Which is the RIGHT house V

I'm taking a little detour from the details to address the resort property/second home situation. With a non-primary residence you have different considerations. In a second home, hopefully in some ultra cool place, you're probably going to have a different array of lifestyle components--let's hope! Obviously the house should accommodate them. A cute beach bungalow may seem enticing, but remember the surfboards, kayaks, boogie boards, bicycles, jet skis, etc etc.. You can haul them all over to the beach place every time you visit, but with enough storage, they'd just be there waiting.

How many friends are going to help you enjoy your new place? You'll have more friends than you imagined. That may be fine or you may opt for a smaller bungalow and hand out vacation rental brochures to all but a few.

In coastal areas, prevailing winds are important, as well as sun path over the year, fog pattern, beach access (how far and how steep) and what works for local landscaping. The total money spent on plants that will not grow in cool, windy, salt sprayed areas could buy a nice oceanfront house. Look around at the yards of the locals--find a nice one--ask the owner who did the landscaping. You may decide the smallish lots are plenty big enough.

One of the ways to make the thrill of owning a second home sustain over the years is to pursue new activities during your use of the home with in the spirit of adventure and enthusiasm. Experiences trump objects in adding to a positive sense of well being (more on that later--yeah, I'm reading psych stuff again). The challenge is the find a RIGHT house that lends itself to some flexibility in lifestyle and as an activity base. In other words, maybe a house that seems to fit like a glove because it reminds you of the cottage you moved into when you first got married isn't the ideal choice.

The fun thing I've noticed over the years is that people buy and are quite happy with second homes that are quite diverse architecturally and in terms of interior design---let's say they can be rather exuberant! Not something that would even get consideration as a main residence, but among second home there is an opportunity for exploration.

Some people buy a second home and plan to move into it full time later on--that takes us back to the more conventional criteria--although in a rising market (remember those???) it's not uncommon to sell the vacation home for a profit and buy a different home for full time use. I think those folks find out that what was RIGHT for a second home isn't necessarily RIGHT for full time use.

Back to details next post.

Which is the RIGHT house IV

Sorry about the Roman numerals--didn't know how many of these were coming--if we start getting into the Ls and Ms we're all in trouble. I took 3 years of Latin in high school--and could even do math! Did me no good in later life, but I did name some new species and it might have helped then--bad form to improperly derive a scientific name from the Latin. Taxonomists would chuckle throughout eternity--but they need some humor in their lives--global warming and all that!

Back to houses! We're talking about the RIGHT house, but I should make it clear that the RIGHT house is not perfect--oh, it could be, but that's highly unlikely. If you search for the perfect house you'll not buy anything and drive your agent round the bend--that could be a short trip, depending.

If you recall my definition, the RIGHT house is the house that best meets your wants and needs AMONG those houses available for sale. If the RIGHT house isn't that close to being perfect, you get to choose whether it's one you want to buy. It may not be. The important thing is to reach an objective decision about whether it's perfect enough. Don't get tripped out on perfect--I've know many people who worked with an architect to DESIGN their perfect house--and when it's done--not perfect. There's usually a list of things they'd do differently, if they could do it again.

How do those all important priorities shake out? They shake out more easily if there's only one Buyer or if there are two or more that have similar vision (fat chance!). Get ready for some negotiating in the process, or buy a nice duplex and take turns visiting. Priorities come in different flavors. There are absolute priorities, relative priorities and the "gee, it would be kinda nice if" priorities.

Before you spend lots of time looking in what you believe are your favored areas--get an MLS print out from your agent of what's available in those areas in a price range that generously brackets your financial and amenity expectations. See anything good? If you don't, have your agent run the same search on the SOLDS for the two years--same areas, broader price bracket. If nothing looks alluring among two years of SOLDS--it may be time to shift the search other areas or buy lottery tickets and search higher prices. Needle in haystack searches can pay off, just don't tell your agent you've been looking in a particular area for 8 years and remain hopeful for a miracle to come on the market.

Absolute priorities are requisite attributes, such as--you've got 3 teenagers and they each have a bedroom now. You NEED a four bedroom house. Three bedrooms are not going to work--unless YOU sleep in the back yard. Your spouse is an artist and needs a room with north light for a studio. Those type of priorities are good and bad--good because you can eliminate MANY houses without a second thought, bad because you may eliminate all the houses. If the absolute priorities aren't met, RIGHT is just a word that has nothing to do with a purchase decision.

Next post--relative priorities--no it's not about in-laws!!!!

RW

Which is the RIGHT house III

We did areas, we did former abodes and now it's time for some specifics. Buyers need to evaluate their lifestyle and associated needs before falling head over heels for a house that's not going to measure up when actually LIVED in. Little questions like: do you entertain a lot and, if so, for how many people? If you like to have 10-15 folks over for dinner, you need to be careful about small kitchens and limited dinning areas--or be prepared to loose some friends. Do you like to BBQ? In the evening? Is the patio positioned where it will get late afternoon sun and sunsets? Check it out and remember the sun moves around during the year. Here in paradise people can  BBQ year round--but that raises the sun question in a more complex context. Same sorta thing for morning sun--like breakfasts with dawn's early light? You may be eating in the garage on a workbench by the east facing window if you don't check the sun. Gardening is another sunny subject, unless you stick to shade tolerant species.

Obviously every new house is going to produce some lifestyle changes, but that doesn't mean they are all good. Establish some priorities and discuss how those can be met with your agent. They may have some creative work arounds or alternative suggestions that come close.

Out here in oceanview land, the big blue pond can be pretty seductive. More than one buyer has moved in to a house far from the lifestyle mark but possessing stunning views. Everyone has their own adaptation period on stunning views, but in 6 months it's never the same--and other aspects of the house assume a higher profile. Ocean views are great and a cool resale feature, but living in the house is a lot more than looking out the window. Try to find a nice ocean view from a nice house that fits your lifestyle.

