So, after looking at over 50 houses (and with a real estate agent that got so frustrated with us he went back to drinking after years on the wagon), I found my current house. The actual construction date no one really knows, its estimated in the 30s, sometime. I had a home inspection and all he could really say is “are you sure you want this house?” I fell in love with the grounds and missed a few things.

Like the bathroom ceiling coming down in chunks (it had actual mushrooms growing out of the cracks) a gas fireplace that leaked gas so badly we couldnt use it. The roof along one wall that became a water feature when it rained. The air conditioning that only refrigerates the bedroom, the one room we are never in during the day.

The lack of insulation, the broken screens, the scary wiring (I should have noticed the sparking that came from the bedroom lighting), the 1953 stove that sometimes works, termites beyond belief (our termite company quit saying they had done all they could do).

I also missed that the washing machine was hooked up outside the kitchen and the dryer downstairs in the carport. Yep, no garage (we have enclosed it since). The “second bedroom” which is really no more than an enclosed porch, actually has half inch to one inch gaps all along the ceiling to the roofline and in the winter when the wind is blowing it looks like a hollywood horror moview with all the curtains blowing out a foot.

With that said, I got the house at a killer price, in 7 years I will own it, and I love the location so much I cant imagine ever moving. So the adventure continues. But sometimes, when the wiring is sparking, the wind is whipping through the house, the gas leak smell is stronger and termite dust is raining on our heads, I think maybe I could have done better..

First, I fell in love with a house and didn’t look at enough comps. A lot of nice cosmetic work had been done on our house, but the bones of the house needed (and still need) a lot of work. $7K House roof, $3K garage roof, siding, $500 breaker box, $500 water heater, plaster work, old copper plumbing problems leading to water damage, etc, etc, etc…money pit! (Our very good home inspector told me all of this, but I was in love with 100 year old woodwork and a newly remodeled bathroom).

Second, we didn’t work with a good realtor. We looked for houses on our own.

Third, I didn’t shop around enough for a good mortgage rate. I got a good fixed rate program with no PMI and a lot of discounts on closing costs, but I still wonder if a better rate was out there.

Fourth, I disregarded my husband’s bad feeling about the rental property next door. We’ve had a LOT of bad neighbors of the screaming variety. (Why do some people just feel they have to crank up the volume of their voices to 11 all the time?)

So hindsight is 20/20. Next time I will save more, shop longer, and try not to get emotionally attached to any one property.

1. By setting up an automatic payment arrangement on your mortgage, you can often get a .25% rate reduction. On a $100,000 mortgage, that’s $250 a year.

2. Getting a 15 year term instead of 30 will usually get you a .5% – .75% lower rate. The payments will be higher, but not as much as you might think. Again, for a $100,000 loan, a 30 year mortgage at 6.75% will have payments of $648.60 for 30 years, compared to a 15-year mortgage at 6%, which will be $843.86 payments for only 15 years. That’s less than $200 a month for 15 years of debt freedom.

3. If the home you are buying is well-maintained, try to get the sellers to walk you through their maintenance schedule and any special tips they might have, so that you can kep it that way. Sellers who have taken pride in their home will usually be happy to share their knowledge with you so that you can enjoy it as they have. Ask also if they will share with you the names and numbers of the tradespeople they have used and been happy with(plumbers, electricians, pest control, yard service, tree trimmers, etc.)

4. Meet the neighbors BEFORE you buy. Just knock on the door, introduce yourself as someone interested in the house next door, and ask how long they’ve lived in the neighborhood and if they would mind telling you a little about it – traffic, crime, what the public services are like (police, fire, garbage collection, local planning office), neighborhood activities, good places nearby to shop, for the kids to play, etc. The info will be helpful, but it will also give you a chance to size up who you might be living next to for the next few years. If there are fences, you might ask who put them up and how they are maintained. You can ask whether they are aware of any problems with the house you’re interested in, but realize they might be either loyal to or hostile to their next door neighbor, so take everything with a grain of salt. Ask who THEY use as a plumber, electrician, etc. Ask if they know whether anybody else in the neighborhood is considering selling soon. If you do move into the neighborhood, send them a “hostess” type gift with a thank you card for sharing their knowledge. Good neighbors can make up for a lot of house problems, and a great house means nothing if your neighbors are nasty.

5. Make sure you understand ALL of the services you will need to pay for and how much they cost. Utilities can give you historical usage for the property and applicable rates. Pest control is one that is very important in some areas prone to termites and less so in others. Some areas have homeowners association dues. In some areas, garbage collection includes extra charges for recycling or yard waste collection. Some areas get virtually no TV reception without cable or satellite. If you are on a long-term cell phone contract, check your provider’s coverage in the area. Are there special assessments being paid? Who is responsible for maintaining drainage culverts, trimming trees near power lines or roads, re-graveling unpaved roads and shared driveways? Are there unspoken rules about landscaping that interferes with views?

6. If there’s been obvious recent work done on the house, check the building department to see what permits have been issued.

