is there a lot of traffic on your street at night. Will you end up driving everywhere you want to go?
What's the drainage like on the property and does water stand around anywhere or under the building during storms?
posted by diode at 2:03 PM on April 16, 2023

Do not buy an older house formerly owned by a church unless you're prepared for it. We did, and we have had a whole host of... oddities... ranging from the "immediately repaired on moving in" to "just ignoring it because it's not actually an issue, it's just weird," 90% of which we are pretty sure are the way they are because the church accepted volunteer help from a member of the congregation and got exactly what they paid for. Some of them were obvious when we toured the house and/or with the inspection, some of them... not so much. Particularly "liked" replacing the garbage disposal between getting the keys and moving in because someone thought an entire package of plumber's putty was needed to repair a tiny leak, but the wall that's 1/4in offset from everything else continues to be a source of deep amusement.
posted by sandrayln at 7:05 PM on April 16, 2023

if there appear to be any additions or modifications to the house (new porch, finished basement, addition with a bathroom, anything involving electrical or plumbing), call city hall and ask for a record of permits pulled for the work

Oh, apparently in New Hampshire it's legal for homeowners to renovate (including structural modifications) without a permit, as long as the homeowner is the one performing the work. In other words, as long as someone incompetent does it, it doesn't need to be up to code. Live free or die! This is one of many reasons not to buy a house in New Hampshire (the biggest reason, of course, being that you'd then have to live in New Hampshire).
posted by kevinbelt at 7:36 PM on April 16, 2023 [2 favorites]

Not applicable to condos but while you're viewing places, go up to fences and if they're high and you can't see through, get a stool and look over, see what's happening on the other side. Once you move in this would be considered rude but you can get away with it while shopping, and it's good to have some idea what your potential neighbors are up to. You may also be able to reconnoiter the adjacent yards from up on the roof, during the inspection.
posted by Rash at 8:34 PM on April 16, 2023

Building off of diode's comment, think about how the geographic position of your house will impact heating, cooling, and snow/ice removal (if applicable).

I just bought a house in December, and while I don't regret it at ALL, I didn't think about the fact that giant bay window + west facing = my living room heats up VERY fast on sunny days and I need better window treatments, which will be expensive because of the size of the window.

I also didn't think about the fact that corner lot + sidewalk on the side of the house that slopes downhill + northern exposure = I did a LOT of ice chipping this winter. That side of the house just doesn't get much sun, and any melt at the top of the hill runs down and pools near the bottom and creates a skating rink.
posted by leftover_scrabble_rack at 10:32 AM on April 17, 2023