What are the Not-so-Obvious Things to Research Before Buying a Home?

[NateW]

Lots of great suggestions already. Yes, streetview the whole neighborhood.

You might find this website useful. It will show you previous occupants at an address, owners or renters. Used it Googling the names on mail that was being delivered to our 2nd home we bought in 2019.

clustrmaps.com

Thanks Doneat54. Added to my list. I gave it a try on my ex

 

[PoorOldCountryBoy]

If the next door neighbor is a beginning bagpipe student who is so bad his wife sends him outside to practice. (True story, fortunately a house rental.)

 

[NateW]

I am a retired home inspector, sounds like you're going to hire one. Are you talking about a brand new house? If so...

1) Neighborhood covenants
2) Plans for building adjacent (if they will be building for a few years yet, you will have dirt all over your house until they are done)
3) Airport path? May be noisy
4) Don't be the most expensive house in the neighborhood
5) Don't pick a house where adjacent lots slope towards yours...this can cause water in your basement or around your foundation and can lead to all sorts of problems.
6) Does the builder use "contractor grade" mechanicals? Do you have the option of spec'ing your own?


If you want tips on some key house construction techniques I'd recommend, I can give those...but would want to know more about price range and what part of the country you are living in.

Thank you Finance Dave; very helpful. New construction is not off the table. If we went that way, we would rent while it's being built. Our current house (built by Ryan) has all contractor grade stuff as far as I can tell. Vinyl siding is one notch above contractor grade (and many below top-notch) at 2/1000 of an inch thicker.

 

[NateW]

The longer these postings get, the better the information.

We moved just over a year ago, and we hope this is our final move. Our house is in a small 20 home subdivision that's probably the nicest housing within 5 miles in any direction. We're in the country about 10 miles out of town surrounded by huge farms.

Behind our house 150 yards is a two lane highway. We had no idea that that road would be so noisy, especially late on Friday and Saturday nights.

It seems as if there's not a Mustang or V-8 powered truck in this end of the county that even has a muffler. And when the weather gets warm, out come the Rice Rocket motorcycles drag racing until 2;00 or 3:00 a.m. many nights.

Around 3:00 a.m., many heavy trucks sound like locomotives on the highway behind our house. They're hauling groceries and other consumer goods into retail stores for the day's sales.

And as many have said, it's good that many can filter out familiar noises.

I just wish we had restaurants, doctors, dentists and more restaurants in this quadrant of the county. We have a Publix as the only grocery. But we do have a great Domino's out our back door. We also wish it wasn't 10 miles to the big box stores including Walmart. We are very thankful for Dollar General stores that are 3 miles apart in every direction.

I can identify with you Bamaman. I'm not sure rural life is what we want. I originally thought so after spending 50 years of my life in the Washington, DC area. I guess the positive thing in our situation is we have a chance to rid ourselves of many of the home and location annoyances, in addition to the big problem that makes life impossible in the house. We live 350 feet from a 4 lane highway with a traffic light. It's a major trucking route and the truckers use their engine brakes all the time to stop at the light. Tomorrow I'm going to see a dermatologist 60 miles away due to our doctor shortage. And health district we are in has made it impossible for DW to get a Coronavirus vaccination (she's in one of the qualifying groups). They have no waiting list, but only online scheduling, which there is nil chance of getting an appointment. Spent hours trying. Then last week I read CVS drugstores are vaccinating and after spending 5 minutes, got DW an appointment and she had her first of 2 vaccinations today (Moderna's).

Man, I hate the thought of moving and at this point don't know where we're moving to and I hope we can move in time to put our house on the market before the fall. It's very unsettling and anxiety provoking, especially on top of the pandemic.

 

[NateW]

Look out for a closed/abandoned quarry nearby. You should be able to see this on google maps. Sometimes these get re-opened and blasting & truck traffic become an issue.

