Tips: How To Choose A House

Well, here are the tips that accompany you to choose a house before you'll make a transaction and the mistakes usually done but it has to be avoided :

How To Choose A House

Source : http://www.new-house-plans.com

1. Choose a Plan That Suits Your Land

Choose a plan that fits the characteristics of your land. It can be very expensive to haul in dirt or grade a lot to make it suitable for a plan. It's better to make the house fit the land, rather than trying to make the land fit the house. Also the size and shape of your lot affects the type of home you can build on the lot.


2. Be Open minded

It's important to be open-minded when looking at houses. By doing this, you'll learn things you never realized. Over time, your 'ideal' home will evolve and change. If you are like most people, you will probably buy a home that is different from what you thought you wanted. Don't quickly discard houses. You will have a better understanding of what you want by taking a close look at many houses.


3. Exteriors Are Easy to Change

Some people will only look at a house if they like its appearance. However, usually the house's exterior can easily be changed. The changes to an exterior can be so dramatic that you won't realize you are looking at the same house. To change the exterior, you can use different windows, modify roof lines, and change exterior details. Don't judge a home by its appearance. It's the inside that really counts. After all, you'll spend 90% of your time on the inside of your home.


4. Hidden Potential

You might discard the right home because you don't see its hidden potential. For example, say you don't like living rooms and you avoid houses that have living rooms. However, a living room could serve another purpose. It could become a den, a nursery, or an additional bedroom. It could also be an excellent dining room. Changing the location of a doorway or adding a wall may convert a room into something you would really love. Sometimes all you need to do is rename a room. When looking at houses, look for the hidden potential.


5. Perfect Homes Don't Exist

Some people spend years searching for the perfect home. However, they never find it because their perfect home is a fantasy. It doesn't really exist. Be realistic when shopping for a home. Ask yourself what features you must have and what features you want to have. When you find a house that meets your requirements, it may not have all of your wants. However, if you hold on to your dream of a perfect home you might pass up the right house and regret it later.


6. Blueprints Can Be Changed

Almost everyone who buys stock blueprints makes changes to them. Try to find something close to what you want and make changes to suit your needs. Common changes include doing a mirror reversal of the plan, moving walls, changing the location of the garage door (to make the garage a side garage or a front garage), and changing the size of the garage (such as lengthening a 2-car garage into a 3-car garage). Also you can usually add features to a home. For example most home plans can have a fireplace added. We also offer a modification service and can modify any of our house plans.


7. Budget

Two of the main things that affect a house's price are its size and features. Some people look for a large house with many features. Because of this, they are unable to find a home they can afford.

It is possible to have a comfortable home with many features. Designers can make a house feel larger than it actually is. They accomplish this with efficient use of space, open floor plans, high ceilings, and good traffic flow. Effective window placement and sunlight can also make a house feel larger. It's not the size of a house that matters. What's more important is how comfortable your home feels. Perhaps you should consider houses that are smaller than what you think you want. By doing this you may find a comfortable home with the features you want.


8. Square Footage Size of a Plan

If you use a stock plan, you will probably make changes to the floor plan. Changes to a plan often increase or decrease the size of the house. Because of this, you should also look at plans that are smaller and larger than what you think you want. After changes are made, the plan may be close to the size you desire. Also the size of the home is not as important as the functionality. A large poorly designed home may actually feel smaller than a smaller home which is designed well. Consider looking at plans that are up to 500 square feet smaller and 300 square feet larger than what you think you want. Usually it is easier to increase the size of a plan than it is to reduce the size of a plan.


9. The Value of Stock Plans

When you buy a stock plan you receive a custom home design for a fraction of what it would normally cost to design a home. The prices are reasonable because the cost of stock plans is shared by many people. Also it usually costs less to start with a stock plan and make modifications rather than try to design a home from scratch.

The value of a plan comes from the hundreds of hours a skilled designer spends creating the plan. The plans shown on our website and CD-ROM give you a good idea of what the home looks like. However, to build a plan you'll need to buy the blueprints. The blueprints contain the hundreds of additional details you'll need to build the home.


10. Save Time Shopping for a Plan

The websites listed below have thousands of plans and powerful search criteria to help you find house plans. To quickly find house plans, visit:



• Visit ePlans for excellent house plans Quickly find house plans by choosing what fits your needs. Browse over 10,000 plans or get more specific with the Advanced House Plan Search. The online division of Home Planners, the country’s leading provider of house plans since 1945.


• Browse the Plans at HomePlans Select the home size features you want, then click 'GO' to see matching plans. A trusted leader in home plans since 1946. Full service company! Over 10,800 home plans to choose from, 100+ professional designers, plan customization, great service.


• Architectural Designs has quality Plans Over 3600 quality house plans online. In business selling quality house plans for over 30 years. Exclusive QuikQuote cost estimate available on all plans.


• Dream Home Source home plans Search through over 14,000 professionally designed stock house plans from over 85 of North America's premier architects and designers.


• Search all house plans: Your dream dream home starts with the perfect plans. To save you time while you search house plans we've collected together only the best companies providing quality new house designs. You'll find virtually every house plan available in North America.

Mistakes Buyers Typically Make

By Erle Rawlins III
Source : http://ired.com/buymyself/agency/971001.htm

1. Buyers don't clearly understand the roles and duties of real estate licensees, especially who represents whom in purchase transactions, and may wrongly misinterpret or rely on a licensee's actions as representing the buyer's interests alone.


2. Buyers may innocently disclose confidential and material information about their buying needs, financial abilities and negotiating strategies to sellers and their agents, especially when not aware of the roles of the licensees involved in a transaction.


3. Buyers think that sellers pay real estate commissions as well as other closing expenses and seller concessions.


4. Buyers think mortgage companies and appraisers protect and promote the best interests of the buyer.


5. Buyers fail to understand how critical it can be to carefully design contracting strategies and techniques in order to better negotiate with sellers and their agents.


6. Buyers don't appreciate the benefits they gain when they are entitled to receive the undivided loyalty and trust of the agent, and are usually uninformed about the service and loyalty limitations inherent with an intermediary, appointed licensee, dual agent or other limited service providers.


7. Buyers minimize the effect of competing buyers when preparing or negotiating purchase offers.


8. Buyers are usually unaware of the importance of personally attending and conducting thorough and independent physical property inspections, environmental audits and separate property appraisals as a condition of the home purchase.


9. Buyers do not comprehend the important value relationship between real estate services offered or provided and compensation obligations.


10. Buyers fail to recognize the long term value benefits of preserving and/or enhancing the buyer's equity position.