The price range to purchase is decided, and once you decide which real estate agent you want to request, it is finally searching for concrete properties and starting a tour.
At the "Flow of Purchase" section, we introduced to conduct a home inspection during the contract period, but you can get professional investigation and advice at that time. However, it is important to understand the points to be checked even by themselves at the time of searching for houses and visiting.
Point of choice of location
When choosing a house, which area will you decide?
At the beginning, I think that there are many choices and the area can not be narrowed down and we may research properties over a wide range. First of all, I visited the area I would like to live in, while turning around with various cars
◎ Does it fit the lifestyle you want to realize?
◎ Distance to commuting to the workplace, traffic jam?
◎ How about the convenience of daily life?
From the viewpoint of thinking, please consider considering whether it is an area you want to live.
Next, it is important to investigate the size and price range of the property, and to grasp the feeling of the price of what property is being traded in the price range that can be purchased. By doing this, target areas will be narrowed down.
Whether there is no risk of natural disasters or pollution is also important. It is necessary to investigate whether there is a problem of the ground or soil, such as land which was originally landfilled with wetland belt or was a mining site of crude oil. If the ground is loose, there is a risk of causing major damage to the foundation and structure of the house. Also, it is important to investigate in advance whether there is risk of fire, flood, earthquake etc
Finally, for school districts, let's examine which street boundaries. Sometimes the boundary is changed, and there are cases where Zip Code display differs from actual administrative district (Torrance, Culver City, etc.) Please be careful.
- A site that allows you to search grade and summary of elementary, middle and high schools across the country www.greatschools.org
- For each school district's website please refer to the education related information page (link to another page)
Point of choosing a detached house
When you go to see the property, let's check the following points.
When I looked at the house from the outside
◎ Does the appearance and overall atmosphere match your preference?
The first impression is important whether the atmosphere when looking at the house from the road and the design of the building meet your taste.
◎ Are the roof conditions, window frames and doors upgraded?
The roof is costly to repair, whether double glazing or not depends on comfort.
◎ Is there a big crack in the outer wall and foundation of the building, driveway and patio?
There is a possibility that the ground and foundation may have problems if there is a big crack.
◎ Is there a place with poor drainage?
If drainage is bad or there are many places where walls and soil are installed, there is always constant humidity, which will accelerate aging of molds and buildings.
◎ Are not big trees on or near the premises?
If big trees are in the vicinity of the building, there is a possibility that the roots will hurt the water pipe.
When entering the room
◎ Is the opening feeling, brightness, ventilation good?
A well-ventilated and bright house is an important element in comfortable living.
◎ Is there a malfunction around the water such as a kitchen or a bathroom?
In the old property check if the water pipe is a durable superstar or water clogging. If the flow of water is bad, the root of the tree may enter the sewer pipe and block the pipe.
◎ Are there squeaks or loosening on the floor, balcony?
Rakushi, fluffy places can have damage due to white ants and moisture and structural problems, so let's walk through the interior.
◎ Are heating upgraded?
Current mainstream is Central Heater, but if it is an old house, a heater (Radiant Heater) containing heating equipment in the under floor heating (Floor furnace), walls and ceiling is installed, these parts will be replaced There may be problems such as no.
◎ Confirm existence of permits for the house which has been refurbished
In case of remodeling, in principle it is necessary to take permission (permit) to the city. Properties added or renovated unauthorized will be excluded from the real estate value evaluation in case of loan.
Point of choosing a condominium / town home
I listed check items unique to condominiums.
About HOA
HOA (Home Owner 's Association) is a community association composed of representatives of the owner of the house in order to manage and operate apartment houses such as condominiums and townhomes. Officers are elected annually from the owners and will promote planning and execution of problem management and management problems and repair. Although it is sometimes voluntarily managed by the HOA at a small scale, there are many cases that it is entrusted to the management company to collect management fees etc. for large scale.
The things I would like to check about HOA are as follows.
◎ Included in administrative expenses
In general, maintenance maintenance of shared parts, garbage, fire insurance etc. There is a lot of personal burden on utilities costs, earthquake insurance, insurance covering indoor etc. are confirmed.
◎ existence of schedule to raise administrative expenses and special accumulation etc.
Let's check whether the raise in the administrative expenses one after another is discussed or whether there is no plans to collect special accumulation as compensation for repair costs.
◎ Role of responsibility of owner and HOA
In general, it is the case that the HOA is responsible for maintenance and repair by the owner's exclusive use of the balcony or the patio, but please note that it may be called the burden of the owner's burden.
◎ Rules for using pets and shared sections
Pets may be limited in number and size. Regarding remodel, it is necessary to obtain permission from HOA in advance, and flooring may have restrictions on banning or laying flooring on upper floors.
When entering the premises
◎ Is the maintenance of the landscape and shared areas thorough?
It is possible to measure the quality of HOA management status.
◎ Distance and flow line from the laundry, pool, parking lot to the house?
Let's think about common parts commonly used in everyday life considering inconvenience and trouble later.
◎ Are the placement of buildings clear, or crowded?
Even if the interior can be remodeled, the location of the building can not be changed, so it is necessary to consider it well.
When entering the room
◎ Is the sunshine or ventilation good?
Sunny and ventilation is a part that can not be changed by Remodel.
◎ What is the direction of the balcony or patio and from the outside?
Although it is a multi-family house, it is important whether it is built with privacy or whether it is a corner room.
◎ What is the height of the ceiling, the layout, the heating facility?
The ceiling height can not be changed later. Let's make sure that the heating facility is updated to central heating just like a detached house.
◎ Problems with sound?
The sound of the upper floor is easier to enter, and if it is close to the road and there is a slope, the engine sound may be concerned. If the airfield is near, we recommend that you change the time zone for that sound as well.
Although items to be checked are diverse in scope, it is sometimes found that a problem that leads to a big problem even though it looks good. As a result, it is important that you carefully check the options that you do not want to buy the property or price adjustment may be requested.
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