7. Check the physical markers of your lot boundaries and ask the inspector to help identify anything that might be encroaching onto the property from a neighbor’s property, or vice versa, or might be encroaching into legal set-backs or side yard limits. One friend of mine found out that the northern two feet of the newly built garage had been been built within the sideyard area, and would have to be removed.

8. When you’re moving in, thoroughly vacuum or clean out all vents (especially dryer and heat vents), duct-work, heater grates, etc.

9. Make sure you are aware of any covenants, restrictions, ordinances or circumstances that will limit how you can use your property. Want to keep a few chickens? Might not be legal. Want to replace your roof with asphalt shingles instead of cedar shakes? Might be against the homeowner association rules. Want to cut down the tree blocking your view or run a side-business or meet with clients at home? Might not be allowed. Want to put in a garden shed, a flagpole, a playhouse for the kids, an above-ground pool, a swing set, a clothesline, exterior lighting, a rockery, a vegetable garden, a deck, a fence? There may be restrictions on all these things and more. Are there noise ordinances? Youth curfews? Weekly three hour concerts at the park across the street? Frequent long detours due to flooding? Frequent power outages due to power lines along heavily treed roads where branches fall during wind or snow storms? Brilliant lights glaring into your yard and windows from Friday night football games at the high school a block away? Even if none of these things are deal-breakers, you will be happier knowing about them ahead of time than finding out afterwards.

10. I know this is controversial, but question the need for a mortgage broker. For people who actually can afford the house they want to buy, i.e., have reasonable credit scores, an adequate down payment, and can afford the payments, dealing directly with banks and credit unions almost always results in a better rate and lower closing costs, which makes sense, because brokers have to earn their living somehow and whether you pay them directly or they are paid by the lender, the cost is going to come back to you somehow.

Also, never count on others returning the favor when you help them move. It sounds good in theory but people tend to be so unreliable these days. I once shared Trent’s theory and practiced it and NEVER because I expected something in return. I like helping people and figured that if I help others, help will be there when I need it, even if it isn’t from the person I helped. The thing is that I don’t have family or reliable friends in this area. Nope, it doesn’t make a difference. I’ve helped ‘friends’ move who stood me up when it came my turn. They didn’t even have the decency to let me know so I could make other arrangements. What did I do? Help them on their next move anyway.

I don’t regret the decision to buy the house one bit, but there are a few things I wish we would’ve noticed… The fresh paint and other new things were detracting from some other problems… The downstairs walls are made of plaster and were cracking (conveniently covered up with pictures and mirrors) The sump pump was draining into the crawl space, the floors are uneven in some spots, some light switches don’t work. Basically, someone had bought a house in terrible condition, fixed it up as cheaply as possible and flipped it. So almost everything that was so new and we thought were bonuses will actually need to be replaced in a few years… It appeared to be so much nicer than the other houses we had looked at that we really thought it was perfect. Perhaps we were too eager to buy… Of course our home inspector did a terrible job, and has actually been sued numerous times since doing our inspection. So this house is going to end up costing us more in repairs than we originally intended, but we still like it.

Another thing, we have an EXTREMELY nosey, rude neighbor. She is a single woman in her mid-50s who has a drinking problem. She likes to stir up trouble. If I would’ve known she was going to be so terrible of a neighbor, I would’ve kept looking…

Water loses heat quickly when sitting idle in copper pipe, long runs of copper pipe means 1/4 gallon or more of cold water before must be replaced with hot water before it reaches the tap. That heated water is wasted energy if it gets cold before hot water is called for again. If hot water is used often, that long run of pipe is less important. Actual energy savings correlates to how compactly all your plumbing fixtures are arranged in respect to the water heater AND how often you use hot water. A home with efficient plumbing layout and low hot water usage will save money, less so with widely spaced fixtures or high hot water consumption.

Electric water heaters take considerably longer to heat water than gas heaters. Thus, colder incoming water does not reach appropriate temperatures unless flow is decreased or larger units are acquired to compensate for the required temperature increase. Most homes in colder climates would need to upgrade their electric panel for the whole house electric units.

For now, at least, I’m pretty sure I would want to stay in the West (Colorado, maybe Montana or Oregon). Unfortunately, all three of these states have attracted a ridiculous amount of people in recent years, so housing prices SKYROCKETED. No low prices for lovely Southern homes. :(

That being said, I would be willing to wait a few extra years to make sure I could afford a nice place. :)

On an unrelated note, something that might be of interest to people looking for either a home to buy or a place to rent is WalkScore.com.

When I was in Oregon over the summer with my boyfriend, we stayed in an apartment that was in a GREAT location. We were literally walking distance from the river, the park, the town’s central shopping district, and his job. We only drove anywhere if we were getting a large amount of groceries, or if I was going to the gym.

It made me realize just how nice it is to live in close proximity to the “important” things — whatever those are for you.

If you’re a little bit handy, check your water heater ANODE rod as well. It will GREATLY extend the life of your water heater.