House hunting: any tips for a first time buyer?

I don't think that I would feel comfortable with the bedroom arrangements either. If you are hesitant I would definitely keep on looking, there will be a house that you will fall in love with. This is a very big purchase and you want to be happy with your decision. When you do find the house of dreams make sure you have a building inspector check the place out, there might be lots of hidden problems with it that you can't see.

Before you buy, you want to get lots of things checked.....plumbing, ventilation, wiring, insulation, structure, and so on. The last thing you want is to spend a lot of time and money securing a house which turns out to have little or no foundation.

Well we def. wanted a 4 bedroom because i grew up in a 3 bedroom, and if u have more than 2 kids it's a pain dealing with 3 rooms. I did not want a 2 story, i hate stairs. the layout and yard size were very important factors. the yard had to be big enough for my kids to run and play. it's exciting looking for ur first home, but make sure u don't jump to the first one, right now is a buyers market, take ur time until u know u've found the perfect home and don't feel hesitant about it. I wouldn't have a house where my kids r on another level, that's scary. i loved all the houses i came across, until i found the one with everything i wanted. nothing bad about it, 11,000 sq. ft lot, 1900 sq. ft 4 bed 1 story. i love my house and i wouldn't trade it for anything else. well maybe a million dollars.

I see others have addressed the material issues, plumbing, roof, etc... All to often those things are what are stressed when seeking a home to purchase, and while they are extremely important issues, there are other less visible ones as well. Houses have a 'personality', at least houses that have been lived in do. They in a way contain echos of those who have lived there, echos you can hear or feel when you first step through the door. If it isn't comfortable, don't go seeking 'reasonable' excuses not to buy, simply accept that comfortable or not comfortable is enough of a reason to buy or not to buy. Try talking with the people who live in the neighborhood, after all, if you buy they will become your neighbors. In this way you can get a feel for the neighborhood, whether or not you could feel comfortable letting your children move about with less than strict supervision. Sometimes the layout of the rooms is less than optimal, depending on your flexibility this can be a valid reason to forego a purchase. There are a great many houses available on the market today, prices are lower than they have been for a few years. Take your time, look at lots of houses, keep in mind the ones you liked best and compare them, measure the pros and cons of each against the other. Decide what you can compromise on and what you can't before you look. One last thought, have the house checked by a house, or building inspector. Dry rot among other things often isn't noticed until it is too late to have it either contracted for repair prior to or as part of the purchase package.

The best tip I can give you is make sure you do an home inspection. We learned the hard way on that one. Also rememer that this is a long term decision so make sure you are going to be able to live with that decision for at least the next 5 years. So if you are hesitant then continue to look that may not be the house for you.

yes,i have tips.make sure you look at the inside of the house and the outside,under the house.every inch of the place.and also meet the people around there.

I would be uncomfortable with the bedroom arrangements too. If you decide on getting the house you can always have your bedroom upstairs until your daughter is older. Also check on some real estate auctions, you can sometimes get a house for a great price. You still do have to check out the house good, wiring, plumbing stuff like that. Good luck.

Wow cool post. I don't have any tips since I'm in the same situation as you. My gf and I are going to buy our first house very soon. I'll keep and out on this thread, maybe someone give some good tips. :-)

I am so interested in this as well. Please keep the tips coming in. Thank you.

have a look around for plenty before and shortlist until you come up with the best one. There are some few things to consider: 1. Layout - Accessibility; i.e. Dining must be close to the kitchen, after the main door, make sure there are places for small stuffs like shoes, coats, etc. like a short hallway. Go for big windows so you get more lights inside the house during daytime. 2. Accessibility to amenities: i.e. how far is it from supermarkets , clubs, restaurants, swimming pool,kiddie park. The most important thing is how far is it from your hubby's work. Make sure you and the kids are still awake when he comes home at night and that he doesnt have to go early in the morning. I learned this from a colleague of hubby who made a terrible mistake. The took an apartment which they liked before but it takes 1 hour traffic jam during peak hours and now they want to move near our place where the office is just 10 minutes drive. 3. Visit your shortlisted sites during different time of the day or even at night to check how peaceful or noisy is it during night time to make sure u get good sleep. 4. Kitchen! You must like the kitchen so you like to cook! :-) 5. while looking around, you imagine where to put your washing machine and dryer so you won't end up having them in the kitchen. he he... check for a small spare room where it has access to water and drain. 6. View - what kind of view you get in the living room or in the rooms sometimes would matter. It is always nice to have a nice view from the window so to give you peace of mind and a sense of "space" so that you feel comfort of space after having a hectic and chaotic busy streets during the days at work. Well... I hope I have shed some light.. I've learned all these from my previous experiences after moving a lot and settling ourselves in. Enjoy hunting! This is really critical coz its the place you wanna spend ages! Ooops.. you also might consider feng sui beliefs... read about it. :-) he he Sometimes it works!

Lots of houses in the Netherland that you can just find fr the internet, before moving here, we checked lots of them fr the internet and save the ones we like, then we asked my husbands sister to check for it. I was also hesitant when buying a house here(super expensive here),but renting is not practical, also see to it, when it comes to the kids room, i want it at least beside or across our room. But at least, houses here are built in uniform, like 2nd floor are just for bedrooms, so the 3rd floor is where we are washing and putting our extra load of stuff when we moved here, the 1st is where we have the living, dining and the kitchen. Also, building a house here are also very strick, like everyone must have a backyard, and extra space in front yard. Actually now, we are planning to move also, as my husband is not contented with the 3 bedroom house. It seems like we get used to a very big house and big bedrooms with each own bathroom before moving here.Houses is are not that big...but if you want one, My goodness, you will go crazy with the price!But i never expect that the stairs of the houses here are not straight like i used to, it turns incircle around going up...And the front of the house is where the kitchen is located, compared to which i used that it is supposed to be the living room.

My advise is if you find a house you are interested in go buy it at various times during the day to see how the neighborhood looks and sounds during different times. This may sound odd, but we bought a house we fell in love with almost a year ago and while we checked it out a couple of times before committing to it, we didn't really hang out and check out the neighborhood and how the neighborhood was during various times of the day. Granted, we bought in a very small town, but it turns out a VERY LOUD siren goes off at noon and 6pm for the farmers and we had NO idea. Next time, if I bought in a small town again, I would also check with the city office to find out little details like this. No one warned us that the siren would go off for three minutes at any given time during an emergency to call the volunteen fire department. We discovered that little tidbit about a week after we moved in and it went off at 4am. I shot out of bed and told my hubby "there had better be a tornado!".

i think u get used to any house i mean the design , u get used to it and can make some changes according to how u set the house. maybe u coudl find a way of keeping an eye on your kid as she grows, find some place where u can sit with her for a long part of the day. make a part of your life in an area upstairs, like a corner where u keep your clothes, kitchen stuff etc. somethign that makes u go upstairs often so u use the house adn feel like ti is one unit