« How to Survive Cabin Fever if You are Craft-impaired | Main | How to Choose a Family Financial Planner »
How to Choose a Family Home in a Down Real Estate Market
Published 03.18.2009 | Permanent Link | Comments (4)
By Amanda of The Naked Ledger who is contributing her financial wisdom to the Guide to Everything weekly
Photo by TheTruthAbout...
Buying a home can be terrifying no matter what the real estate market is like, but when there’s a For Sale sign on almost every block in America, it’s even more daunting than usual. The good news is that RIGHT NOW it’s a BUYER’S market and if you’re looking for a mortgage and tax deduction, here are some strategies to help you get through the process.
1. Think LONG-TERM
Not too long ago, it used to be that people bought houses as short-term investments, fixed them up a little and sold them for a profit two years later (it even created a Reality TV show genre). I think it’s pretty clear that those days are now over, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t buy a house! It does mean that if you DO buy, you need a very long-term time horizon. You might not want to buy anything right now if you don’t plan to stay in it for eight to ten years. Buying a house during a bad economy just means you need to choose wisely and make sure the home meets your long-term needs. The good news is that there’s more to choose from now than ever before.
2. Location, location, location: OF THE SCHOOLS
Whether you have school-aged children or not, buying a house in an excellent school district is almost always a better investment. Again, look at your long-term needs and pick the neighborhood that you’ll still want to live in when your kids are in high school. By picking your schools now (even if you don’t have kids yet!) you’ll eliminate the risk of wanting to get into a different/better/other school district when the time comes and your property values will be all the better for it. As tempting as it is to spend hours gawking online at designer kitchens and beautiful floor plans, THIS is where the bulk of your research time should be spent. Start by looking up state test scores and then check out http://www.greatschools.net/ to see what fellow parents are saying about the schools in your potential neighborhood. Don’t be afraid to check out the schools in person as well.
3. Pick a property, not a house
I think this goes without saying, but after watching enough HGTV to give me a migraine, I’ll go ahead and say it anyway: the only thing you CAN’T change about a house? It is the plot of land it sits on. Before you even consider a home, consider the land lot – is it on a busy street? Is it part of a homeowner’s association (this can be good or bad)? Is the neighborhood well maintained? Is it big enough? The lot is the most critical part of your home buying decision. Google Maps is a good place to start.
4. Only look at houses that meet 100% of your requirements
When we bought our house two years ago, the temptation to look at virtually every home on the market was overwhelming. It’s just so… FUN. But doing so only got me in trouble. I’d find the perfect kitchen or a house with a magnificent sunlit playroom for the kids and then I’d drag my husband and our realtor and our two kids over to take a look at it. Sometimes I’d even try to convince all of us that THIS was the perfect house. But if it didn’t meet our external criteria (school district, lot size, number of bedrooms, age) it really didn’t matter how PERFECT it was. Also, consider the fact that every time a seller has a showing, that person has to clean their house from top to bottom, organize activities for the family so they aren’t home and sometimes even pay for childcare. It’s not so FUN for them, so go out of your way to only consider homes that have real potential as a long-term investment for your family. You’ll save headaches all around.
5. Don’t look for a bargain
I realize this goes against convention, but I can’t emphasize enough that if you’re going to buy a house right now, you should be buying it as a long-term HOME for your family, not as an investment. Price is important, obviously, but the property itself is FAR more important. The real estate market could continue its current slump for several more years before recovering and it’s a good idea to prepare yourself for your home to lose value in the short-term. If you can time the real estate market, good for you. But the reality is the vast vast majority of us cannot time it so that we pick the absolute bottom of the real estate market. So only buy a home that you will ABSOLUTELY LOVE no matter what it’s worth and then take full advantage of your real estate agent’s negotiating prowess.
Finally, and most importantly, there is NOTHING wrong with renting, especially not in this market. So take your time and enjoy the house hunting!
- Follow Us!
