awaken
Well-known member
I would also get an electrician, and do not accept referrals for any of these services from your realtor.
I know this may seem odd, but relative elevation matters. Our house is located on the lower half of a hilly area, and we have a stormwater problem. Our yard stays drenched three days after it stops raining. Shadows and ponding are a nuisance you don't appreciate until you have it.
I was going to say this. Pay attention to how the elements affect your house. I prefer houses on a hill for aesthetics, privacy (houses downhill can let folks in street look into bedroom), and drainage. Think of the other elements, too: sun, wind, light/shade, bodies of water (creeks, streams, lakes, wells/springs), zombie apocalypse*, etc. Consider leaves, moss, pollen, mosquitoes, etc from these. For water/drainage, make sure the yard is landscaped to send water away from the house. For sun, where does it rise and set relative to the house and its rooms? Do you want morning sun in your bedroom? If you are a morning person, then probably yes. If you like sleeping in, perhaps no.
Newer houses are better insulated and cheaper to maintain. I had an older house with single pane windows once, and it killed me in heating bills. Replacing windows is $$$, so the break-even is usually pretty long. Better to look out for it in the beginning.
Check to see if there is any rental property nearby, especially Section 8. I had a house two doors down in an otherwise nice entry level neighborhood rented out Section 8 (I guess they wanted the guaranteed check from the government), and a 16 yo son living there shot someone in the head over $200 and dumped the body in the river running behind the development. That family eventually moved as he went through the court system; and while it is a tragedy that someone died, you could literally hear the value of your home going down. The next family in there were Rastafarian "painters" who probably dealt weed out of the house. They smoked openly on their porch, and had many, "5 minute visitors." I know its #anecdotes, but this experience had an impact on our lives.
*You'll need an uphill house to set up your array of treadmills around your house to keep the zombies out. They need to fall away from your house.