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.