By Fred Turner
When my wife and I purchased our first home, which was a townhouse on a second floor, we did not really know what we were getting ourselves into. With a young baby and soon-to-be toddler, being on the second floor, we could hear the neighbors below when they had parties with loud music and they could hear our toddler running across the floor. This was an annoying on-going issue for many years. We would often say, “Why did we buy a second-floor townhome with young kids?” Had we asked our parents or friends that were already homeowners, they could have given us wise advice and maybe we would not have been in this situation.
When my wife and I were planning our first single-family home purchase, we did more planning and research. We discussed what would be our desired type of yard, neighborhood and town. We wanted a larger yard with big mature trees in an unincorporated area yet fairly close to shopping so we would not have to drive 30+ minutes away for groceries. A location somewhat centrally located so I was close to work, and not too far from church. We narrowed down what towns were affordable in our geographic location and started the house hunt online in those towns. We also drove around those areas to see in person which neighborhoods we liked. We did have a friend who was an experienced realtor who assisted us in our home purchase. We told her the towns we thought were somewhat affordable and in the geographic area we desired. We eventually found the “perfect” home with a larger yard and, big mature trees in an unincorporated area that reminded us of the north woods in Wisconsin, an area where we often vacationed. I loved the feel of coming home from work and seeing the beautiful nature all around us and especially through the large windows of our family room addition. This was a very nice home for us where we raised and homeschooled our five children. It has suited our needs very well.
Assess what kind of home you want such as a single-family home, a townhome, a condo, a mobile home, or even a 2 flat where you can live in one unit and rent out the other unit. Most condos and townhomes have a homeowners association (HOA) with a monthly fee. Those fees could be in typical range of $250-400 per month and sometime higher if they offer more amenities or are in more expensive cities. Some HOAs can also be quite restrictive on what you can and cannot do within your property. Approximately 22% of the US population lives in HOA communities according to todayshomeowner.com.*
Do you want a two bedroom, three bedroom or four bedroom home? If you will be working from home, how will that affect the type of home best suited for your work needs? Do you want a small yard, large yard, or no yard? Do you want a basement or not? Do you want a home with possible short-term lease possibilities? Plan for the future, not just for today. Do you want to live in a city, suburb, or a country neighborhood?
Narrow down the area or areas that would be an ideal location from work, family, friends, church, and other locations important to you. It may be a good idea to get a map or print out a map of your region. Mark the important locations on the map so you can visually see these important areas. Draw a circle maybe 10-20 miles around each area, and where the circles overlap may be a good location to consider. Consider that if you drive to work daily but to church once a week, the work location will be more important than the church location due to the frequency driven to each. If you work mostly from home, the other main location/s you drive to the most often may be the most important. If specific school districts are important to you, this may narrow your search option as well.
*Stephanie Horan, “Are High HOA Fees Scaring Homeowners Away?” Today’s Homeowner, November 4, 2023, https://todayshomeowner.com/home-finances/guides/are-high-hoa-fees-scaring-homeowners-away/.
This is an excerpt from Fred's book, The Happy Homeowners HANDBOOK For First-time Homebuyers. Available on Amazon.com More details at: HappyHomeownersHub.com
Comments ()