Andrew's Wiki
Home Buying (changes)

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Characteristics

• Smallish two to four bedroom, one or two bath
  • Four bedrooms would be: ours, office, guest, baby
• Built between 1900-1950 (or older, but not newer)
  • Bungalow, Arts and Crafts, Craftsman, Art Deco, Art Moderne, Cape Cod, Colonial, Tudor, Modern, or Post-Modern
  • No ranch, no neo-eclectic, no new construction
• Location: walking distance to university campus/work
  • Close to grocery
• Quality: well built and well maintained (no mold or water damage, solid foundation, reliable and up-do-date plumbing and wiring, etc)
  • From independent inspector
  • Top-flight HVAC

Level One Priorities

• Charm: brick, stone, and/or shingles, with interesting features (carving, built-ins, arches, fireplace, wood windows)
• Neighborhood: old construction single-family homes with mature trees and well-kept lawns
  • Or, out from town with a lot of land for pasturage
• Layout: good feng shui, with foyer
• Kitchen: at least has potential to be transformed into our perfect kitchen

Level Two Priorities

• Two separate office spaces
• Easy to keep lawn
• Lots of windows with great views
• Natural gas for kitchen (potential, at least)
• On a high piece of land
• Detached garage
• Two different prep areas in kitchen
• Separate tub and shower in master bath
• Breakfast nook and/or enclosed porch

Money Matters

• Will save at least 20% down
• Thirty year fixed term mortgage only
  • Anything suspiciously less than the market rate could end up becoming variable rate at certain point, so be careful
• Two and a half times your annual salary or mortgage payment no more than 28% your monthly income
• Costs: house, interest, closing costs, mortgage insurance/homeowner’s insurance, any home improvements or new furniture needed, inspector ($350-400) and perhaps termite and pest inspector as well (termites, dry rot, etc)
  • Also, make sure buyer is with inspector, not agent
  • Check out closing costs for any hidden fees that can be negotiated or contested
• Better financial sense to buy the house you like less but that’s in a better neighborhood….instead of buying house you like more but that’s in worse neighborhood
• The price you offer
  • Get a range by looking at comparable properties, the more recent and the closer the better (make sure they have same number bedrooms, bathrooms, etc)
  • Factor in condition of the house, updates/improvements, problems
• Get preapproved for a specific loan amount before making an offer on a house (not merely “prequalified”)
• Earnest money deposit: less than 2%
• Gifts for down payments (from other people)
  • Has to be sitting in your bank account (buyer’s bank account) for a few months before closing
  • Have to have a “gift letter” from donor disclosing your relationships
  • Buyer does not have to pay taxes on this; seller does if it exceeds certain amount (2009: 13,000)
• Close at the end of the month to avoid prepaid insurance (avoid paying more at beginning than you need to)
• Make sure the contract has contingencies (ie contingent on you getting a loan, the inspection going well, an unfixable flaw, not appraised for the amount sold for)

Mortgage

• Do not buy anything major that would create debt (car, furniture, jewelry, appliances) just before applying for loan
• Don’t move money around (unless you want to prove your paper trail)
• Don’t change banks
• Don’t make the switch to self-employed less than two years before applying for the loan
• Don’t necessarily buy a house at the max loan you can get; make sure the monthly mortgage payment works for you (28% or less of your monthly income)

Finding a Buyer’s Agent

• Don’t just talk to the first agent who’s associated with some house you like!
  • Talking to this person makes that person the agent for the sale unless you tell them up-front that you have an agent already and are just looking.
  • Really you want to call your agent about any property you find (once you want to look)
• Choose one just like you would a doctor. Carefully.
  • See if you can get references.
  • If the agent has detailed, specific website
  • If the agent knows about the community
  • If the agent knows a lot about various homes w/o having to “check back” with you about it (ie the agent previews homes on his/her own)
• Interview!
• Criteria
  • Accessibility/communication skills
  • Experience
  • Part time or full time?
  • Awards

Tips

• Don’t focus on the furnishings, cabinetry, paint color, or carpet (if any). Focus on the bones of the house.
  • Don’t get emotionally attached to these kinds of details (ie don’t buy a house b/c you love the paint color)
• Don’t fixate on list price; figure out fair market value.
  • Identify comparable house prices nearby to determine fair market value
• Talk in detail about budget beforehand.
• Check: crime rate, proximity to work, shopping, hospital, school, grocery store
  • Is the area well-kept? Do the shopping centers nearby look healthy? Noisy?
• Consider hiring a real estate lawyer to look over the mortgage contract
• Discuss in detail the repairs that need to be made to the house, the cost of those repairs, and check to make sure they’re done before closing
• If you move to a new area, wait a few months before buying a home so you can judge the neighborhoods better
• Make sure contract guarantees condition of house (no stuff in yard, working appliances, etc), and make sure it includes the right to final walk-through of property about one to five days before closing.
• Bring tape measure b/c you can’t really trust the total square footage number that’s listed
• Don’t be let off guard by staging, mood lighting or music, or freshly baked cookies

Kitchen

• Our Kitchen

Bath

• Skylight
• Tub for two, separate shower
• Tub
  • Clawfoot freestanding
  • Make sure the bathroom floor is sturdy enough for a cast iron based tub
• Linen pattern porcelain tiles
  • this is where we do the tile floor we couldn’t do in the kitchen
  • or subway tile
  • you can do radiant heating on tile floor
• Many jets in shower
• Heated tile floor (radiant and/or travertine)
• Glass tile backsplash area walls
• Caesarstone/Cambria/Zodiaq or other quartz surface
  • Zodiaq felt wonderful (cool but not cold temperature, feels really clean and smooth) but the patterns were mostly lame (trying to look like granite)
• Pyrolave, ie enameled lavastone examples#
• Furniture that doesn’t scream “bathroom:” something more complex and living room like
• Make sure all hardware matches: don’t mix your finishes
• Scrounge around for remnants (tile, stone)
• Adding bathroom in basement level is a good idea (try to align it with another bathroom on the level above it to save on plumbing costs)
• Consider having toilet in a somewhat separated part of the master and kid’s bathrooms
• You want lots of light (esp right over the tub); probably a bank of windows but even a skylight
• Make sure that the towels are in a cabinet somewhat removed from sources of steam or that the cabinet is well ventilated to prevent moisture
• Marble counter might be nice in bathroom
  • OMG I should have my existing marble slab placed on an antique cabinet that I can find somewhere
• Two diff vanities, in diff corners of the room
  • Andrew likes granite in bathroom, I like marble
• Nice big shower

Bedroom

• Textured wallpaper, then paint it
• No matched sets of furniture
• Super small extra bedroom for me when Andrew snores
  • And/or, the bedroom is mounted within a bay window or a frame, boatlike or yachtlike
• Fireplace in the master!
• Small bedroom, with separate dressing area with closets, and master bath
• Pocket doors: saving space
• Closet/dressing room with built-ins: lots of shelving (just as much as hanging area)
  • Make it easy to iron
• Could refinish some furniture in lacquer paint for a shiny finish (to make it look like pyrolave)

Living Space

• No matching furniture sets
• Floating natural wood floors; big planks
  • Not hand-scraped (I like the gleaming wood look)
• Exposed beams or crown molding

Dining Room

• Pocket doors or swinging door to block off the dining room from the rest of the house (create sense of privacy during the dinner phase of a dinner party)