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County
And City Questions
Would you characterize your present area as urban,
suburban, semi-rural, or rural? Is the population density
low, medium, or high? Is the population decreasing, stable,
or increasing?
What natural features are the most significant? Woods?
Hills? Flat land? River? Ocean shore? Man-made lakes? Streams
and ponds?
How do you commute to work? Do you walk? Drive? Car
pool? Taxi? Bus? Train? How far must you travel and how
long does it take morning and evening? Do you use available
public transportation for local trips or to visit close-by
communities? Can someone reach your home on public transportation?
Where do you do your shopping? Central commercial
districts? Shopping malls? Supermarket shopping clusters?
Community shops or home delivery? Imagine a list of
typical stops in one week . . . how many miles and how much
time would visiting the entire list require. Do you want
greater convenience?
What types of schools does your family attend now?
From grade school to graduate school, and from day care
needs to special vocational training, what facilities will
you require in the next few years? Are there any special
needs or plans? Although it’s extremely difficult to
compare quality of education, especially when the most important
ingredient is the relationship between teacher and student,
some statistical indicators can be helpful. Average class
size at grade level. Comparative standardized text scores.
Average salary of teachers. Percentage of high school graduates
who go to college.
What does the area offer for recreation and entertainment?
Music? Movies and live stage? Sports arenas? Museums? Nightlife?
What types of indoor and outdoor sports facilities are available?
Are there public parks, country clubs, athletic clubs, fraternal
groups? Do you require any special facilities?
Choosing
A Neighborhood
After you take stock of the larger view of the county and
city, this section helps you zero in on your neighborhood
preferences. In real estate, an old maxim says there are
three criteria that determine market value: “location,
location, and location”.
The concept of neighborhood isn’t as precise as county
or city. Some people consider the boundaries to be the district
around a grade school. Others consider it “walking
distance”, more or less within a half-mile radius.
Wherever you draw the line, a neighborhood is the immediate
area around your house.
People,
Services
Every neighborhood can be described from three standpoints:
its people (your future neighbors), what it looks like,
and where its services are located. Yet any neighborhood
description is highly subjective, which brings up another
observation from our experience.
No matter how much hard data one gathers about a neighborhood,
nothing compares with information that local people provide.
Whether it’s fellow workers, letter carriers, or people
at a bus stop . . . neighbors are the best observers of
a neighborhood. Talk to as many people as you can, and ask
them the following questions:
Neighborhood
Questions
Do neighbors socialize regularly, or hold block parties,
picnics, holiday parties, organize sports teams? What are
the ways they have met their neighbors? Walking a dog, commuting,
PTA, parties, little league, gardening?
What types of dwellings: high-rise or low-rise apartments,
condominiums, multi-family structures, single-family houses,
mobile homes? How much do the neighbors care for lawns and
gardens? Are the houses maintained “like new”,
adequately, poorly? Is there a Homeowners Association?
Are cars parked mostly in garages, driveways, in
the street? How old are the houses? More than 30 years old?
15 to 30 years? New? How far apart are the houses? Are property
upgrades common? Swimming pools, tennis courts, fences,
walls, patios, extensive landscaping?
For convenience, how does the neighborhood rate?
Can you walk to shopping or is a car necessary? List your
five most frequent destinations. Are they clustered in one
stop-and-shop location? Two stops? How much time is required
for fire, police, or ambulance services to arrive in an
emergency? How close are cultural centers, parks, restaurants,
theaters, playgrounds?
How do the children routinely reach their schools,
play areas, friends’ homes? By walking, bicycle, bus,
or do parents drive them? Is public transportation available
for commuting or shopping? Do any local ordinances affect
pets, parking, lawn, etc.?
What are the disadvantages of the neighborhood? Freeway,
railroad, or airplane noise? Factory poll ution, heavy traffic,
exposure to heavy storms, possible flooding?
Area
House Styles
The metropolitan area is known for its variety of housing.
This section is designed to introduce some of the basic
styles most frequently found in the area. Numerous variations
and other unique styles not mentioned here are also available.
Cape Cod. A symmetrical peaked roof often with dormer
windows which creates a one-and-a-half story design with
living space upstairs in an “expansion attic”.
Colonial. A two-story design with center hall or
side entry, often with basement. Variations often feature
double or single wings with garage. Numerous styles include
New England, Federal, Plantation, Dutch Colonial, Georgian,
French Colonial.
Contemporary. Modern and non-traditional creation
of living spaces using a spectrum of shapes, materials,
and designs. An “open” use of space is characteristic.
May be single or multiple stories.
Hi-Rise Condominium. Multi-story building with elevator
access to owned apartments; monthly fee usually pays for
use of recreation facilities, maintenance and utilities.
Low-Rise Condominium. A cluster of attached units,
four stories or less ranging from converted garden apartments
to ramblers and two-story townhouses. Resident owns title
to living space while jointly owning public areas; condominium
fee often covers maintenance, amenities, sometimes water;
other utilities may be individually billed.
