Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home (17 page)

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Authors: Ilona Bray,Alayna Schroeder,Marcia Stewart

Tags: #Law, #Business & Economics, #House buying, #Property, #Real Estate

BOOK: Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home
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Visit local public schools.
Violet says of her family’s move from Connecticut to Pennsylvania, “Our criteria for choosing a neighborhood were: school district, school district, and school district. We’d heard there were two excellent districts close to my husband’s new job. So I took my son and daughter to visit the principals and teachers and watch classrooms in action. The school in one of the neighborhoods had great classroom morale, lots of activities, and ethnic diversity. Wouldn’t you know it, the houses in that neighborhood were mostly million-dollar plus McMansions. But we found a fixer-upper we could afford. It was worth the hard work to make it livable—the kids love their school.”
See for Yourself: Driving Through Neighborhoods
 
You can tell a lot about an area by cruising through it, most likely by car. When you get a real estate agent, he or she will also drive you around, but it’s good to go on your own first, free to explore the seedier spots. You may find yourself thinking, “I could live here,” or “Get me out, fast.”
First, pull out your map, locate the areas where you might like to live, and circle them with a highlighter. Pay special attention to places on the map you’ve never been that are close to or within your highlighted area. Then systematically drive up and down the streets, imagining yourself living there. (The character of a neighborhood can change in the space of a city block, or right after a natural divider such as a freeway, park, or large housing complex.) Look beyond the houses and think about whether the local features fit your lifestyle—would you, in fact, walk to the bus stop, garden in the front yard, or jog at the local track? Focus on questions like:
•
How well are the homes maintained?
Neat homes and yards are signs that homeowners feel invested in their properties.
•
Who’s around?
You can tell a lot about a neighborhood by who’s out and about, whether it’s children on bicycles or post partiers walking to breakfast joints on Saturday morning.
•
How’s the traffic?
Are people driving sanely or zooming around with music blasting? Does the major street leading to the neighborhood become a noisy parking lot during rush hour?
•
What types of local businesses are there?
Franchise chains, funky coffee shops, and upscale restaurants could become your favorite hangouts—or you could be in for frustration if your favorite cuisine is nowhere to be found or there’s no dry cleaner nearby.
•
Check the signs.
Literally. If you see lots of “For Sale” signs, it
could
mean people are moving out, and you’d want to know why—a new factory or mini-mall being built nearby? A surge in crime? You’ll either have a greater chance of snagging a bargain, or you may decide to look elsewhere. On the other hand, a lot of homes for sale could also mean the neighborhood is hot, hot, hot!
 
If you like what you see, you might even add another color highlighter to the map, showing your favorite streets (useful for cross-referencing with later home sale ads). You’re guaranteed to find a surprise or two.
 
The grill’s going every night!
Barry is a vegetarian, while his girlfriend Ann is not. After a long search, the couple found an adorable house near a commercial street dominated by Korean restaurants. Barry says, “We carefully had the house inspected and talked to the neighbors about safety. But we’d visited the house only in daylight. Our first evening after we moved in, we noticed a cloud of aromatic smoke coming from a nearby Korean barbecue. I was horrified, and Ann started mischievously suggesting sneaking out for a bite. We love the house, but it took awhile to get used to the permanently barbecue-scented night air.”
On Foot: Talking to the Natives
 
There’s probably no better way to find out what a certain neighborhood is like than talking to people who already live there. Pick a day when you’re feeling relaxed (preferably not open-house day). Then walk around, paying attention to smells and sounds. (Cocooned in your car, you might not notice odors coming from a nearby brewery, airplane or freeway noise, the buzzing from a local generator, or rowdiness at a nearby commercial strip.)
Talking to people in neighborhoods still under construction is obviously harder—but it may be possible if you’re not the first to buy. Or, you can look in surrounding developments to get a general feel.
Look for people out gardening, or walking their dogs. It might feel funny to strike up a conversation with a stranger, but complimenting said garden or dog is a pretty reliable conversation starter. Explain that you’re thinking of buying, and ask questions like:
• What do you like most and least about this area?
• Which streets are considered the best to live on?
• Do you feel okay about walking outside at night?
• Do you have kids? Do they go to public school here?
• Are there any changes planned that will make the neighborhood better or worse (such as a new development, changed policing system, or pending school initiative)?
• What kind of person would be happiest living here?
 
