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When I bought my first home 4 years ago I was so excited I probably didn't think things through as much as I should have. Fortunately I ended up being okay for the most part.
But if you bought a 2nd home what would be some things you'd be sure to review/look into more before buying that you weren't aware of for the first home.
Might be some good advice we can collect for future home owners.
1. A/C in a 2 story house. I was not familiar at all with 2 zone systems. I spend about a 1k on my house getting a new supply vent in an upstairs room & had some duct work redone. I bought my house in December so of course it being hot was not even a thought. I probably try and buy a house in the months of being quite warm if possible to really get an idea on how hot that upstairs might get.
2. Avoid a 2 story house all together. Two story houses are nice but if you plan on living for decades or into your older ages you might not want to walk up & down those stairs. I'm in great shape now & even I get "annoyed" of having to go upstairs sometimes just for one thing. I think to myself that I'm really going to hate this when I'm in my 60's or later. I even have that worry of coming downstairs and being so tired & falling.
3. More square feet = higher utilities.
4. Is there enough insulation in the attic? Under the crawl?
5. The house is old. Granted older houses usually are built better than houses these days but an older house will have things break more & some of those things can get expensive. I.e. plumbing. Cast Iron pipes.
6. Does the house have things that a buyer would want? For most people you'll eventually sell it one day. Might not be for another 20-30 years but at the current time are there things that people would love? I.e. master bathroom? school districts. I don't have a master bathroom but it's right near my mater bed room upstairs. Not a huge deal for me but could def see some people getting turned off by that.
This doesn't apply to me but I could easily see somebody buying a house on a slab & not realizing that if those pipes burst you're digging up concrete to fix. That's the biggest pro I see of having a crawl space.
The things I would think about if/when I buy a second place:
--Daylight. My home faces north. I only have one east-facing window, and one west-facing. They are both obstructed by trees and things, so I get almost no direct daylight in my house. It would be nice to have at least one window that gets sunlight.
--Buying for growth, but the ability to compartmentalize. I don't use my dining room very much, and it's colder than the rest of my home due to it's orientation and an exposed brick wall. As you said, utilities are expensive. It would be nice to have a way to close off rooms I don't use very much, so I don't have to heat/cool them.
--Semi-open kitchen. I don't like open floor plans, where you see your dirty dishes the minute you open the front door. My neighbor's house is so open I can look out my window and see their dirty dishes, all the way in the back of their house! But my kitchen is oriented so that it's really separated from all the other rooms, and it can be kind of lonely in the kitchen sometimes. I think a semi-open kitchen would be better--something open to the dining room maybe, but not a completely open floor plan.
The things I would think about if/when I buy a second place:
--Daylight. My home faces north. I only have one east-facing window, and one west-facing. They are both obstructed by trees and things, so I get almost no direct daylight in my house. It would be nice to have at least one window that gets sunlight.
--Buying for growth, but the ability to compartmentalize. I don't use my dining room very much, and it's colder than the rest of my home due to it's orientation and an exposed brick wall. As you said, utilities are expensive. It would be nice to have a way to close off rooms I don't use very much, so I don't have to heat/cool them.
--Semi-open kitchen. I don't like open floor plans, where you see your dirty dishes the minute you open the front door. My neighbor's house is so open I can look out my window and see their dirty dishes, all the way in the back of their house! But my kitchen is oriented so that it's really separated from all the other rooms, and it can be kind of lonely in the kitchen sometimes. I think a semi-open kitchen would be better--something open to the dining room maybe, but not a completely open floor plan.
That's a good suggestion about #1 Daylight because it reminds me of buying a house that might be in shade. When I had issues with the upstairs getting so hot I think part of that was because I have literally no trees blocking my roof. Neighbor down the street has the same model house as mine but is covered with trees. Obviously that's pros & cons of that but he did say it house stays cooler.
After buying several homes, ranging from ancient to new build, one thing I have learned is no matter how much I want to I simply have no faith whatsoever in realtors nor home inspectors. Buyer beware.
That serving as a listing agent and a buyer's agent are two completely different skillsets, and that to use your buyer's agent as your listing agent without proper vetting is a good chance to pay tuition in the school of bitter lessons.
That home inspectors suck. Even the good ones suck; the bad ones just suck worse.
Always find out if your potential agent is a 'top producer,' and if so, don't use that agent. Ever. Flee from top producers. Flee also from part-timers.
To buy well, be more than willing to walk. To sell well: pre-inspect, pre-repair, mostly empty out, stage properly, and then make sure to get out during those crucial first days of listing when it's the flavor of the week. And if you come home at 9 exhausted, and your agent says someone else wants to look at it, get up and clear out. A house with people almost jostling to see it is a house that's probably going to get offers.
If you don't get into contract in the first few days, you either didn't want that, or you did but your side did something wrong. You probably didn't listen to your listing agent. Next time, listen to your listing agent.
Never, ever, ever sell a dwelling that is vacant. Never, ever, ever sell a dwelling that you cannot be present to check on.
We have been in our home for almost 7 years now. We love it. We live a few miles from the ocean and don't have Air Conditioning. Utilities are low. About $45 for electric a month on average. About $30 or less for gas. We have not had the furnace on in a few years.
If we were to buy a second home I would want to have it built new. What I would want for heating and AC is a Mitsubishi system or similar that has controls for each room. You only heat or cool the rooms that you want to heat and cool.
For security I would want at least 8" thick exterior walls. I want them reinforced. I want hidden roll ups that protect the windows and doors when we are gone. Or when we are home and just want a safer place. Custom doors with additional locking bolts all controlled by a high security key and proximity cards. Triple pain windows with security film for harder time to break in.
I want a five car finished garage. Not just a place to store the rides but a place to spend time with friends.
The back yard is important to me. Has to be complete with an outdoor kitchen, covered sitting area, with a projection TV. Place with a fire pit, hot tub, and a couple other sitting areas. Block wall fence to surround the back yard and the sides of the lot up to the edge of the home. I want a shorter fence in the front of the home with a electric entry gate to enter the property.
We have been in our home for almost 7 years now. We love it. We live a few miles from the ocean and don't have Air Conditioning. Utilities are low. About $45 for electric a month on average. About $30 or less for gas. We have not had the furnace on in a few years.
If we were to buy a second home I would want to have it built new. What I would want for heating and AC is a Mitsubishi system or similar that has controls for each room. You only heat or cool the rooms that you want to heat and cool.
For security I would want at least 8" thick exterior walls. I want them reinforced. I want hidden roll ups that protect the windows and doors when we are gone. Or when we are home and just want a safer place. Custom doors with additional locking bolts all controlled by a high security key and proximity cards. Triple pain windows with security film for harder time to break in.
I want a five car finished garage. Not just a place to store the rides but a place to spend time with friends.
The back yard is important to me. Has to be complete with an outdoor kitchen, covered sitting area, with a projection TV. Place with a fire pit, hot tub, and a couple other sitting areas. Block wall fence to surround the back yard and the sides of the lot up to the edge of the home. I want a shorter fence in the front of the home with a electric entry gate to enter the property.
There are places built just like that- they're better known as Federal Prisons!!!
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