Monday, November 22, 2010

Do's and Don'ts in Choosing a Home

Buying a house for the first time?  Purchasing your own home is maybe the biggest investment you'll ever make in your lifetime.  Choosing a place to call home is one of the major decision that affects all areas of your life.  It is best to know what are the things to think about before buying your First-Time Home.  Here are the Do's and Dont’s for you to consider:

Do Decide which type of home you require.  Before you start looking at homes, first decide on which type of home that suits your needs.  You need to create a list of criteria that meets all of your important requirements.  Is privacy a big deal for you? Or do you need a place close to your office? Or is maintenance a big factor when choosing a home? You have a variety of choices when purchasing a residential property: a condominium unit; a townhouse; a traditional single family home; or a multi-family building.   Each option has its own pros and cons, depending on your preference, so make sure that you analyze your needs properly before making the choice of which place to scout for.

A condominium, also called “condo” is actually an alternative form of home ownership created in response to the needs of people that cannot afford to own a traditional single family home or those that simply prefer not to own a home. Condominium owners, however, do not own the land on which the building is built.   The extent of ownership is limited to the inside of the unit itself.

A townhouse or “townhome” is a single-family dwelling that shares a common wall. Unlike condominium owners that must share a roof, entrances and exits, hallways, and stairways, townhouse owners have their own individual roofs. Townhouses have their own back and front yards, garage and front porch. Townhouse owners own the land underneath their home.

The most expensive type of home is the single family detached homes, usually it has both a front and back yard, a driveway, and an attached carport or garage. The owner owns the piece of land where the house is built.  On this type of house, you would have to do your own yard work and maintenance or pay somebody to do this for you.

The multi family building may be a duplex consists of two units per building; a triplex, three units per building; and a quadraplex, four units per building. While the duplex and triplex are generally built side-by-side in a row, the units in a quadraplex are generally constructed back-to-back. 

Next topic: Guidelines for Choosing a House

No comments:

Post a Comment