When Justin and I bought our home, we were very young. We didn’t really know what we were doing, and we dealt with a couple of realtors who treated us like children, despite the fact that we were buying a house. It was a very long and very annoying process and it pretty much made me want to never, ever move so that I wouldn’t have to do it again.
Except lately, we’ve kind of been wanting to move again.
After much deliberation over the last year, I think we’ve finally decided to stay put for a little while. Shane attends one of the best public elementary schools in the school district and it’s within walking distance, so we aren’t quite ready to give that up. However, that didn’t stop us from looking at houses for awhile- but this time, we took our time and knew what to look for.
When you’re buying your first house, you don’t always realize the things that will become incredibly annoying after years spent living there. Likewise, you don’t know what you’ll be beyond happy to have when you need it! Here’s what I’ve learned to look for when looking for a new house:
1. Check out where the nearest pharmacy is. We have two pharmacies right down the street from us- and one of them is one of the only 24-hour pharmacies in this part of town. It’s been so great to have so close many times- it’s great every month when I pick up prescriptions and it’s even better when one of us is sick in the middle of the night and we need medicine.
2. Look up the local schools. If you’re enrolling your children in public school, be sure to consider how good the school they’d be zoned for is. Even if kids are a few years away, it’s something to take into account. When we bought our house, Shane was only 7 months old and we didn’t think it would matter because we thought we’d move before he started school. We got very, very lucky by having such a good school in our backyard!
3. Scope out the greenery. Depending on where you live, the specifics on this will differ. However, it’s important to take into account the kinds of plants around you. I wish I would have noticed that my neighbor’s giant tree would shed leaves and pods once a month, littering my driveway and causing Shane and I to have allergy flare-ups. I also wish I would have known that the shade from the giant trees in our backyard were the cause of the lawn being bare, and that it would cost us thousands to eventually convert it to desert-friendly artificial grass.
4. Make sure you can get to your favorite places easily. Of course, you’ll never find a house that is directly in the center of all of your favorite restaurants and stores. However, if you have to go a crazy long way or a very far distance to go to a place that you’re going to frequently go to, you may start to get annoyed after awhile.
5. Check into extra fees. Your realtor should let you know of any HOA fees that come with your home, but be sure to look into extra fees like landscape maintenance associations or community fees. There are several areas in our city where you have to pay the city just to be in that part of town- on top of HOA fees. In our neighborhood, we have to pay a couple hundred dollars a year to cover the cost of landscape maintenance for common areas, like the entrance to our community. It works out to less than $20 a month, but when you’re adding that to your mortgage, HOA fees, and community fees… it’s nice to know about it ahead of time!
Buying a house can be quite expensive- in addition to the actual down payment you’ll have to pay your realtor, pay to move {whether you hire movers or rent a truck and buy your own boxes, it’s not cheap!}, and set up your utilities. You have to save more than just the down payment before you’re ready to move, and SunTrust Bank wants to help you prepare before you find yourself swimming in expenses.
We all know that we should save for a rainy day, but we should also be saving so that we can enjoy our sunny days! Buying a house is definitely a huge moment- whether it’s your first or tenth house- and making sure that you’re prepared can help you enjoy it! SunTrust Bank has a great resource center where you can find ways to save for one of your biggest sunny days- when you buy a house!
Sunny Days start here. At SunTrust, they have the tools and resources to help you achieve your sunny day. Start here to find out how they can help you enjoy the things that matter to you.
At SunTrust Bank their purpose is lighting the way to financial well-being. When you feel confident about your money, you can save for your goals and spend knowingly on what matters most to you. They know we all live for the sunny days and want to you help you live yours.
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