Look at the overall demographics of the area. Have the local gov'ts build lots of elementary schools to support the young families moving to starter homes? If so, these schools may be empty in 5 - 10 years. Will a nice walkable school from your house close, leaving young kids to bus to school? And who will be paying for the empty schools? Not an issue for you, per se, but maybe for resale.

Good point about closed quarries. Any quarry nearby is a deal breaker.

Where we are now, there are not enough schools to support the families moving to the area and the county is building new ones. Because of this, our reasonable real estate taxes went up 26% this year! 8% was the increase in tax rate and the assessed value increased 18%. Glad we are leaving on several levels!

 

[NateW]

Check for water pressure and water quality. Look inside toilet tanks to see what kind of residue the water is leaving over an extended period. Flush the toilets and run bath faucet and sink faucets at same time. Taste several glasses of water from different faucets, preferably on different days.

Thank you RetireeRobert. So noted. That reminds me, I should also pull the water quality report for the public water system (at this point I won't buy a home with well water).

 

[RetireeRobert]

Thank you RetireeRobert. So noted. That reminds me, I should also pull the water quality report for the public water system (at this point I won't buy a home with well water).

You are shy of well water. Perhaps for very good reasons. But we used to live on a municipal water system, and in fact that system drew its water from municipal wells. The water left the insides of our toilet tanks black. And the tap water really did not taste all that good either. It was "hard" water.

We moved about 20 miles south to an acreage and had our own well. When we first tasted the water from our new well, we were so surprised, it tasted so good. "Sweet water". And it tested out as "soft" water and no detectable traces of any of the bad things they look for, easy on the plumbing system, the dishwasher, the sinks, the toilets---and on us!

 

[Finance Dave]

You are shy of well water. Perhaps for very good reasons. But we used to live on a municipal water system, and in fact that system drew its water from municipal wells. The water left the insides of our toilet tanks black. And the tap water really did not taste all that good either. It was "hard" water.

We moved about 20 miles south to an acreage and had our own well. When we first tasted the water from our new well, we were so surprised, it tasted so good. "Sweet water". And it tested out as "soft" water and no detectable traces of any of the bad things they look for, easy on the plumbing system, the dishwasher, the sinks, the toilets---and on us!

I was a home inspector for 7 years. Some people love well water, some don't. We performed water tests on well water. About 30% of them had Ecoli. It's fairly easy to get rid of, but you should always at least have it tested.

 

[NateW]

I have to admit I am not happy with the county water (another undesirable we'll soon be rid of). It comes from a limestone aquifer and is harder than some desert municipal supplies. It's hardness is 320 mg/liter calcium carbonate equivalent. We do have an ion exchange water softener and that makes it useable, but I drink bottled water because of the sodium the softener adds.

As for well water, I view it as a potential big homeowner expense if the well was not drilled correctly or the water is contaminated. I'm trying to eliminate as many unknowns as I can. If I really like some of the properties I see, and if they have well water, I probably will learn all I can about well water systems to know what to look for and to make an informed decision.

 

[USGrant1962]

I've noticed a theme here of suburban considerations (HOA, neighbors) and rural (well water, lots of land to avoid neighbors messing it up), and very little mention of urban.

NateW - are you looking at suburban/subdivision, rural/big lot subdivision, or urban? IMO the considerations can be very different for the three types of locations.

 

[MrsHaloFIRE]

I would say the competitive environment for power, water and cable. In my gated neighborhood in a major city I have exactly 1 option for each. So you can imagine my ability to negotiate.

 

[rk911]

I would say the competitive environment for power, water and cable. In my gated neighborhood in a major city I have exactly 1 option for each. So you can imagine my ability to negotiate.

well, there's always DISH Network or DirecTV.

 

[Buckeye]

Some of ours are:
Don't live downhill from a non-guttered home (lots of water in the crawl space even if you have a French drain.)
Check out the noise map
Check crime map
Sex offender map
Knowing how many rentals are in the area
Maybe walking the neighborhood in the evenings?
Asking people who you see on the walk?

