What to Consider when Buying a Home for Children
Buying a home for adults is a little bit different than buying a home with kids in mind, and when it comes to choosing the perfect home for the younger members of your family, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. While there are plenty of aspects to consider when purchasing your home, whether it’s your first time or you’ve been through the process before, the following hints should help you narrow down your choices a little more easily based on the needs of your kids.
School District: It probably goes without saying, but one of the most important factors in choosing a good home for children is the school district in which the home is located. You will want to do a lot of research about the schools your child or children will be attending if you purchase a specific home. You’ll probably want to spend some time looking into this before you ever even put in an offer, but know that you’ll need to work quickly to avoid the home you’re interested in being purchased before you have a chance to research the area.
Safe Location: Is the home in a safe location with walkable streets? Are their clear, well-kept sidewalks in the area, or would your children potentially have to walk in the road if they go outside in your area? Are there parks within walking distance? Is the home on a busy road, or is it in a pretty quiet neighborhood? Are there businesses in the area, and if so, are they safe and family-friendly businesses? There’s a lot to think about when it comes to the location of your potential new home, so take your time and check out the area.
Backyard: Kids and adults both are sure to be interested in homes that have larger backyards, and if you’re a parent hoping to ensure the safety of your children, a fenced backyard is always the way to go. Even in a safe neighborhood, it’s safer to let your children play in a fenced backyard than in a front yard, so you’ll want to choose a home that is either already fenced or can easily be fenced shortly after you move in.
Stairs or No Stairs? The decision to buy a home with or without stairs largely depends on the age of your children and whether or not you plan to have any more. Of course plans can always change, but if your children are old enough to walk up and down stairs without risking a fall and you aren’t planning on having anymore, then a home with stairs should be fine. However, if you have toddlers and babies in your family, you may want to choose a home without stairs for safety purposes.
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Buying a foreclosure isn’t the same as buying any other type of home, and it comes with its own challenges and hurdles you might encounter during the process. With that said, however, it doesn’t have to be as complicated as it might sound, and with the right information to back you up, you should be able to work through the process successfully. Check out the list of tips below to give you a few things to consider when you’re thinking about buying a foreclosure, whether this the first time you’ll be going this route or you’ve done it before.
Buying a home can be a difficult time and may pose a significant challenge if you’ve never been through the process before. But even if you feel like you’re an experienced pro at the process, there may be a few ins and outs you aren’t aware of. When it’s time to buy your next home, don’t hesitate to look for a good realtor to help you out. You may be surprised what a difference a realtor can make.
Homeowners’ Associations, or HOAs, don’t necessarily have the best reputations nowadays. From the overzealous curb appeal checks (leaving your trash can out a minute too long is a no no!) to the fines for fading paint on your home’s façade, it can certainly be argued that HOAs aren’t every homeowner’s cup of tea. However, there are some very solid arguments regarding the benefit of these HOAs.
FHA loans are mortgage loans that are part of a government loan program run by the Federal Housing Administration, which is part of HUD (the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development). The FHA has been regulating and insuring mortgage loans since 1934. Originally conceived as a program to assist low-income Americans with buying homes during the Great Depression, today the FHA is the single largest insurer of residential mortgage loans.
Navigating the home-buying process can be akin to traveling in a foreign country where one isn’t familiar with the language. There is a lot of vocabulary that isn’t familiar to non-real estate professionals. One such term is PMI. PMI, or private mortgage insurance, is insurance for lenders. Homebuyers who have at least 20% of the sales price as their down payment on their new home must pay PMI. Lenders require PMI in these situations because they’re assuming more risk when they are investing more in the home than you are.
The Internet has absolutely made this often-stressful project much, much easier. Typing “senior housing” followed by the city in which you’d like to conduct your search (for example: senior housing Scottsdale) in your search engine will reveal multiple websites which list senior housing options. Using 
First, you need to know the price of the house you’d like to purchase. This is a great starting point for your search because you will know very quickly if the houses in this price range will work for your actual budget. Then you will need to input the amount of your down payment. This amount will likely depend on the type of loan you’d be obtaining as certain loans require certain percentages of down payments. The next step will be to input the length, or term, of the mortgage you’re seeking. This term will typically be 30 years or 15 years. Finally, you will need to know the annual interest rate of the loan. Most mortgage calculators will have today’s interest rates handy.
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Condominiums, generally speaking, are one of many units inside a larger building, that can sometimes be several stories high. Legally speaking, you’re buying “air space” when you purchase a condominium, as you are purchasing everything within the walls of the unit you buy. You are also purchasing a fraction of the condo community itself. This fraction is based on the number of units in the complex, so if there are 25 units, you own one-twenty fifth of the community. This gives condo owners an interest in the common areas of the community itself.