Selection Criteria

So what are the things we wanted to have in our Pennsylvania house. Since the kids have moved away, we needed less space (2,000 sqft?). Hopefully that would translate into a smaller mortgage. I work out of a home office but my wife works, so finding a location with a reasonable (45 min) commute for her was important. My Mother-in-Law will be moving in with us, so we wanted a 'bedroom suite' on the main floor to eliminate taking stairs. A separate powder room would be nice, as well as the laundry on the same level. We preferred not to live in a community governed by a Home Owners Association. "Been there, done that" and the petty politics are just too aggravating. With these thoughts in mind, we went looking.

First let me say that the photographers used to create pictures for all of the real estate sites are fantastic. How you can take such exquisite pictures without showing the swamp, or high tension lines, or other eye sores is simply amazing.

Obviously price is always going to be a limiting factor. What I failed to realize was how much taxes would affect my ability to pay for the new place. I knew I would have to pay more, but 4 to 5 times more? It seems each state has their own way of calculating assessments, and PA is really kind of 'unique' They asses pre-existing homes on a kind of random schedule which is not necessarily triggered when the deed changes hands. So an older home may have a low house assessment today which could jump significantly tomorrow. New homes get slammed immediately, but at least the taxes shouldn't change too much the following year. So, lesson #1, forget about the smaller monthly payment.

There is a standard floor plan here. Living room, dinning room, kitchen, den, etc on first floor, bedrooms upstairs. Period. Ranch style homes take up too much room, so they are few and far between. There were some places that had a master on main, but you must pay about a $15k premium for these. Lesson #2, forget about the floor plan.

If you like 1970s decor, there are lots homes to look for (in our price range). Unfortunately, not many have been updated to this century. Even with a whole home warranty, I felt really uncomfortable moving into a home that has appliances and utilities older then my children. I guess I've become too spoiled, and too weary of "fixer-uppers", and while we looked at Twins and Townhouses I just didn't want to consider them. Lesson #3. build something new.

New criteria; how fast can a new house be built within our (sticker shock) price range? Our stuff is still in storage, waiting.