I recommend walking the neighborhood at morning rush hour and evening rush hour (although they might be diminished right now) and during morning school bus pick-ups. Is the school bus pick-up at the end of your driveway so kids (mostly a middle school issue) wander around (and push and fight and run and drop trash) in your driveway and yard for 30 minutes while waiting for the bus? And also during Friday and Saturday night evenings (at a minimum) when the party houses will show up.

 

[2177V]

I actually parked my van near a house that I want to buyon a Friday and slept overnight in my van. This is because the neighborhood is generally quiet during the day when everyone is at work. When people come home, they have parties and you can tell what type of people they are when they do come home. You can also hear dogs barking at night, train noises or airplane noises. Noise is amplified at night so all my houses that I purchased are in a very quiet peaceful neighborhood...which is what I want.

 

[troutnut1]

Airbnb party houses.

I never thought about it until the million dollar home next door (in rural Montana) turned into a party house. Weddings, bachelor parties, you name it. Its 3800 square feet and the rent it to large groups. Ask around and search airbnb.com, vrbo.com, etc. There is huge income to be made. This is growing like wildfire. Our neighbor averages $450 a night and its booked about 50% of the nights. Never thought it would happen here but we are 18 miles from a great ski area with no accommodations, and on a blue ribbon trout river.

Also I would want to talk to the taxing authorities to see if my sale would trigger and new taxes or a reassessment.

And barking dogs...

Good luck!

 

[MRG]

In addition to all the great advice:

There was a rental a quarter mile away, nice older couple lived there until they didn't.While later State police came by asking to observe the drug house from our property; they were there mostly at night.

Same house was thirty miles from Whiteman AFB, no problem once in a while you would see a B2. Then there was an operation where they were bombing from MO, the JATO units at 2AM were a novelty at first[emoji854].

I think I posted about our annual snow geese invasion but it should be expanded to all wildlife, make sure you understand what's around you. My dog has an escort at all times after watching a large mountain lion stroll through the neighbors yard. Bears crap in the yard. DW was attacked by a wild turkey, her fault, don't try to chase unknown baby birds.

 

[Ramen]

Five pages in, I'm starting to wonder whether this checklist is getting so long and detailed that no home on Earth will ever pass the inspection!

How about moving to NYC? Every type of noise, hazard, neighbor, and other potential or existing problem will be right there at your front door 24/7 and there'd be nothing you could do about any of it except bask in the din of a perfectly imperfect living situation!

I'm a perfectionist too and wish the perfect home were out there. It's not. If there is one for the moment, it will change eventually and the perfect will become imperfect or worse. Only a matter of time.

Maybe just find a nice town or city and settle down. Find enough activities to keep you busy so you're not obsessing about every little thing. Health hazards like wood smoke and poison water are worth worrying about, but with the rest, take the bad with the good. This is a hard lesson to learn. I'm still trying every day and failing fairly often.

 

[msanniee]

It seemed inconceivable to me as necessary when I bought my home. but check gun laws for the county if you live in a non incorporated area. Having people shooting guns on their property ant time of the day or night is not pleasant. Add the holes in my roof from bullets..... oh my.

 

[imnontrad]

Sit down and start brainstorming what you want, and do not want in a home.
Some things to consider is the availability of public transportation, appropriate medical care (and ensure they will take new patients on Medicare), a Senior Center or groups with activities you like to do, places you would like to eat plus grocery stores that carry items you want, distance to an airport to travel/visit relatives, if there is a local college where you can attend events or even take classes for little/no fee.
Some long term things could be a house with hallways wide enough to accommodate a walker/wheelchair, a separate "in-law" apartment for an in-home caretaker or relatives visiting, an entry without steps (for you or friends), and whether the home would be easy to manage after one spouse dies.

 

[Boose]

We thought it would be great to age within walking distance of the medical area in our city - but we didn't think about the sirens that need to drive past our street all day and night, nor the mentally ill homeless who are discharged from the ER and remain in the neighborhood.