Rambler. A single-story house with all living areas
on same level. Variations include L-shape or U-shape plan,
perhaps with basement. Sometime called “ranch”;
if it is small, a “bungalow” or “cottage”.
Split Foyer. Entry is between floors. Makes use of
slope by placing basement partially above ground level on
uphill side, thus basement becomes livable space. Also called
“split entry”.
Split Level. Side wing has two levels off main ground
floor; designed for maximum living space while occupying
the least land. Garage and sub-basement are frequent options.
Townhouse. A row of two-or-three-story dwellings
sharing common walls, also called “row houses”.
Wide range of styles from contemporary to colonial. The
term “semi-detached” describes a pair of townhouse
end units; similar in function to a duplex.
Choosing
A House
We’ve saved the best for last. In many ways, home finding
is easier than choosing a county and a neighborhood, because
you are considering tangible details. Yet our experience
suggests that many people “decide” with emotion
and “justify” with facts. This section will help
you find a better balance.
First, one should realize that thousands of houses are sold
in the area every year. Inspecting the thousands of houses
on the market is obviously impossible. But you can turn
this overwhelming selection to your advantage. If you can
clearly describe the features you require, your Long &
Foster Sales Associate can make a preliminary screening
for you. After you select the best houses, you can concentrate
on inspecting your top choices. The key is knowing what
you need.
House
Questions
How many people will be living in the house? Do you
prefer a new or resale home? What is your preferred housing
style? Townhouse, colonial, contemporary, split level, split
foyer, Cape Cod, rambler, or something else?
How many total rooms do you need? Bedrooms, bathrooms?
How strongly do you require features such as: separate living
room, dining room, laundry room, basement or attic, family
room, fireplace, workshop area, garage? How much property
do you require? Do you have preferences for any particular
natural features?
House
Hunting
Many of our customers find it helpful to keep a record of
the houses they inspect. A notebook is handy with pages
large enough to record vital information, as well as hold
stapled pictures of attractive houses and neighborhoods
or clipped advertisements.
Financial
Details
Is the asking price comparable to other houses in
the neighborhood? Higher or lower? However, when carefully
comparing properties, be sure to take into account unique
features and improvements that vary house-to-house, and
consult your Long & Foster Sales Associate, Richard
Gordon who can provide a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA).
Is the existing mortgage assumable? Required down
payment amount? What financing method is acceptable to the
seller?
What are the annual property taxes? Will the taxes
increase with the transfer of deed and a new market price?
Any local bonds or assessments?
Physical
Details
Outside. Address of property? House style? Lot size?
Landscaping details? Degree of grounds maintenance required?
Age of house? Structural condition? Are any major repairs
or improvements necessary? Maintenance of building?
Inside. Make a sketch of floor plans. Total number
of rooms and baths on each floor? Any extras such as intercom,
fireplaces, phone jacks? Built-in appliances: dishwasher,
garbage disposal, trash compactor? Adequate storage space?
Construction. Inspect quality of materials, present
condition, craftsmanship both inside and outside. Insulation?
Weather stripping or storm windows?
Major systems. Plumbing, electrical, heating and cooling.
What type of fuel does the heating system use? Approximate
annual cost? A professional inspection of the major systems
is recommended for a house that you are interested in purchasing.
House
Hunting on the Web
At any moment a complete description of homes you would
like to visit is available through Long & Foster’s
Web site, www.longandfoster.com. Here’s how it works.
When a house is listed for sale by any area broker, the
home’s vital statistics are fed into the computer:
the lot size; the age and kind of home (condo, townhouse,
single family); style (colonial, contemporary, Cape Cod,
etc.): material (brick, stone, wood); the number, size,
and use of rooms (4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, kitchen, living
and dining rooms, family room, finished basement and attic,
foyer, utility room, garage).
Also included are features (fireplace, walkout deck, patio,
wooded lot); equipment (stove, dishwasher, carpeting, etc.);
the heating and/or cooling systems; the water and sewage
systems; the annual taxes; the mortgage balance, monthly
payments and the amount of cash a buyer would need to assume
the existing mortgage (if it’s assumable), or the amount
of cash required if the seller offers to take a second mortgage;
and, finally, the price.
Finger-Tip Home Search
A buyer’s requirements can be fed into the computer
by Long & Foster Sales Associate, Richard Gordon: particular
neighborhoods, styles of homes; the number and kinds of
rooms, and the price range. In minutes, the computer makes
a quick search among the houses listed, and prints out all
the houses that meet the buyer’s criteria.
The computer also helps buyers determine which home sellers
will offer seller financing. It can calculate the amount
of mortgage payments at various interest rates, under various
financing plans. It can also help evaluate the investment
and the financing that is right for the buyer. Plus, it’s
updated each morning, as hundreds of houses enter and leave
the market. In short, it’s the only way a buyer can
check out almost everything that’s “out there”.
(In any area without a computer, this market search is done
personally using listing books.)
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