A couple of quick words about furniture--from someone who has furnished most of his places over the past 20+ years with garage sale items (I have cats, often lots of cats and cats like furniture for the wrong reasons).

Some of you may have gone beyond thumbing through the Pottery Barn catalogs others throw out in the post office trash bin. The catalogs are magnificent, so I actually went inside a Potter Barn store in Palm Desert once--felt uncomfortable and left quickly. At any rate, if you have some amazingly expensive dining set or leather sofa that cost more than a good used car--be sure it fits in the house you're considering as the RIGHT house. There are tape measures, of course, but even better are patterns--my Aunt lived with us while she went to college studying to become a home economics teacher (don't think they call it that anymore). Her strength was sewing and there were patterns scattered about the living room pretty often. When I started thinking about the RIGHT house series I thought--buyers could cut out patterns for their special furniture pieces and bring along a big manila envelope or two when looking at houses. See how the patterns fit, instead of trusting instinct and eyeball. Remember traffic patterns too. It's not enough to fit the pieces in. People need to move through the house as well. Furniture placement is a big deal and the RIGHT house will have the space and allow traffic flow.

Same goes for artwork. Is there a place to hang that special painting or print? What about the sculpture? Can you make a space? Gallery supply catalogs have some nifty display ideas that would work in many houses. You won't be happy if the object of your artistic affection is in the garage under a tarp.

More on this specific bent in the next segment.

Which is the RIGHT house II

First post was about how to evaluate neighborhoods and larger scale geography from a green and mellow perspective. How far is there and how do you feel during the journey (and after filling up the gas tank).

Now for a few tips about the how the houses you've known and loved (or not so much) can help you find the RIGHT house.

Pity the unfortunate few who have had the rare pleasure of living in the RIGHT house already and are forced to find another just as RIGHT or more so (I did resist the urge to type RIGHTER). Most of us live in houses that are FAR from RIGHT--so can we learn from them anyhow? Sure! Remember what your mother told you--you can always find something good about everybody and that includes houses.

Think of the place you're living now or a past house that you have a strong connection to. WHAT about its entire essence did you like? How did it FEEL? Close your eyes and imagine coming home after a challenging day--you're walking up to the entry--how do you feel as you anticipate entering the home? The more difficult question is WHY did you FEEL that way. What about the house engendered that feeling? The entry itself, the kitchen, the hearth area, the master suite, perhaps the back yard with secluded patio? You get the idea. Think of aspects you like (or liked) and how they created the FEEL. You've got a good start on refining your search criteria.

Some parts of a house are particularly important for a majority of Buyers. Kitchens, for example, are the center of food preparation, can be used for eating and social gatherings among family and friends--all major activities of a primal nature--remember we were hunter-gatherers not that many generations ago. Tribal imperatives haven't faded completely away. What do you like about your present kitchen? What would you change? Do you need a big kitchen for big cooking with lots of friends/family? It's important to get the kitchen RIGHT (or nearly so) because they aren't easy or inexpensive to change and you're in there several times a day. If it's irritating, it going to be really irritating. In contrast, if the guest bath has funky floor tile--you can probably live with it. It's a good idea to make some kitchen notes for when you look at houses or even photos of kitchens in IDX displays. Too bad you couldn't just pull up kitchen photos of houses in a certain area and price range, but MLS technology is not there yet--I suggested a system that would do just that 4 years ago--nothing developed so far. I the mean time you can do it yourself. IF you found a really great house in just the perfect location that had a really bad kitchen---could it be the RIGHT house anyhow? Depends on the competition and whether your brother in law is a remodeling contractor. There are no absolutes and you can fix anything with enough time and money---HOWEVER starting with a house possessing good basics is a huge plus.

Next post--more basics and some furniture issues.

Which is the RIGHT house?

Here's a quick post, first in series, concerning what goes into making one house the RIGHT one. It's a little more complicated than many think and it involves factors that don't show up among the 100's of data fields in MLS systems or the data aggregators what depend on MLS information. In fact, some of the basic considerations warrant some attention before the prospective Buyer even looks at detailed information about specific properties.

 I created some of this content for an Earth Day brochure a couple of years ago that focused on greening the search when choosing your next home.

Beyond the energy use associated with the house itself (more on that later) is the cost of buying fuel for the vehicles to do the traveling necessary to function on a daily and longer term basis.

When you have an idea of some neighborhoods that have appeal, use Google Earth or a similar mapping system with path measurements to check out distances for round trips to work, church, schools, shopping, recreation, friends and relatives. If weekly totals differ 100 miles or less between two areas, it's probably not a big deal. If the difference is 200 miles a week or more, do some thinking about ways to close the gap or decide whether that neighborhood should be reconsidered.

You might consider riding a bike a day or two a week. Check out bike paths. RIDE the bike paths, WHEN you normally would--look for hills, safety issues, prevailing wind patterns (AM and PM) etc.

Similarly, drive the commute when you would drive it on typical days. Mileage isn't everything. 30 miles on a freeway with moderate traffic is not like 30 miles on surface streets running cross town. How pleasant (or unpleasant) is the commute (AM and PM)?

Consider driving some other routes you'll probably take several times a week. How do they feel? Always consider shortening travel distance to save energy, time, stress and money. You could join a nearby gym, play golf on a different course or shop at different stores. You might like the new places as much or more. Check out the options. You may not want make those changes to your lifestyle, but be aware of the costs--before you fall in love with a cute house that's in a neighborhood just enough farther away to add several thousand dollars a year to the extended cost of home ownership. It may be worth it to acquire the RIGHT house, but it's better to make an informed decision than suffer apoplexy when the gas credit card invoice arrives in the mail.