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.