When I purchased my first home when I was 24 years old, I was greener than green and beyond wet behind the ears (probably because I spent four years in the Navy floating out on the water :-)). I had absolutely no idea what I wanted or needed. I had no ideal what really was important to consider when purchasing a home. I was buying in a very strong sellers market in the Washington, D.C. marketplace and knew (from my agent telling me) if I didn't act fast, I probably would not be able to afford a home in the near future, which turned out to be accurate.
That said, after looking at several homes, I found one on my own and thought: "Hey, this one looks okay, I think I'll buy this one."
Now how sophisticated was that? When I look back (with fond memories) of participating in the American Dream, I realized several things after one year of living in the home:
- It was a townhome and I could hear my noisy next door neighbor snore (amongst other noises). Our bedrooms were adjoining except for the dividing wall and I could hear his alarm clock go off in the morning if all were quiet. He didn't believe me until I told him the time it went off.
- My girlfriend at the time (who lived in an apartment and couldn't have one) talked me into getting a Labrador Retriever now that I was a homeowner, and a 12x22 foot backyard for an 80 pound maniac, swimming, retriever machine wasn't that most conducive environment.
P.S. The book: How to be yor dog's best by the Monks of New Skete NY became my new best friend and saved my sanity in training a field/American Lab with energy that would have made The Terminator tired. - I didn't have a garage or carport, we had assigned parking in front. So bringing in groceries or getting to and from the car in inclement weather, scraping snow off it (rare for DC), and visitors parking in your assigned spot and you had no idea how to find them as there were 40 townhomes within eyesight.
- Noise. Car doors (40+ nearby townhomes) slamming, activity, etc., all the time in a large townhome development made for a lack of serenity.
- Shared backyard with the next door neighbor, no dividing fence. The next door neighbor was a renter, and this renter was not very informed about townhomes and proceeded to scarf all of the firewood in my backyard as they thought it was theirs.
- Lack of Privacy. While I was young and liked to socialize (I still do), it did become a pain in the rear when there were a few people you wanted to avoid, but could not due to the proximity, and a 2 minute conversation turned into 15 at the end of the day when other things needed attention.
- There were many pluses as well: 2 minute grass cutting, little exterior maintenance, etc.
The point being is that sometimes buyers can really fall in love with the décor or design of the interior of a home, and miss the bigger picture for what their needs versus wants really are. Depending on the stage of life, sometimes these needs and wants can morph very quickly, or not. There are so many practical things to consider, that it pays to slow down, reflect, and prioritize and then use this list to compare against properties. This is just one of many tools to consider.
What do you really need, versus what do you want?
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