 
CD-ROM
 
Use the “Questions for Talking With Locals” worksheet in the Homebuyer’s Toolkit on the CD-ROM, which includes questions and space for your notes.
 
Coffee shops and local restaurants are also good places to meet people, including the business owners. And even on open-house days, you can meet a lot of locals and talk to real estate agents about community issues (though the agents won’t be offering up much negative information).
Sunrise, Sunset: Getting Day and Night Perspectives
 
There’s a reason open houses are usually scheduled on Sunday afternoons: The sun is high in the sky, the neighborhood is quiet, and no one’s working. Life couldn’t be better! To plug back into reality, though, try visiting a neighborhood at different times of the day or week. In neighborhoods with lots of local schools, it can sound like a parade is passing weekdays around 3:00—and then the insanely bright floodlights at the football field click on after dark. Neighborhoods located in lovely little gulches or valleys may seem dull by early afternoon, when they lose their daily dose of sunshine. And late at night, if you see more tough-looking characters hanging out on street corners than dog walkers, you might want to recheck those crime stats.
 
Drive through the neighborhood at night.
Sam and Kari were looking to buy a place at a time when the market was crazy and their options limited. According to Sam, “When we saw a nice, affordable house right on the border of a good neighborhood, we were so excited! On a whim, we drove back later that night. There was a whole other side to that neighborhood: Cars slowly cruised by blaring music, and loud groups loitered around, drinking and smoking. Seeing our bewildered looks, an elderly neighbor asked whether we were lost, then advised us, ‘Don’t buy here; it’s not safe. I’d get out if I could.’ We took her advice and are so glad we took that evening drive.”
Got Houses? Finding Out What’s Locally Available
 
By now, you’ve probably narrowed down your search to specific neighborhoods. But can you afford anything more than a tiny patch of grass there? To find out, look at what’s for sale right this minute. It’s the easiest research task you’ll ever take on, thanks to widely available advertisements, in:
•
The Multiple Listing Service (MLS).
This is the granddaddy: a database of homes for sale kept by Realtors® nationwide, and once guarded as closely as the Coca-Cola™ recipe. Now you can usually access it—or selected portions of it—for free on the websites of local Realtor® associations or newspapers. Start with the NAR’s website,
www.realtor.com
. Or, try searching for “MLS” and the name of your state or city. (The homes won’t change much, but the formatting will.).
•
Real estate sections of city or community newspapers.
City papers often have online classifieds, but don’t forget tiny community papers—they sometimes have the best classifieds, because they’re devoted to a limited geographical area.
 
CD-ROM
 
Wondering what FB, HDWD, or S.S. Kit means?
You must be reading a paid-by-the-word ad. For some deciphering help, check out the “Common Real Estate Abbreviations” list in the Homebuyer’s Toolkit on the CD-ROM.
 
•
The Owners Network at
www.owners.com
.
These homes (so-called “FSBOs”) are being sold without help from real estate agents, so they may not appear in the MLS. Also try
www.forsalebyowner.com
. For more on buying a FSBO, see Chapter 9.
•
Websites sponsored by local real estate brokers.
Some brokers provide photos, neighborhood information, and advice. Try local Re/Max Realtor®’s websites, for example. The downside to broker sites is that sometimes you’ll have to enter personal information to access the listings and could get a call from an agent looking for your business.
•
Looking for a newly built home?
Check out
www.move.com
(by the National Association of Home Builders), where you can add your own search criteria, such as “swimming pool.” Also worth checking are
www.newhomesource.com
(with extensive information on custom, “build-on-your lot” builders) and
www.americanhomeguides.com
. It’s best to search all three sites; each gives different results.
 

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