Saturday, May 26, 2007

Alawys Investigate


I was talking to someone on Friday who bought a new house out by Tracy about a year ago, and she is now regretting it.
her problem brings to light two of the main factors that everyone must consider when buying a home.
The first factor for her was that she wanted a large home, she could afford, on a good size lot. Everything in the home buying decision is a balancing act. If you have a certain amount you can afford, you must decide whether it is more important for you to have a new home, or an existing home. The balancing act for her was she wanted a new home, so she had to live farther away from where she works, downtown Oakland, to find that large new home that she could afford. That turned out to be Tracy.
Others may have decided that it was more important for them to live closer to work, so they would have chosen a smaller existing home nearer downtown Oakland.
One thing she did not consider was that during the morning rush hour it can take her as much as 2 hours to get to work from Tracy to downtown Oakland. She had only driven the route on weekends, and so had never encountered the weekday traffic. Now she is trying to figure out whether she should sell the house, because the commute is killing her.
When you decide to buy a home, you should do more than just the inspection of the physical systems of that home.
Investigate the neighborhood, and visit it at least twice at different times of the night and day. You are going to be living there. You have to look at not only the home, but also the location, how close are you to work, family, friends, and the places you like to go? Are you comfortable being farther away? Does the area itself suit your needs?
An Inspection means a full inspection of both the house and the area it is in if you are going to be happy in your new home. It is all a balancing act.
What can you give up to be happy with thosre things you cannot give up.