The real estate market, we hear, is starting to recover. If you’re one of the fortune people looking for a house, and not trying to sell one, you have many choices. Maybe too many.
The more you look, the harder it is to decide. Gee, we like the kitchen in this house, the yard in that one, the bathrooms in a third, the living room in yet another. Oh, and the view here is fabulous! Many are Priced to Sell!!!!!
And so forth.
If you could mix and match rooms and amenities, you’d have the perfect house, but the perfect house may not exist. And what you think you want may not be what you actually need. So how do you find the near perfect house?
When we were facing the same decision a few years ago, the indecision was driving us crazy, so I invented The Grid, which is a way to rank houses.
Here’s how it works: In a vertical column, list all the rooms of the house, along with the yard, neighborhood, distance from work and school, storage space, special features like hot tub or mother-in-law quarters and intangibles such as ambience.
Don’t forget to consider energy efficiency. That beautiful living room with all the glass and high ceilings may cost a fortune to heat.
In a horizontal column, list your top house contenders. Then give yourselves a vote of 1 to 5. You love the kitchen? Give it a 5. Your spouse hates it? He or she gives it a 1. Write those numbers down in the corresponding square and keep them separate, so you know who voted which way.
Continue the vertical column with a list of the things you do in a house. Write down everything: Reading, television watching, Internet surfing, cooking, entertaining, hobbies, gardening, home office. Rate the house according to how you use it. And how you’ve always wanted to use a house. Does the house have space for the entertaining you enjoy? A place for the library or crafts corner you always wanted? Room for your collectibles? Big enough garage for your shop tools? A den that accommodates your Game Day celebration?
This is probably the most educational part of the exercise because you have to stop and think about what, exactly, you do and how you use a house – or how a house may keep you from doing things you enjoy. And you have to focus on what’s important.
A third segment of The Grid is where you crunch numbers. Write down the dimensions of the house, the lot and each room so you can compare sizes. The bedrooms that looked so small in the first house you looked at may actually be nearly the same size as those of other houses. Include in this list the price and estimated payments. Now that lenders have come back down to earth, you and they must show you can afford it. Also write down the cost of needed repairs and improvements. Will the house just need a little paint, or is the electrical system not up to code?
Finally, is the house a deal? A steal? Which house delivers the most for your money?
Now go through and rate everything and total the numbers, keeping your scores separate at first. Then combine all the scores. They will show your differences in opinion, but at the end, one house should end up as the high scorer. Don’t be surprised if it’s not the house you were leaning toward at first blush.
Too many home-buying decisions are made on the basis of charm, first impressions or wishful thinking. The Grid will help you figure out what will work for you in the long run.
© New Mexico News Services 2009