Prepare for buying new home by prioritizing desires, needs
Process is similar to online dating
Much as I carry on about house buying and selling, the fact is I haven’t bought a house in 12 years. And that time around could hardly be called a house. What I bought was a poured foundation with the framing started, which I took from there. The house before that was also a lot and a dream.
Both those times I first tried to buy already built houses, but I couldn’t find one I liked, so I built one I did. This will age a person. You should see me. I am 26 years old but look 89. That is only a slight exaggeration.
So when I recently began looking for an already built house, I hoped, for a change, I could be the beneficiary of someone else’s finish and fixture decisions — not the victim.
Now, I wasn’t alone in this house quest. DC, a man I am seeing, well, seriously, and I were looking together to find out whether, at least hypothetically, we could find a place for, possibly, us. ( Smelling salts, please.)
For some neurotic reason, it’s always been easier for me to talk about real estate than relationships. DC, being the perceptive sort, quickly saw that while I could talk about houses all day and night, talking about marriage caused me to bolt like a fireworkfrightened filly.
So he warmed me to the idea slowly and asked if I would like to go on a date house hunting. “Are you wooing me?” “Do you want to go on living in other people’s homes for sale, and staging them, moving every few months?” he asked.
“I will until I have a better offer.”
He looked at me over the tops of his glasses.
So began a standing date. Once a week during a long lunch hour we looked at houses with his real estate agent, Wendy. Before each session, Wendy would email us links to contenders that fit most our criteria. Meeting all was not possible, as the list was full of mixed signals: big yard for the dog, lowmaintenance landscape.
Online, we’d tour each home, winnowing candidates down to a handful to see in person.
This process is exactly like online dating. If the house didn’t have photographic appeal, promise and potential, or if it were geographically undesirable or had obvious chronic issues, we hit delete. Similarly, the in- person encounters were a lot like most first dates: demoralizing. Nonetheless, each week, we climbed into Wendy’s SUV and toured a handful of homes.
For me, having spent the past four years as a live- in home stager decorating homes to help sellers, being on the buyer side felt very different. Many houses that DC liked, I nixed. “I like a broader range of houses than you do,” he said.
True, I eliminated prospects swiftly: ceilings too low, character lacking, price too high, too much work, funky flow, cheap finishes, outdated everything. Like I said, just like dating.
The more we looked, the more specific the criteria became about what we ( OK, mostly me), were looking for. Hey, living in seven homes over 4 ½ years better amount to something besides superior moving skills.
Here’s what the checklist looks like. Bear in mind, these are mostly my quirks. Your list might look very different:
Curb appeal. I want a place that makes me happy when I pull up.
Character. Many production homes lack character. I want custom or semicustom with a distinct architectural style.
Enough bedrooms. Together, DC and I have five grown kids and two kids- in- law, who will likely come visit.
A hidden garage. This is just me, but I prefer a house you don’t drive into, thus a garage entry either perpendicular to the street, or behind the house.
A well- tended street. If the prospective house has great landscaping but the yards on the street are dumpy, it’s a non- starter.
A terrific kitchen and great room. These two spaces are the heart of the home, and I want them to open onto each other.
A nice, not- too- big yard. I want to plant some flowers and have room for DC’s dog and maybe one more, but I don’t want a yard so big that we become hostage to it.
A separate dining room. I like a formal dining area that doesn’t look into the kitchen.
An outdoor eating space. No matter how much my kids complain about it, I still love to eat outside.
A house that entertains well. A home is for living in, and having family and friends over is living at its best.
Join me next week when we find The House.