Via RSS Feed- Via Email
- On Twitter
- On Facebook
- Recent Posts
- How to Prepare for Your Newborn's First Pediatrician's Appointment
- How To Care For Your Child's Teeth Like a Pro
- How To Navigate the Supermarket Like a Nutritionist
- How To Plan Parties with Guests who have Allergies
- How to Trick or Treat Safely
- Categories
- Ages
- Animals
- Beauty
- Books
- Caregiving
- College
- Food
- Health
- Holidays
- Home & Garden
- Money Matters
- New Mom
- Offbeat
- Organization
- Parties
- Photography
- Play
- Pregnancy
- Relationships
- Safety
- School
- Shopping
- Travel
- Contributors
- A Girl & A Boy
- Bessie.Viola
- Busy Mom
- Cool Mom Picks
- Chookooloonks
- Desperately Seeking Sanity
- Doobleh-vay
- Dutch Blitz
- Fairly Odd Mother
- Foodmomiac
- Gray Matter Matters
- Green Mom Finds
- Her Bad Mother
- Hola Isabel
- I Pretty Much Hate Everything
- Issas Crazy World
- Jennifer Graf Groneberg
- Justice Fergie
- Looky, Daddy!
- Mamalogues
- Meagan Francis
- Miss Britt
- Miss Zoot
- Motherhood Uncensored
- Notes To Self
- Nothing But Bonfires
- Oh My Stinkin' Heck
- Peppers and Pollywogs
- Rookie Moms
- Sarah Wagner Yost
- Suburban Turmoil
- Table4Five
- The Blythe Spirit
- The Fabulous Miss S
- The Naked Ledger
- Three Out of Seven
- To Think Is To Create
- Today's Moms
- Uppercase Woman
- Woulda Coulda Shoulda
- Write. Edit. Repeat.
- Archives
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
Most Popular
1) How To Fly with a Young Child
2) How To Be A Cool Twilight Mom
3) How to Deal with Your Mother-In-Law Talking Smack
4) How to Introduce Music to Your Child
5) How To Take Great Photos Of Your Kids
About this column
Could there really be a guide to everything? And, in 5 simple steps? Nope. But, there are definitely fun and simple ways to live life with your family.
The Alpha Mom Guide to Everything (in 5 simple steps) is a contribution-based column, reflecting the voices of parents and non-parents who love children. We will cover lots of topics in the initial months and will continue to be introducing more. You will find that our guide is easy to understand.
1- it's in 5 easy steps
2- it's subjective, but accurate
3- it's useful
We are looking for submissions, so if you're interested please contact us first at contact@alphamom.com. We already have a dozens in the queue ready to be launched over the next few months and don't want to duplicate efforts.
Disclaimer
This column is only for entertainment purposes. Any recommendations or information provided herein should not be used as a substitute for advice by a trained professional. For a full statement of our site policies, please click here.
Comments (4):
Kristine said:
So very true about #2! When we purchased our 1st home, a few months before our wedding, we were all about buying the model home , new construction, "new side of town". After a year we realized the schools were a mess & the new side of town was quickly turning into the bad side of town. We sold quickly (those were the days) made a nice profit. And bought a smaller older home in the best school district in our area. And happily had our first child a few months later. But I now tell everyone we know think schools 1st!
Posted on March 18, 2009 18:40
Catherine said:
We're looking at buying a house in the next year and perhaps kids in the next 3 years. This is very relevant and excellent advice. Thanks!
Posted on March 20, 2009 12:08
Lindsay said:
Thanks for the comment re renting at the end! I feel like I am being judged every time I tell someone I am renting (it's uncharacteristic of a 25 yr old where I live). Keep the finance posts coming!
______________
Editor: so happy to hear you are enjoying the finance posts. We are now doing them weekly!
Posted on March 22, 2009 14:56
Meredith said:
I totally agree about thinking about kids in the future even if you don't have them now when buying a house. When my DH and I bought ours, I had very strong opinions about "new" developments. I thought they lacked character, were not constructed as well as older homes and were on lots much too small for the size of the home.
I may have been right about those things (but probably not as right as I thought I was), but what I failed to consider was the OCCUPANTS of the homes in the immediate neighborhood. As a result, we live 4 blocks from an elementary school with amazing test scores with virtually no kids on our street. The houses were built in the 70's and most are rented by college kids or owned by the original owners, whose kids have long since left the nest.
I am now envious of my friends in those "new" developments. They have block parties, trade babysitting, neighborhood Easter egg hunts and much more. And, those smaller lots require much less yard work on the weekends!
Posted on March 23, 2009 11:27