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.