 

[clubmanstl]

I have to deal with wood-burning smell intrusion, as well: I'm guessing the air intake for my high-eff. HVAC is the source for most of the smoke smell getting in.

 

[NXR7]

Many people moving into Ohio are greatly shocked because Ohio is one of 17 states that allow cities and counties to levy an income tax.

https://www.thebalance.com/cities-that-levy-income-taxes-3193246

But that article does not tell the whole story. It lists Cleveland as 2.5%, which is correct. But if your city has its own income tax they may or may not allow a credit on income taxes paid to other cities.

My city has a 2.0% income tax but only allows a 1% credit. I worked in Cleveland so my combined income tax rate was 3.5% plus the Ohio state income tax plus the federal taxes.

Even better, only registered voters in those communities get to vote on tax increases. When Cleveland increased their income tax the last time, the mayor's ad campaign stressed that 88% of the people who pay the Cleveland income tax do not live in Cleveland so they cannot vote against the proposal.

If you work in multiple communities as, say, a contractor, you need to file an income tax return with every one that has its own income tax for the days you worked in that city.

In Ohio, those local income taxes are only on earned income, meaning W2 income but not investment income.

Ohio also finances the schools through very high property taxes. But some communities have opted to use an income tax instead, some use earned and some use all income.

Ray

 

[NXR7]

It seemed inconceivable to me as necessary when I bought my home. but check gun laws for the county if you live in a non incorporated area. Having people shooting guns on their property ant time of the day or night is not pleasant. Add the holes in my roof from bullets..... oh my.

Yup. I live in an incorporated area where that is prohibited. But on the west, south, and east are townships that do allow gun shooting. And they do and there is nothing anyone can do about the noise.

Ray

 

[clubmanstl]

These aren't not-so-obvious, but important - especially for pre-'80s homes:

1) Grounded/3-prong wiring. A lot of homes have 3-wire covers placed on 2-wire outlets, so buying a tester can save you future headaches - many houses have daunting hurdles to re-wiring them.

2) Look for the possibility of aluminum wiring. Some insurers won't touch homes with it - even if it has been "pig-tailed" by a pro electrician.

3) If buying in an area without basements, a camera inspection of the sewer line is critical. The work to repair a line - when there's no basement floor to dig up - can be a huge hassle.

Happy hunting!

 

[blueskyk]

Airbnb party houses.

I never thought about it until the million dollar home next door (in rural Montana) turned into a party house. Weddings, bachelor parties, you name it. Its 3800 square feet and the rent it to large groups. Ask around and search airbnb.com, vrbo.com, etc. There is huge income to be made. This is growing like wildfire. Our neighbor averages $450 a night and its booked about 50% of the nights. Never thought it would happen here but we are 18 miles from a great ski area with no accommodations, and on a blue ribbon trout river.

+1
This turned out to be an issue for us. We had never lived in a “resort” area popular for vacations and didn’t realize how noisy and crowded it can be on weekends. It’s supposed to be regulated by the city but managing complaints about short term rentals has become a overwhelming issue for them. While landlords may be on the winning end of that financially (as they advertise “PARTY HOUSE”), it reduces the quality of life for residents when its high volume.

I wish we had realized how much noise all manner of motorized desert fun (OHV, motocross bikes, ATVs, etc) make as they roar by your house, always at full throttle on their way out to the dunes. So, keep that in mind for any area advertised as an “outdoor playground”.

Otherwise we really like where we are. I can paddle board at dawn at two places within a 10 minute drive and hike with my dogs on at least 30 trails with spectacular scenery all within an hours drive. Theres also over 100 miles of bike paths in the area.

So, it’s always a balance to get what you want and abide the rest. We are currently researching some sound reducing windows...

ETA: we turned out to be in a great place to ride out the pandemic and continued to enjoy outdoor activities all year. If we move in the future, we will review how the area fared in the pandemic. This brings together a lot of factors; area population density, local and state strategy and response, how a community did or didn’t come together to support each other, etc.